Chaka Patterson was appointed senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Adtalem Global Education in 2020.

In his role as general counsel, Chaka is responsible for day-to-day operations of the legal department and advice and counsel provided to clients in the areas of commercial, corporate governance, IP, labor and employment, litigation, M&A, real estate, regulatory and compliance, and securities.

Chaka joined the organization in 2018 as vice president, deputy general counsel before taking on his current role. Prior to Adtalem, he served as chief of the civil division in the Cook County state's attorney's office, where he supervised 100 attorneys and represented the largest county in Illinois in its civil litigation. Before returning to government service, Chaka served as a partner in the business and tort litigation practice at the Jones Day law firm, where he specialized in complex commercial litigation, internal investigations and white-collar criminal defense work. He also co-chaired the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Prior to joining Jones Day, Chaka served in increasing roles of responsibility at Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), including associate general counsel; vice president, investor relations; and vice president and treasurer. Before joining Exelon, he was chief of the special litigation bureau in the Illinois attorney general’s office, where he prosecuted complex consumer, healthcare and securities fraud cases. Chaka was also a partner at Jenner & Block LLP prior to joining the Illinois attorney general's office. He started his legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Solomon Oliver, Jr., United States District judge of the northern district of Ohio, and the Honorable Karen Nelson Moore, United States Circuit judge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Chaka is active in a variety of community and civic matters and is a member of the Board of Directors at the University of Chicago Laboratory School and the Law Council for the University of Chicago Law School.
He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Amherst College, a juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.