Alex J. Becker

Associate

Alex focuses his practice on complex litigation, government investigations and compliance, and tax controversy.

Alex J. Becker, Associate, ArentFox Shiff

Alex has experience in federal and state courts. He contributed substantially to a petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court on constitutional issues. He is a member of the court-appointed Independent Monitoring Team overseeing the implementation of a multi-year consent decree for the Chicago Police Department.

Previous Work

Alex’s clients benefit from his knowledge and insights gained in nearly a decade of real-world experience before practicing law. As co-chair of a large city’s Human Rights Commission, he decided administrative appeals in employment, housing, and public accommodation cases, worked closely with city officials, and gained experience in local government policymaking, negotiation, and dispute resolution. Alex was a senior manager at a nonprofit organization, where he oversaw operations and public relations for hundreds of constituents. He devoted two years to AmeriCorps and VISTA National Service.

Alex served as a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Fellow in a national study of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), contributing to the report “Building the Assets of Low and Moderate Income Workers and their Families: The Role of Employee Ownership,” Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, March 2019.

Professional Activities

Alex is committed to pro bono. He is the recipient of ArentFox Schiff’s 2022 Roger Pascal Pro Bono Award for outstanding contributions to the public interest.

As a student attorney in Northwestern’s Bluhm Legal Clinic-MacArthur Justice Center, he worked on Section 1983 civil rights cases in district and appellate courts and was recognized as a Public Service Star. He has volunteered with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, Legal Aid Chicago, and the National Immigrant Justice Center. He served as a Legal Intern at the ACLU of Washington in 2018. 

Boards, Memberships & Certifications

  • American Bar Association, Section of Taxation, Section of Litigation
  • Chicago Bar Association
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Illinois State Bar Association

Publications, Presentations & Recognitions

While in law school, Alex was an Executive Editor of Northwestern University Law Review. He received the Adlai E. Stevenson II Award for Best Brief in the Julius H. Miner Moot Court Competition. In the LL.M. Taxation program, he was awarded a Dean’s Scholarship and served as a student editorial board member of The Tax Lawyer, the nation’s premier, peer-reviewed tax law journal published by the American Bar Association. 

  • Bar & Court Admissions
    • Illinois Bar
    • US District Court, Northern District of Illinois
    • US Tax Court
  • Education
    Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, LL.M., Taxation, with honors, Tax Controversy Certificate, 2021
    Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, JD, cum laude, Northwestern University Law Review–Executive Editor, 2020
    The Evergreen State College, BA, 2011

Perspectives