We are saddened to share the passing of our beloved colleague and board member Dennis Black on January 14, 2022. Dennis was a close friend and mentor to many, and his presence and guidance will be deeply missed.
Dennis was a vital part of Mesirow for decades, most recently serving as senior advisor to the Chairman focusing on corporate governance, firm structure and ownership. He was also a member of firm’s Board of Directors and the Investment Committee for Institutional Real Estate Direct Investments.
Dennis joined Mesirow in 2009 as General Counsel for the firm, and he was instrumental in building our Legal & Compliance team. Prior to joining the firm, Dennis served as Mesirow’s outside corporate counsel for more than 30 years. He had more than 50 years of experience advising businesses on corporate, tax, securities, regulatory and financial issues and was a principal at Goldberg Kohn, of which he was a founding member.
Outside of work, Dennis was a director of numerous charitable, civic and professional organizations. He was a director of Meritas, an affiliation of nearly 6,000 attorneys from around the world, until 2005. He served as president of The Standard Club in Chicago from 2006 to 2008, was a board member of North Shore Congregation Israel, and was an active member in the Lawyers Division of the Jewish United Fund of Chicago. In addition, Dennis served as the director of the Cornell University Posse Program in Chicago and as a member of the Cornell University Council.
Dennis earned a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Cornell University and his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review from 1966 to 1968.
