Ms. JD’s Third Annual Conference on Women in the Law:
Avenues to Advancement
Friday, November 20 th , 2009
9:00AM-5:00PM
Workshop on Presentation & Self-Promotion
In conjunction with the Project on Attorney Retention, Ms. JD will facilitate two workshops for law students, judicial clerks, public interest fellows, and deferred firm associates. Law firm partners will serve as workshop “faculty,” critiquing participants’ presentation of a research assignment and of a personal accomplishment.
If you are interested in serving as a “faculty member” please contact Jill Russell ( [email protected] ).
If have further inquiries about the workshop please contact Jessie Kornberg ( [email protected] ).
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Welcome Reception
Those who participated in the daytime workshop will have a chance to put their new skills to work at a cocktail reception with light dinner and welcome remarks.
Keynote Speaker : Michele Coleman Mayes, Sr. Vice President and General Counsel, Allstate Insurance Co.
Saturday, November 21 st , 2009
9:15-9:45 AM
Welcome and Introduction
10:00-11:15 AM
Maximizing Your Summer Job Moderator: Marianne Deagle, Assistant Dean for Career Services, Loyola University of Chicago School of Law Frank Kimball, Owner, Kimball Professional Management Christina Martini, Co-Hiring Partner, DLA Piper Chicago Office Amy Leytem Pretty, Attorney Recruiting Coordinator, McGuireWoods LLP Charlotte Wager, Partner, Jenner & Block
Avenues to Public Interest Moderator: Susan Curry, Executive Director, Public Interest Law Initiative Hannah Brenner, Lecturer in Law, Michigan State University College of Law Faith Bugel, Senior Attorney, Environmental Law & Policy Center Kate Pomper, Polikoff Gautreaux Fellow, Business & Professional People for the Public Interest Tara Thompson, Attorney, Loevy & Loevy
The Indispensable Junior Associate Moderator: Lauren Stiller Rikleen, Executive Director, The Bowditch Institute for Women’s Success Elizabeth Bransdorfer, Partner, Mika Meyers Beckett & Jones PLC Linda Chanow, Assistant Director, Project for Attorney Retention Aimee Dreiss, Associate, Hinshaw & Culbertson Linda Oliver, Associate Development Partner, Hogan & Hartson
Inroads to In-House Moderator: Susan Snyder, Deputy Trust Counsel, Northern Trust Roya Behnia, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Rewards Network, Inc. Suzanne Bettman, Vice President & General Counsel, RR Donnelley Catherine Lamboley, Senior Vice President & General Counsel (Ret.), Shell Oil Company Jose Padilla, Vice President & General Counsel, DePaul University Andrea Zopp, Vice President & General Counsel, Exelon Corporation
Balancing Acts Moderator: Deborah Epstein Henry, Founder and President, Flex-Time Lawyers LLC Cheryl Blackwell Bryson, Partner, Duane Morris LLP Shauna Boliker, Chief of Criminal Prosecutions Bureau, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Karin DeMasi, Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore Marcia Owens, Partner, Wildman Harrold Stephanie Scharf, Partner, Schoeman Updike Kaufman & Scharf
Working With Men to Advance Women in the Profession Moderator: Karen Lockwood, Retired Partner, Howrey Lee Miller, Joint Chief Executive Officer, DLA Piper Michael Morkin, Partner, Baker & McKenzie Gustavo Siller, President, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
11:30-12:45 PM
Avenues to Criminal Law Moderator: Andrea Lyon, Director, Center for Justice in Capital Cases, DePaul University College of Law Carol Brook, Executive Director, Federal Defender Program, Northern District of Illinois April Christine, Assistant United States Attorney, Criminal Division, Central District of California Michelle Nasser, Assistant United States Attorney, Criminal Division, Northern District of Illinois Shelby Prusak, partner, Prusak Law Group
Effective Pro Bono Representation Moderator: Julie LaEace, Pro Bono Coordinator, Kirkland & Ellis Wendy Netter Epstein, Associate, Kirkland & Ellis Anne Geraghty, Pro Bono Counsel, DLA Piper Lindsay Harrison, Associate, Jenner & Block Susan Kaplan, Executive Director, Community Economic Development Law Project Kelly Tautges, Director of Pro Bono, the Chicago Bar Foundation
Successful Interviewing Techniques Moderator: William Chamberlain, Assistant Dean, Northwestern Law School Julie Bailey, Recruiting Manager, Latham & Watkins Kristina Gajewicz, North American Recruiting Director, Baker & McKenzie Elizabeth Jolliffe, Career Management and Business Development Coach, Your Benchmark Coach Rachel Skaistis, Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore
The Road Less Traveled: Alternative Schedules Moderator: Deborah Epstein Henry, Founder and President, Flex-Time Lawyers LLC Christine Heri, Attorney, United States Department of Labor Jennifer Long, Special Counsel, Duane Morris Megan McClung, General Counsel, Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence Sheila Nielsen, Principal, Nielsen Career Consulting Rebekah Stafford, Engagement Manager, Axiom
Caught in the Downturn Moderator: Hannah Stotland, Associate Director, Center for Career Strategy & Advancement, Northwestern University Law School Nancy Gibson, Founder and Owner, Career Consulting for Lawyers Tonya Wilkes Moore, Principal, Benefits Compliance Group Beth Woods, Chicago Office Managing Director, Major, Lindsey & Africa Lane Vanderslice, Director of Mentorship Academy, Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms
The Old Girls Club: Maximizing Women’s Initiative Effectiveness Moderator: Karen Hernandez, Associate, Cooley Godward Kronish LLP Kit Chaskin, Partner, Reed Smith Frances Green, Member, Epstein Becker & Green, PC Joni Jacobsen, Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP Marie Lona, Partner, Winston & Strawn Lisa Passante, Corporate Counsel, DuPont and General Counsel, DuPont Teijin Films
1:00-2:00 PM
Lunch
2:15-3:30 PM
Avenues to Government Moderator: Kathryn Kelly, Assistant United States Attorney, Civil Division, Northern District of Illinois Dorothy Capers, former Deputy Corporation Counsel, City of Chicago Department of Law Adele Rapport, Attorney, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights- Chicago Mary Smith, Partner, Schoeman, Updike, Kaufman & Scharf LLP Corinne Wood, former Lieutenant Governor, State of Illinois
Paths to Independence: Starting & Building Your Solo Practice Moderator: Peter Olson, Principal, Law Office of Peter Olson Irene Bahr, Principal, Law Office of Irene F. Bahr Andrea Buford, Owner and Founder, Buford Law Office, LLC Janaan Hashim, Partner, Amal Law Group, LLC Michelle Rozovics, Principal, Rozovics Law Firm, LLC
Bring on the Rain: Business Development Moderator: Deborah Knupp, Managing Partner, Akina Jan Anne Dubin, Director, LECG Paula Giovacchini, President, Gio Group Kelly Hoey, President, 85 Broads LLC Jennifer Kenedy, Partner, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell
Best Practices for Minority Women Moderator: Venu Gupta, Executive Director, Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms Helise Harrington, Partner, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP Holly Loiseau, Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Arin Reeves, Principal, The Athens Group Leslie Richards Yellen, Partner and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Office, Hinshaw & Culbertson
On-Ramps: Workforce Re-Entry Moderator: Deborah Epstein Henry, Founder and President, Flex-Time Lawyers LLC Katherine Erwin, formerly of Counsel on Call Kearney Kilens, Partner, Litchfield Cavo LLP Ellen Ostrow, Founder, Lawyers Life Coach LLC Matthew Temple, Director of Alumni Career Services, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Mind the Gap: Effective Intergenerational Mentoring Moderator: Lauren Stiller Rikleen, Executive Director, The Bowditch Institute for Women’s Success April Christine, Assistant United States Attorney, Criminal Division, Central District of California Sharon Jones, President, Jones Diversity Group Jane DiRenzo Pigott, Managing Director, R3 Group LLC Erica Zalokar, Founder and CEO, The Legal Balance
3:45-5:00 PM
Crossroads: Turning to Alternative Careers Moderator: Cheryl Rich Heisler, Founder and President, Lawternatives Lynette Lupia, Manager of Performance Measurement & Enhancement Legal Division, Abbott Labs Allegra Rich, Pro Bono and Philanthropy Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP Lorraine Schmall, Professor of Law, Northern Illinois University College of Law Elaine Weiss, President & CEO, Illinois CPA Society
Avenues to Partnership (there’s more than one!) Moderator: Amy Manning, Partner, McGuireWoods LLP Leslie Darling, Partner, Ungaretti & Harris Julianne Hartzell, Partner, Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP Patricia Brown Holmes, Partner and Diversity Committee Co-Chair, Schiff Hardin LLP Jennifer Waters, Partner, Schopf & Weiss LLP
Public Access: Roads to the Bench Moderator: Stephanie Scharf, Partner, Schoeman Updike Kaufman & Scharf The Honorable Susan E. Cox, Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois The Honorable Arnette Hubbard, Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County, IL The Honorable Joan Lefkow, District Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois The Honorable Angela Petrone, Associate Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County, IL The Honorable Marjorie Laws, Presiding Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County, IL
Getting the Good Work: Breaking Down the Barriers to the Old Boys Club Moderator: Lauren Stiller Rikleen, Executive Director, The Bowditch Institute for Women’s Success Patricia Gillette, Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Founder, Opt-In Project Elena Kaspi, President & Founder, LawScope Coaching, LLC Andrea Kramer, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery LLP Mercedes Meyer, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Networking & Effective Self-Promotion Moderator: Deborah Epstein Henry, Founder and President, Flex-Time Lawyers LLC Karen Conti, Managing Partner, Adamski & Conti E. Lynn Grayson, Partner, Jenner & Block Jane DiRenzo Pigott, Managing Director, R3 Group LLC Susan Sneider, Director of Client & Business Development, Freeborn & Peters LLP
Rough Road Ahead: Avoiding the Mommy Track Moderator: Ellen Ostrow, Founder, Lawyers Life Coach LLC Asilia Backus, Associate, Littler Mendelson Lauren Hennessey Breit, Attorney H.R. Director, Kirkland & Ellis Diana Doyle, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP Stacy Smith Walsh, Associate, Day Pitney LLP
5:15-9:00 PM
Cocktail Reception & Dinner
Speaker, Panelist & Moderator Biographies
Asilia Backus , an associate at Littler Mendelson in Chicago, advises and represents employers in various areas of employment law, including single plaintiff and class action employment discrimination claims, class and collective actions involving overtime and other wage-related claims and medical leave claims. She also conducts in-person training for employers and managers and provides counseling on a variety of employment related issues. She has also defended employers against state law wage and hour, wrongful and retaliatory discharge, interference with business relationships and prospective economic advantage, breach of contract and defamation claims. Ms. Backus earned her J.D. and B.A. from Northwestern University.
Irene Bahr is Past President of the Illinois State Bar Association (2006-07), a voluntary association of 34,000 Illinois Licensed Attorneys. Ms. Bahr is an attorney in private practice and concentrates in Liquor Licensing, Regulation and Related Litigation issues. She was Chief Counsel to the Illinois Liquor Control Commission from 1977 to 1987 when she left to start her own practice. Her clients consist of international, national and local businesses in the beverage alcohol industry at the retail, wholesale and manufacturing level. Ms. Bahr was a participant in the Illinois Liquor Control Commission Taskforce engaged in a comprehensive review of Illinois’ laws, regulations, and trade practices. She was a participant in the Illinois Liquor Control Commission BASSET Advisory Council. In addition to her private practice, she is currently an officer of the Illinois State Bar Association Mutual Insurance Company. She is a Past President of the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers and has served on several committees of the DuPage County Bar Association. She is an officer of the Child Friendly Courts Foundation which runs a children’s waiting room serving the public in the DuPage County Courthousse. She is a past officer of the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers Foundation which administers the charitable arm of the Association and its legal scholarship program. Ms. Bahr was named an Outstanding Woman Leader of DuPage County by the YWCA in the Business and Professional category in 1998 for her work in establishing a children’s waiting room in the county courthouse. In 2004, she was the recipient of the Influential Women in Business Award from the Business Leader Publication. In 2006, she received the first Inspirational Woman Award from the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers and its Glass Ceiling Buster Award in 1999. In addition to the above, she is a 1977, Cum Laude graduate of De Paul University School of Law, its 2006 recipient of their Distinguished Alumna Award, and sits on the Dean’s Council. She is admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Julie Bailey is the Manager of Attorney Recruitment and Development for the Chicago office of Latham & Watkins. In this role, she manages the summer associate and fall recruiting programs and lateral hiring. In addition, Ms. Bailey focuses on developing and implementing the Chicago office’s training initiatives. Prior to her position as Manager of Attorney Recruitment and Development, Ms. Bailey was an associate at Latham & Watkins where she gained extensive commercial litigation experience in federal and state courts and in commercial arbitrations. In addition to her commercial litigation experience, Ms. Bailey has experience in white collar criminal law. Ms. Bailey successfully second-chaired the defense of a mid-level executive in a highly-publicized health care fraud case, in which all ten defendants were acquitted after a four month trial on conspiracy and anti-kickback charges. Ms. Bailey joined Latham & Watkins in 2000 after completing a judicial clerkship for the Honorable James F. Holderman, United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Ms. Bailey is a member of the Illinois Bar and is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Ms. Bailey earned her J.D. from Drake University and her B.A. from Truman State University.
Roya Behnia joined Rewards Network in Chicago, Illinois as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary in August 2006. She is responsible for the legal, human resources, risk management, and compliance functions of the Company. Prior to Rewards Network, Ms. Behnia served as Assistant General Counsel for SPX Corporation and was the General Counsel of its Specialty Engineered Products Segment. Prior to SPX Corporation, Ms. Behnia was Director of Litigation for Brunswick Corporation and a litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis. She is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School.
Suzanne S. Bettman graduated with a B.A. in economics from Northwestern University, then attended the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, Illinois. She began her professional career with the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago, focusing on corporate and securities laws and rising to partner before moving to the corporate world at True North Communications – first as Vice President and Associate General Counsel, then as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Following the purchase of True North Communications by The Interpublic Group of Companies, Sue served as Group Managing Director and General Counsel for Huron Consulting Group, a venture-backed business consulting company started in March 2002. Sue is currently Executive Vice President and General Counsel for RR Donnelley, where she heads up the legal team for the world's premier full-service global print provider – a company with more than $8 billion in annual revenues, more than 60,000 employees and 140 manufacturing facilities around the world.
Shauna L. Boliker is an assistant state’s attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago, Illinois. She is currently the Chief of the Criminal Prosecutions Bureau where she is responsible for overseeing the prosecution of crimes within the criminal bureau. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office is the second largest prosecutor’s office in the country, second only to Los Angeles County. Prior to her current assignment, Shauna was the Chief of the Sex Crimes Division where she was responsible for all crimes of sexual assault including adult and child victims, child pornography, internet solicitation and clergy abuse to name only a few. Shauna’s responsibilities also included the supervision of the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center which is an all inclusive multi-disciplinary unit devoted to the investigation of child sexual abuse cases. Prior to her role as Chief of the Sex Crimes Division, Shauna served as Supervisor of the Traffic Division where she trained and supervised 25 freshman prosecutors in 14 courtrooms prosecuting cases of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving on a suspended license. Shauna has also worked as a prosecutor in the Gang Crimes Division and the Felony Trial Division where she rose to the level of first chair in a felony courtroom. Shauna regularly teaches locally and nationally on a variety of subjects including sexual assault and trial advocacy. Shauna teaches locally for the Chicago Police Department at the Police Academy, for the Prosecutors Bar Association which serves prosecutors throughout the State of Illinois, within her own office as well as a variety of other agencies, both law enforcement and community based. Shauna also conducts trainings for new assistant state’s attorneys and helps with the continuing legal education of the assistants. Shauna has prosecuted over 80 felony jury trials, primarily trials of individuals accused of first degree murder in her 20 years in the office, as well as hundreds of bench trials.
Elizabeth K. Bransdorfer received her bachelor's degree from the College of Liberal Arts and her law degree cum laude from the Law School, both at the University of Minnesota. Liz has been at Mika Meyers Beckett & Jones, PLC in Grand Rapids, Michigan, since she graduated from law school in 1985. She chaired the firm’s associate review committee for several years. Liz specializes in litigation, with a practice emphasis on domestic relations. She completed collaborative law training and is able to assist clients who, from the beginning of the divorce process, are committed to settling their cases in ways that work for their particular families, rather than having the Court process impose decisions on them. In addition to representing clients as an advocate, Liz is a trained neutral arbitrator and mediator. She is admitted to practice in all Michigan state courts, the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the United States District Court for both the Western and Eastern Districts of Michigan, and the United States Tax Court. Liz was the first Chair of the ADR Section of the Grand Rapids Bar Association, has served as an officer of its Litigation Section and as a member of the Civil Procedure Committee and Council of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Michigan. She is also a past president of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (1994-95) and the National Association of Women Lawyers (2001-02). Liz was recently named the 2009 recipient of the Michael S. Barnes Award, in recognition of her exemplary contributions toward the provision of free legal assistance to the poor in Western Michigan.
Lauren Hennessey Breit is the Attorney Human Resources Director for the Chicago Office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. In this role, she is responsible for all attorney related human resources functions, including attorney employee relations, training & professional development, recruiting, diversity initiatives, and career counseling. Lauren began her career at Kirkland & Ellis as an associate in the Intellectual Property Department. Her practice focused on patent and trade secret litigation and counseling, with primary interest in the biological, pharmaceutical, and chemical field. However, she has litigated patent matters involving a variety of technologies, including diesel fuel systems, food packaging, chemical processes, and medical devices. Lauren is a member of the Illinois Bar and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. She earned her J.D. from Northwestern University and her B.A. from Cornell University.
Hannah Brenner teaches courses on law and gender at Michigan State University College of Law; she joined the faculty this fall as a Lecturer in Law. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Hannah will work on special gender-related projects for the law college. She is particularly interested in women’s advancement and leadership in the legal profession. Prior to moving to Michigan, Hannah served as the first Executive Director of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law. The Center confronts barriers that stand in the way of women’s advancement in the legal profession by convening leaders, generating ideas and leading change. Under her leadership, the Center hosted the inaugural Women’s Power Summit on Law & Leadership, an event which brought together leaders from all sectors of the legal profession with the goal of developing a blueprint for the continued advancement of women in law. Hannah came to UT most immediately from the University of Oklahoma, where she was the Director of Women’s Leadership Programs at the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center. There, her work focused on addressing the historical under-representation of women in politics and public service. At OU, Hannah also taught in the Department of Women’s Studies; her courses included, among others, Women & the Law, Women Creating Social Change and Gender, Power & Leadership. An active community volunteer, she is frequently called on by nonprofit organizations to provide consulting and grant writing. Hannah earned her B.A. from the University of Iowa, with a major in American Studies/Women’s Studies. She completed coursework at Brandeis University, and spent a semester abroad with the Antioch College Women’s Studies Program. Hannah received her J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law. Hannah and her husband Adam, a professor of Intermedia at Michigan State University, reside in East Lansing with their three children.
Carol A. Brook has been an attorney with the Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Illinois since graduating from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1976. She became its Deputy Director in 1986 and its Executive Director in 2009. She has defended hundreds of persons in criminal cases in federal district court and more persons than she cares to count in the Seventh Circuit. In addition to client representation, she is responsible for the overall management and administration of the Program.Ms. Brook is the current president of the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and past-president of the National Association of Federal Defenders. She is on the Board of a number of organizations, including the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the Salvation Army. She has taught trial advocacy at DePaul University College of Law and the University of Chicago Mandel Legal Clinic and has been an instructor for many years for the Federal Judicial Center. She speaks at seminars across the country, focusing on racial disparity in the criminal justice system, appellate advocacy, case preparation, criminal discovery and sentencing. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Thomas A. Corfman, her twin 18-year old sons, Sam and Jack Corfman, and a pet turtle named Seeley, age unknown.
Cheryl Blackwell Bryson is past head of the Employment Law and Management Labor Relations Practice of the Chicago office of Duane Morris and a former member of the firms' board of managers. Ms. Bryson represents middle-market as well as Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries on labor and employment law and litigation issues, including pattern and practice Title VII litigation, and discrimination matters before federal and state agencies and state and federal courts. Ms. Bryson also provides legal counsel on claim avoidance, internal investigations, alternative dispute resolution and other aspects of the defense of EEO claims. She has extensive experience advising both private and public sector employers in labor and employment matters and collective bargaining related activities, including negotiations, mediation, arbitration and contract administration. While on leave from law firm practice, Ms. Bryson served as deputy corporation counsel for the City of Chicago's Law Department, where she established the Labor Relations Division and directed contract administration and collective bargaining for the City's 35,000 unionized employees. Ms. Bryson is a 1977 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Law, where she was associate editor of the Law Journal , and a magna cum laude graduate of Morgan State University.
Andrea Buford attended Northwestern University for her undergraduate degree and IIT Chicago Kent College of Law for her JD. She is the Managing Member of her firm which specializes in civil defense litigation in the areas of tort defense, product and premises liability, commercial litigation, condemnation litigation, employment matters, municipal representation and serving as Hearing Officers. Ms. Buford has a special concentration in conducting internal investigations. Ms. Buford is one of the few African American women who owns her own multi faceted law firm Attorney Buford is an experienced insurance defense counsel who has litigated, arbitrated, tried and appealed a full range of such matters. She is a member of DRI and has been admitted to the prestigious National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms. (“NAMWOLF”) Ms. Buford enjoys an “av” rating from Martindale Hubbell. She has been appointed a Special Assistant Attorney General, a Special Assistant Corporation Counsel and a Federal Foreclosure Commissioner. She also sits as a Commissioner on the Illinois Court of Claims presiding over matters filed against the State of Illinois. She is a past president of the Cook County Bar Association, the nation’s oldest and largest association of African-American Attorneys and currently serves as President of its Foundation. She is a recipient of the National Black Expo Presidential Award, the Women at the Top of the Game Award, the Vanguard Award and numerous other awards and recognitions. She was named one of “The Most Influential Chicagoans,” by N’Digo magazine, named in Who’s Who in Black Chicago and was voted an Illinois “Super Lawyer” by her peers and the publishers of Law & Politics and Chicago Magazine.
Faith Bugel is a Senior Attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center. Ms. Bugel works on a broad range of clean air litigation and clean energy policy issues. Ms. Bugel previously worked as an environmental litigation associate with the law firm of Sidley & Austin following a federal judicial clerkship in the Northern District of Illinois. She has also served as a pro bono counsel for Save the Prairie Society and has been a school teacher. Ms. Bugel earned her J.D. from Northwestern University and her B.A. from the University of Chicago.
Dorothy G. Capers is Associate General Counsel for the litigation group at U.S. Foodservice. Until June 2009, Ms. Capers served as Deputy Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago Department of Law. Ms. Capers has served in numerous positions in government. She began her career as a judicial law clerk on the District of Columbia Superior Court. She then became an Assistant Public Defender in Cook County, and two years later became an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook Count. In 1994, Ms. Capers became the first minority attorney hired as counsel for the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, known as METRA, where she defended personal injury and wrongful death suits and worked on employment litigation and real estate. In 1997, she returned to the Cook County State’s Attorney to create the Community Prosecutions Division, which forges partnerships with City and County Municipal offices, community groups, and other organizations to take a grass roots approach to the resolution of community crime, issues and concerns. In 2001, she was appointed Deputy Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago Department of Law. While there, she headed the Building and License Enforcement Division. In 2007, Ms. Capers was also appointed as the Chief of the Hiring and Diversity Initiative, the first ever diversity initiative in the Department of Law. Ms. Capers is the immediate Past -President of the Black Women Lawyers Association of Greater Chicago, where she remains a member of the board. She is also a member of the Cook County Bar Association and the Women’s Bar Association. She is a Commissioner of the Committee on Character and Fitness, First District, for the State of Illinois Supreme Court. She has previously served as the Chair of the Government Services committee at the Chicago Bar Association. Ms. Capers earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Illinois/Champaign in 1984. She earned a Juris Doctor Degree from Howard University School of Law, Washington, D.C. in 1987. She was admitted to the State of Illinois Bar in 1987 and the United States District Court Trial Bar in 1993.
Bill Chamberlain has been the Assistant Dean for Career Strategy & Advancement at Northwestern University School of Law since 2005. Prior to returning to Northwestern, where he earned his JD, Bill was the Assistant Dean for Career Services at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law (2000-2005) and at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago (1997-2000). After graduating from Northwestern, Bill practiced law with Schiff Hardin in Chicago and with the City of Chicago Law Department. He holds a BA from Cornell University and an MA from Purdue University. A NALP (the Association for Legal Career Professionals) member for twelve years, Bill has served on the NALP Board of Directors. He is a frequent contributor to the NALP Bulletin. For the past two years, Bill has written a bi-monthly online column for the National Law Journal. Bill also teaches legal writing to International LLM students at Northwestern. Prior to attending law school, Bill performed for several years as a professional opera singer.
Kit Chaskin is a partner in Reed Smith's nationally-recognized Insurance Recovery Group. She represents corporate policyholders in disputes with their insurers and also counsels companies on risk and risk transfer. In 2008, Kit was named Director of the Women's Initiative Network of Reed Smith ("WINRS"). WINRS serves Reed Smith's 1700 lawyers across 23 offices as a "virtual practice group" dedicated to further enhancing the firm's workplace to more effectively develop, reward, engage, and attract women lawyers. Kit received her B.S and J.D from Northwestern University.
Linda Bray Chanow , Esq. is currently the Assistant Director of the Project for Attorney Retention. In late 2009, she will assume the role of Executive Director for the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas-Austin. A frequent author and speaker, Linda has worked to advance women lawyers and promote greater workplace flexibility in law firms since 1997. At PAR, Linda conducts research, regularly assesses law firm programs and policies on flexible work schedules, and provides implementation guidance. She recently authored, Actions for Advancing Women Into Law Firm Leadership: Report of the National Association of Women Lawyers National Leadership Summit (2008). Linda is also active in local and national bar associations. She serves as Co-Chair of the D.C. Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia Initiative on Advancement and Retention of Women and was instrumental in the WBA Initiative's groundbreaking 2006 report, Creating Pathways to Success. Linda designed and implemented, Ready to On-Ramp?, for the National Association of Women Lawyers to help women lawyers develop their own personal strategy for re-entering the legal workplace. Prior to joining PAR, Linda was the head of the Women's Career Development practice at the international legal consulting firm Shannon & Manch, L.L.P. Linda began her legal career as a commercial litigator and bankruptcy lawyer at WilmerHale. Linda graduated from American University's Washington College of Law in 1999. While in law school, Linda focused on employment law and worked with Distinguished Professor of Law Joan Williams on the development of Professor Williams' book, UnBending Gender.
April A. Christine has been a federal prosecutor with the US Attorney’s Office for over nine years. She prosecutes gang-related violent and drug trafficking crimes, child exploitation offenses, and health care fraud. She also teaches legal writing and advocacy as a Lecturer-in-Law at USC Gould School of Law. Prior to studying law, Ms. Christine worked for Xerox Corporation in Rochester, New York, where she held several managerial positions in manufacturing operations and business products divisions. Since obtaining her law degree, Ms. Christine has clerked for the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall, United States District Judge, was an associate with Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle in Rochester, New York, and a law clerk for the Law Offices of Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Ms. Christine is active in bar associations, including National Black Prosecutors Association, Black Women Lawyers of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Bar Association, and currently serves on the Judicial Nominations and Evaluations Commission of the State Bar of California. Ms. Christine holds a BA from UCLA, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a JD from UCLA School of Law .
Karen Conti is a 1983 graduate of Northern Illinois University and a 1986 alumni of the University of Illinois College of Law. She was an associate with Peterson & Ross and the Tressler, Soderstrom firm in Chicago. In 1990, Karen formed her own firm with Gregory Adamski (Adamski & Conti). Since that time, she has engaged in a local and national practice of trial and appellate law in civil and criminal matters. Karen has tried numerous cases to the bench and to juries, argued appeals, and litigated matters in a wide variety of matters including: commercial, real estate litigation, contracts, probate, domestic relations, adoption and custody disputes, criminal and white collar criminal defense, environmental matters, insurance coverage disputes, employment discrimination, injunctions, business torts, trade secrets, professional negligence, and civil rights. She is a member of the Illinois and California bars. Karen is an adjunct law professor at the University of Illinois where she teaches a death penalty seminar and the Chicago Litigation Course or "Bootcamp," a one-week intensive course designed to introduce law students to the practice of law in Chicago. Karen has co-hosted legal talk shows for over seven years and currently co-hosts "Legally Speaking," which airs on Chicago's superstation, WGN AM 720, on Sunday nights. She is a regular legal television commentator on Fox News in Chicago, Fox News (national) and MSNBC. She has appeared regularly on Court TV, Good Morning America, Leeza Gibbons, Montel Williams, and many other programs locally and nationally. She publishes articles regularly in various magazines, the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune and speaks on many issues including women in the law, criminal law, the death penalty and family law matters.
The Honorable Susan E. Cox was selected as a Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on April 19, 2007 and came on duty on August 27, 2007. Prior to her appointment as Magistrate Judge, Judge Cox was the president and owner of The Law Offices of Susan E. Cox, Ltd., a litigation firm specializing in federal criminal defense and litigation. Judge Cox’s litigation background includes three years as law clerk to United States District Judge Wayne R. Andersen, eight years as an Assistant United States Attorney and thirteen years of civil practice, including substantial trial work in employment, commercial and patent infringement cases. Judge Cox also served as an impartial Due Process Hearing Officer for the Illinois State Board of Education from June 2005 until June 2007, and as a Federal Defender panel attorney from 2003 until her judicial appointment. Judge Cox also was appointed by the federal court to assist in monitoring employment actions of the City of Chicago and served in that capacity from August 2005 until her appointment as Magistrate Judge. Judge Cox currently serves as an adjunct professor for De Paul College of law and the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Public Administration. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Allegheny College (1980), Ms. Cox received her law degree from Boston University Law School (1983) where she was an editor of the Boston University Law Review.
Susan J. Curry is the Executive Director of the Public Interest Law Initiative of Chicago (PILI). Curry received her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame School of Law in 1989, and her master’s degree in public policy and nonprofit management from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota in 1997. Admitted to the bars of Illinois and Minnesota, she has served as the Executive Director of several 501c3 agencies in addition to PILI, including the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, the Minnesota Justice Foundation and the P-Fund Foundation. Curry began her legal career in Chicago as an associate of the law firm of Gardner, Carton & Douglas. After moving to the nonprofit sector in 1990, Curry worked at several PILI-affiliated agencies, such as the Better Government Association, the Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission, and the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago. From 1995 through 2002, while living in Minnesota, she also served as Executive Director of the Minnesota Justice Foundation, a legal services organization that —like PILI— connects law students and lawyers with the legal services system as summer clerks and year-round volunteers. From 2001 through 2004, Curry operated a private consulting business where she assisted Chicago and Twin Cities legal services organizations and other nonprofit and philanthropic organizations with program, fund and board development, organizational planning, government relations, research, and program evaluation. Since joining PILI as its Executive Director in 2004, Curry has served as Chair of The Chicago Bar Association’s Legal Aid Committee, and she currently serves on the Board of Directors of Illinois Legal Aid Online and the Illinois Equal Justice Coalition.
Leslie Darling is a Partner in the Government Practice Group at Ungaretti & Harris LLP. Leslie's practice consists of advocating on behalf of corporate clients before state and local governments and representing clients in complex transactions with government agencies. In addition, she advises clients on corporate matters, community affairs, crisis management, ethics, and corporate social responsibility. Her specialty areas include: telecommunications, public utilities, healthcare, procurement, taxation, and state appropriations. She is the firm's primary advocate before the Illinois General Assembly where she plans and implements her clients' strategic legislative agendas. Leslie is also building a niche practice representing food manufacturers and food entrepreneurs. Prior to joining Ungaretti & Harris, she practiced law at Mayer Brown and served as an attorney to City of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. Leslie serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, the Chair of Planned Parenthood Illinois Action, is a member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and has been involved in numerous political campaigns.
Marianne Deagle is the Assistant Dean of Career Services at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She joined Loyola in December 2006. Prior to Loyola, Marianne worked as the Manager of Legal Recruiting at Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago and Blackwell Sanders in Kansas City. She received her J.D. from Washburn Law School in 1995 and her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1982. After graduating from law school, Marianne worked for the State of Kansas doing public utility law and health care policy.
Karin A. DeMasi is a partner in the Litigation Department at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. Karin’s practice focuses on complex, high-profile litigation in federal and state courts, primarily in the areas of securities, derivative, ERISA, antitrust and contract claims. She also represents parties in SEC, and other government, investigations. Although many of her cases have been successfully resolved for her clients on pre-trial motions, Karin’s experience also includes several bench and jury trials, as well as domestic and international arbitration. Karin also devotes a significant portion of her practice to pro bono service. In addition to her active pro bono litigation, Karin is one of the lead partners for Cravath’s relationship with Montefiore Children's Hospital and Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, through which Cravath represents children who need legal services related to their medical care. Karin received a B.S. from Northwestern University in 1993, and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996, where she was Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. After a clerkship with the Hon. D. Brock Hornby(U.S. District Court for the District of Maine), she joined Cravath in 1997 and became a partner in 2005. Karin has three children and lives in Manhattan.
Aimee Dreiss is an associate in the Chicago office of the law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP. Her practice focuses on welfare and pension benefit plans, defense of employee plan fiduciaries and professionals, and federal and state taxation. Ms. Dreiss received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Zoology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and her law degree with a Certificate in Tax Law from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Jan Anne Dubin is a director in LECG’s Chicago office , a global expert services and consulting firm, with approximately 750 experts and professionals in 30 offices around the world. With more than 26 years of senior law firm management experience, Ms. Dubin is a pioneer in the profession of legal services marketing with particular expertise in the areas of business development, client teams, diversity initiatives, and women and rainmaking. Most recently, Ms. Dubin served as the North American business development director for Baker & McKenzie where she was responsible for leading the region’s business development strategies. Prior to joining Baker & McKenzie, Ms. Dubin was the global client program executive for DLA Piper US LLP where she served in various senior leadership, business development and client relations roles since joining the firm known as Rudnick & Wolfe in 1989. Ms. Dubin serves on the editorial board for WomenLegal a global magazine for women in the legal profession based out of London, England. She was selected by Today's Chicago Women as one of 100 women in Chicago making a difference. Since 1994, Ms. Dubin has served on the Chicago Public Allies board of directors and as a board chair since she was recruited to the board by First Lady Michelle Obama. She serves as a volunteer for Yéle Haiti, the NGO founded by Grammy award winning hip hop artist and activist Wyclef Jean. Ms. Dubin received an MBA degree from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1994 and a BS degree in journalism from the University of Kansas in 1981.
Wendy Netter Epstein is an attorney in the litigation practice group of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and clerked for the Honorable Michael Daly Hawkins on the United States Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit, where she gained exposure to and an interest in immigration law. While working as a litigator at Kirkland, Ms. Epstein has handled pro bono immigration appeals to the United States Courts Of Appeals For the Fifth and Seventh Circuits, resulting in favorable outcomes for her clients. Currently, Ms. Epstein sits on the Leadership Council for the National Immigrant Justice Center and is the chair of the Kirkland Immigration Network, an organization for Kirkland & Ellis attorneys who act as pro bono immigration counsel or who have an interest in pro bono immigration work.
Katherine Erwin most recently served as Director of Candidate Development for Counsel On Call (COC), which provides highly credentialed and experienced attorneys the ability to work on an assignment basis for the nation's leading law firms and corporate legal departments. In this role, she managed the company’s candidate outreach efforts and developed programs to improve the COC experience in all ways for the company’s attorneys. Prior thereto, Ms. Erwin started the Chicago office of COC, and served as its Executive Director. Prior to joining COC, Ms. Erwin practiced law in Chicago for 20 years, most recently with Nuveen Investments, where she was vice president and assistant general counsel. She started her legal career in the corporate and securities department of Bell, Boyd & Lloyd, and spent several years as assistant general counsel of Carson Pirie Scott & Company, a diversified retail company. Ms. Erwin is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School where she served on the editorial board of the Journal of Law Reform. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan School of Business Administration with a concentration in finance. Ms. Erwin is licensed to practice law in Illinois. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Women's Bar Association of Illinois. She also serves on the board of directors of a local arts organization and has served as a class committee member for the University of Michigan Law School.
Kristina Gajewic z has over 12 years of legal recruiting and human resource experience. She joined Baker & McKenzie in March 2008 as Regional Recruiting Director for the North America Region, which encompasses ten offices in the United States and Canada. Prior to joining Baker & McKenzie, Kristina worked with two international law firms in regional recruiting roles for over ten years. At Baker & McKenzie, Kristina is responsible for working alongside office recruiting professional staff, and hiring partners to develop best practices to enhance graduate and lateral recruitment efforts and to improve recruiting effectiveness through unified processes, quality measures and cost management across the Region. Kristina has accountability for regional activities and initiatives such as regional summer associate training programs, regional fall on campus interview coordination, recruiting related policies and procedures and regional applicant tracking systems. In addition to her North American responsibilities, she is also a member of the Firm’s Global Talent Management Department where she serves as project manager on many global recruiting projects and initiatives. Kristina is committed to her involvement in legal organizations and was past President and Secretary of the Chicago Association of Legal Personnel Administrators. She has also held numerous positions within the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) over the past ten years and was most recently the Conference Chair for NALP’s 2007 Annual Education Conference.
Anne Geraghty is Pro Bono Counsel in the Chicago office of DLA Piper. Ms. Geraghty assists the pro bono team with its programs and oversees the pro bono programs in the Chicago, Texas, Seattle, Phoenix, and Minneapolis offices of DLA Piper. Ms. Geraghty concentrates her own practice on juvenile and criminal justice issues and since joining DLA Piper she has helped develop and has worked on a number of pro bono initiatives in this area. She serves as a member of the Illinois Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Children, an organization that advocates ending the practice of sentencing individuals to life without parole for crimes committed when they were juveniles. Prior to joining DLA Piper, Ms. Geraghty was an associate at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University and her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin.
Nancy Gibson is an attorney and the Founder of Career Consulting for Lawyers, which counsels individuals and legal organizations on career management and professional development issues. Ms. Gibson helps individuals create successful and fulfilling careers and advises law firms and legal organizations on building a more proficient and satisfied workforce. She is also an assistant director responsible for pre-law advising at Bates College Office of Career Services. She began her legal career as a commercial litigation associate at Palmer & Dodge in Boston. Ms. Gibson then spent over 20 years teaching law school clinical education courses at Northwestern University and the University of Maine law schools, as well as developing and directing a law school government and public interest field placement program, and representing clients in criminal, delinquency and education cases. She is admitted to practice law in Illinois, Massachusetts and Maine. Ms. Gibson received her B.S. magna cum laude from Tufts University and her J.D. cum laude from Northwestern University.
Patricia Gillette , a partner in Orrick's San Francisco office, is a member of the Employment Law group. Ms. Gillette's practice focuses on all aspects of employment law, including wrongful discharge and discrimination litigation in both state and federal court, representation of employers in hearings before administrative agencies and counseling and training employers on preventive personnel practices. Ms. Gillette has been recognized by many organizations for her expertise and experience as an employment lawyer, including Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America and Who's Who . She was listed as a "Star Lawyer" in the 2006 edition of PLC Which Lawyer? Global 50 Portraits . Before joining Orrick, Ms. Gillette was a partner and Co- Chair of Heller Ehrman LLP's Labor and Employment Practice Group. Prior to joining Heller Ehrman, Ms. Gillette was in private practice for several years and was in-house counsel for Bank of America, where she was in charge of the Personnel Advice Section of the Legal Department. Ms. Gillette is the founder of the Opt- In Project, a nationwide initiative focused on changing the structure of law firms to increase the retention and advancement of women in the workplace. Ms. Gillette speaks frequently on these issues at conferences across the nation. She also is Orrick's representative on the Hidden Brain Drain Task Force, a cross industry group focused on issues facing women and minorities in the workplace.
Paula Giovacchini is President of Gio Group, Inc., a training and coaching firm that improves business development and leadership effectiveness. Paula has been working with law firms since 2005 to strengthen attorney marketing skills, enhance staff and practice group leadership skills, and increase firm profitability. Prior to starting Gio Group, Paula held leadership positions in sales, operations and human resources at First Chicago, LaSalle Bank, JMB Realty Corporation and Pinnacle West Capital Corporation. Paula is a certified professional coach from New Ventures West and holds a BA in Communications from Mundelein College and an MS in Organizational Development from Loyola University. She is a frequent guest speaker at the Chicago Bar Association Alliance for Women, Turnaround Management Association, the Legal Marketing Association, the Association of Legal Administrators and the Society of Human Resources Professionals.
E. Lynn Grayson is a partner in Jenner & Block’s Chicago office and a member of the Firm’s Environmental, Energy and Natural Resources Law, Climate and Clean Technology Law, Defense & Aerospace and Environmental Litigation Practices. Ms. Grayson has an extensive environmental law background including both private practice and government service experience. Ms. Grayson’s national environmental practice and experience includes managing complex CERCLA and RCRA matters, advising clients on critical regulatory concerns, performing environmental due diligence for real estate and corporate transactions, defending against natural resource damage claims and conducting environmental audits at manufacturing operations. Ms. Grayson is the past chairperson for the Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Law Committee of the American Bar Association, Business Law Section, and has served as a special liaison from the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Environmental Law to the U.S. Department of Defense addressing regulatory reform. Ms. Grayson has been recognized by Chambers USA, Leading Lawyers, Illinois Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America as one of the country’s leading environmental lawyers. Ms. Grayson is on the Board of Directors for the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations and the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law Firms. She is Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Women and the Law and served as the inaugural Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Task Force on Diversity. Ms. Grayson is the first recipient of the Chicago Bar Association’s Alta May Hulett Award for her contributions to the advancement of women.
Frances M. Green is a Member of Epstein Becker & Green PC in the Labor and Employment practice in the firm's New York and Miami offices, and is co-head of the firm's nationwide Women's Initiative. Ms. Green is a trial lawyer, counselor and motivational trainer. She has studied and worked in Japan as a nun and is conversant in Japanese. In her capacity as a management employment attorney, she has been a featured speaker before the Keidanren (Japan Federation of Economic Organizations) in Tokyo and Osaka, the Japan Society and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the subject of corporate localization in the United States and the attendant legal issues in managing American employees. Ms. Green lectures frequently to corporate executives throughout the United States and overseas, and has authored numerous articles published worldwide on the issues of employment discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and related litigation. She has been quoted as a case commentator in The New York Times and various trade and professional journals on employment litigation.
Venu Gupta joined the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms as the organization's Executive Director in January 2006. Prior to joining the Chicago Committee, Ms. Gupta was the Director of Diversity Education & Outreach at Northwestern University School of Law. Through her experiences in law school administration, private practice and non-profit organizations, she brings a working knowledge of the Chicago legal community and law firms on issues of diversity. Ms. Gupta received her Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1999. Subsequently, she was a law clerk for the Honorable David H. Coar of the Northern District of Illinois.
Helise Harrington is a partner and Director of Diversity at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal LLP. Ms.Harrington’s full-time responsibility is assisting the firm in developing and implementing its diversity initiative. Among other duties, she monitors adherence to the firm’s Diversity Plan. Ms. Harrington works in concert with the office’s recruiting and diversity committees to identify and improve the firm’s opportunities to recruit and train underrepresented attorneys, which upholds clients’ expectations of the firm with respect to diversity. Ms. Harrington designs and facilitates seminars and workshops for attorneys and staff that promote a basic awareness and understanding of the issues and challenges facing underrepresented attorneys. This allows Ms. Harrington to provide confidential guidance to attorneys on diversity issues. She is also a frequent speaker on topics related to diversity and the legal profession. Until 2004, Ms. Harrington practiced in the corporate, securities, finance and venture capital areas, with a concentration in mergers, acquisitions and securities work. Prior to starting at the firm in 2000, Ms. Harrington was associated with Cooperman Levitt Winikoff Lester & Newman, Parker Duryee Rosoff & Haft and Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy. She began her legal career as a law clerk for the Hon. John R. Bartels, senior district court judge for the Eastern District of New York.
Lindsay C. Harrison is an associate in Jenner & Block’s Washington, DC office. She is a member of the Firm’s Appellate & Supreme Court Practice, Entertainment & New Media Practice, and Election & Redistricting Law Practice. Earlier this year, Ms. Harrison was counsel of record and argued on behalf of the Petitioner in the United States Supreme Court in Nken v. Holder , a case concerning the standard for stays of deportation in immigration appeals. She is currently counsel of record on behalf of the Petitioner in the United States Supreme Court in Kucana v. Holder , a case concerning the jurisdiction of the federal courts of appeals to hear appeals from the immigration courts. She has also authored numerous amicus curiae briefs in the United States Supreme Court. As a summer associate, she was a member of the Firm’s litigation team that successfully petitioned for a writ of certiorari and obtained reversal of the lower court’s decision in the landmark civil rights case, Lawrence v. Texas. She is also representing death penalty defendant Bill Raulerson in a federal habeas case in federal district court which is challenging Georgia's burden of proof for mental retardation in a death penalty case and Kifah Jayyousi, co-defendant of Jose Padilla, in his direct appeal to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Harrison obtained her B.A. in Political Science, Gender Studies, and Cinema-Television from the University of Southern California and her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she graduated cum laude . From 2003-2005, she clerked for the Honorable Alan S. Gold on the Southern District of Florida, and in 2006, she clerked for the Honorable Rosemary Barkett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Janaan Hashim is a partner at Amal Law Group, LLC practicing criminal defense and civil rights law. The firm marks itself as the first firm in the U.S. founded by six Muslim women. In her role as partner, Janaan is Director of Human Resources in which her responsibilities range from recruiting highly qualified legal interns to managing support staff. Prior to establishing the firm, Janaan briefly practiced at the Office of the State Appellate Defender as an assistant defender representing indigent criminal defendants in offenses ranging from simple theft to first degree murder. Janaan graduated magna cum laude and With Distinction from Mary Baldwin College with a double major in communications-broadcasting and sociology-social work, and cum laude from DePaul University College of Law. Janaan is married to pediatric cardiologist Ra-id Abdulla, a professor at Rush University, and is kept on her toes by her three teenage children: Muhammed, Zaineb, and Maryem.
Julianne Hartzell is a partner at Marshall, Gerstein & Borun in Chicago. She is an intellectual property litigator. Her practice includes patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation, as well as client counseling in these areas. Ms. Hartzell studied mechanical and biomedical engineering. She has handled cases involving a variety of technologies, including medical devices, consumer products, automotive components, internet technology, and pharmaceuticals. Ms. Hartzell is also a patent attorney, admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Cheryl Rich Heisler is the president and founder of LAWTERNATIVES, a Chicago-based career consulting firm advising lawyers and other professionals exploring career paths inside, outside and around the law. Ms. Heisler graduated from the University of Illinois College of Communications in 1980 with Highest Honors and received her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 1983. She practiced corporate law for three years with the law firm of Katten Muchin Zavis in Chicago before leaving the practice of law to pursue a career in brand management with Kraft, Inc. There she contributed to the marketing efforts of such well-known brands as Parkay™ Margarine and Kraft Real Mayonnaise™. Since forming LAWTERNATIVES in 1988, Ms. Heisler has consulted with individual clients at all stages of their careers and has lectured to both legal and non-legal audiences on a wide variety of career- related topics. Ms. Heisler has been quoted in numerous business, legal and popular publications, is frequently interviewed on radio and TV as a career expert and consults and lectures at law schools across the country on “Exploring Alternative Careers” and related topics
Deborah Epstein Henry is Founder and President of Flex-Time Lawyers LLC, a ten-year old national consulting firm advising on work/life balance, retaining and promoting women, and law firm structure. She is a trained commercial litigator turned consultant. Debbie has spoken at hundreds of programs to thousands of lawyers, providing attendees with career guidance, education, networking opportunities and information to effect change. Debbie has garnered extensive press coverage from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The National Law Journal, Los Angeles Times, among numerous others. In a partnership with the NYC Bar, she released as the principal author in 2006 "The Cheat Sheet," the ultimate guide to selecting, creating and ensuring a woman- friendly employer. She has also teamed up with Working Mother magazine to conduct a national survey and release an annual list of Best Law Firms for Women. In 2008, she was featured by The New York Times for FACTS, a new work/life methodology she developed giving work/life choices to all law firm lawyers. In 2009, she launched with others a new initiative called Balanomics, bringing work/life balance into the diversity discussion and making the economic link between work/life balance and employer profitability. Debbie is the Legal Industry Advisor to the "Hidden Brain Drain" Task Force for the Center for Work-Life Policy. She is a Liaison to the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession and a consultant to the New York State Bar Association Committee for Lawyers in Transition.
Christine Heri is a Senior Trial Attorney with the United States Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor in Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Heri has been with the Office of the Solicitor for 18 years and has litigated cased involving the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, USERRA and the Fair Labor Standards Act. Ms. Heri received her law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1990. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Augustana College.
Karen E. Hernandez is a corporate associate in the San Diego, CA office of Cooley Godward Kronish LLP. Ms. Hernandez received a J.D. with a specialization in Business Law from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was the Editor in Chief of the UCLA Women’s Law Journal. She has a Masters of Business Administration from Auburn University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the United States Military Academy, in West Point, New York. Prior to law school, Ms. Hernandez served as a captain in the United States Army and commanded two companies. Ms. Hernandez was one of the founders of Ms. JD, a nonprofit aimed at promoting the success of women in the legal profession and is currently an officer and member of the board of directors of Ms. JD. Ms. Hernandez is active member of the Lawyers Club of San Diego, the women's bar association in San Diego, and serves as co-chair of the Lawyers Club Balance Campaign committee. Ms. Hernandez is also the co-chair of the Cooley San Diego Commission on the Retention and Advancement of Women Lawyers (C.R.A.W.L), the women's affinity group in her office.
Kelly Hoey is currently serving as President of 85 Broads LLC. She previously served as the Manager of Alumni Programmes at White & Case LLP. In this global role, Kelly advises the Firm on its alumni relations initiative and is responsible for designing and implementing the Firm's alumni outreach and online networking strategy. From 2004 to 2008, Kelly was the Manager of Professional Development, Americas at White & Case, and in this role she was responsible for a broad range of talent initiatives ranging from integrating new/lateral associates into the Firm, consulting and designing programs addressing ongoing career development and advancement issues for associates, the Firm's upward review process, annual performance reviews to designing programming and retreats for the Firm's Women's Initiative, including a maternity leave coaching program for U.S.-based associates. Prior to moving into law firm management, Kelly was a corporate associate. She is an alum of three law firms - Sidley Austin in New York, and Osler Hoskin and Miller Thomson in Toronto, Ontario. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia Law School. Kelly sits on the board of Girls Educational & Mentoring Services (GEMS) and is vice-chair of the board of inMotion, both New York City based not-for-profits.
Patricia Brown Holmes , a former state court trial judge, is a partner in the Chicago office of Schiff Hardin LLP. She chairs the firm’s White Collar Criminal Litigation Section. She frequently conducts corporate internal investigations as well as counsels corporations in compliance matters. She currently represents state and local agencies and high-profile individuals in a wide variety of matters involving the federal, state and local government. She also participates in the firm's general and complex litigation practices. She is a veteran state and federal trial attorney with substantial appellate experience, having been a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, and Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel. Ms. Holmes is a frequent guest speaker and is an active leader in numerous bar associations and civic activities. She also has received several awards and commendations for her service to the bar and community.
The Honorable Arnette R. Hubbard is a trial judge in the Law/Jury Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago. Judge Hubbard has served the court in various capacities since 1997. Her private practice included 15 years as a criminal defense lawyer, followed by years as a civil litigator. She also served as a Cable Commissioner and as an Election Commissioner for the City of Chicago. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute. Judge Hubbard is a 2009 recipient of the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award from the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession.
Joni S. Jacobsen is a partner in Katten Muchin Rosenman's Litigation Practice. Ms. Jacobsen’s practice is focused on the defense of publicly traded companies and their directors and officers in securities actions, directors’ and officers’ liability actions, SEC investigations, corporate governance disputes and other complex commercial litigation. She has substantial experience counseling and conducting internal investigations for public and private companies, boards of directors and special committees. Ms. Jacobsen serves as Co-Chair for Katten's Chicago Women's Leadership Forum and also serves on the Women's Leadership Forum's National Committee . She served on the Steering Committee for the Coalition for Women’s Initiatives in Law Firms, and serves on the Coalition’s Policy Committee. Ms. Jacobsen is a member of the Women’s Board of the American Cancer Society and was the 2009 Chair of the organization’s 24 th Annual Fashion Show and Luncheon. Ms. Jacobsen also is a member of the Hubbard Street Dance Company’s Board of Directors.
Elizabeth Jolliffe is a career management and business development coach for lawyers and other professionals. She founded her coaching practice after being a partner, a former recruiting committee chair and commercial litigator at a large Detroit-based firm, Clark Hill PLC, for 19 years. Elizabeth helps her clients build their practices, take charge of their careers and reach their full professional potential. She is a director-at-large for the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, and an officer of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, the WLAM-Wayne Region and the State Bar of Michigan’s Law Practice Management Council. She is also a co-leader of the Lawyers Niche, a community of 165 coaches in the U.S. and other countries who work with lawyers. Elizabeth is a 1986 graduate of the University of Michigan and 1989 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School.
Sharon Jones is a diversity consultant who specializes in providing diversity/inclusion consulting, coaching and training to law firms, corporations and other types of organizations. She is the President of Jones Diversity Group, LLC. Ms. Jones has served as an Assistant United States Attorney based in Chicago. In private law practice, she was a partner at Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert & Matz and Of Counsel at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe in Los Angeles. In the corporate sector, Ms. Jones managed litigation matters worldwide for Abbott Laboratories. She has also served as Senior Counsel at SBC Communications. Ms. Jones is co-author of a guide published by the American Bar Association in May 2004 entitled, “Walking the Talk: Creating a Law Firm Culture Where Women Succeed” which deals with the retention and promotion of women in law firms. Ms. Jones is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College.
Susan Kaplan is the Director of the Community Economic Development Law Project of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law, a pro bono law program providing legal counsel to community based organizations involved in community economic development and low-income housing development in distressed areas of the city. Susan is a 1976 graduate of DePaul University College of Law and was recognized as a distinguished alumnus in 2000. She has received several awards in recognition of her service to the legal profession including the Thomas H. Morsch Award from the Chicago Bar Foundation and the Esther R. Rothstein Award from the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois. In addition she has received awards from several nonprofit community organizations in Chicago. Prior to her work with the Law Project she was a criminal defense attorney with the Office of the State Appellate Defender and the Criminal Defense Consortium of Cook County. She has had a wide range of experience laboring on behalf of the indigent and has worked as the Director of the Law Project since its inception in 1985.
Elena Kaspi , JD, MSW, ACC is a certified, highly trained and experienced Executive Career Coach who specializes in Professional Development and Leadership Coaching for lawyers in both the public and private sectors. Elena received her B.A. from Princeton University and she received her J.D. from The Georgetown University Law Center. She graduated with a Masters in Clinical Social Work from New York University and completed a Fellowship in Psychoanalysis through the New York University Psychoanalytic Institute. She is an Associate Certified Career Coach through the International Coaching Federation and she is a member of the International Coaching Federation and the New York Chapter of the International Coaching Federation. She is an active member of the Committee on Career Advancement and Management of Association of the Bar of City of New York, the Committee for Women in the Law for the New York State Bar Association, the subcommittee on Lawyers in Transition for the New York State Bar Association and a member of the Honorary Advisory Board of Pace Law School, New Directions Programs. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of inMotion, LLC. Additionally she is a frequent writer, speaker, panelist and media expert on topics related to workplace dynamics, legal career issues, career success and professional development. Kathryn Kelly is an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Kate graduated from DePaul University College of Law in 1993, where she served as Symposium Editor of the DePaul Law Review and was a member of the National Trial Team. She then clerked for two years for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Kate has published two lead law review articles focusing on the First Amendment. Following her clerkship, Kate joined the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s office. Her practice as an AUSA includes the defense of Title VII and tort actions, Food and Drug Administration seizures, and affirmative civil fraud litigation. She has tried many cases to verdict, both jury and bench trials. Kate is past chair of the ISBA Standing Committees on Government Lawyers, Federal Civil Practice, Legal Education, and Women and the Law. She currently serves on ISBA’s Diversity Task Force. Additionally, she has performed in the CBA Christmas Spirit production for 16 yrs. Kate has been teaching Law and Public Policy at DePaul University’s School of Public Service for 9 years.
Jennifer Kenedy is a partner at Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP and is Co-Chair of the firm’s Board of Directors. She has been with the firm since graduating from Northwestern University School of Law in 1993 and concentrates her practice on commercial litigation. Jennifer co-founded the Women’s Initiative at Lord Bissell & Brook [LBB] in 2004 and since LBB’s merger on October 1, 2007, co-chairs the Women’s Initiative at Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP. Jennifer is national non-compete and trade secret protection counsel for Fidelity Investments, as well as other insurance and consulting clients. Jennifer mediates, arbitrates and tries cases on behalf of clients nationwide. Her experience as national counsel covers all aspects of litigation from supervising complex discovery and attending mediations and arbitrations to trying cases and briefing and arguing state and federal court appeals. She has never lost a trial or appeal. Jennifer sits on the Board of Directors of the Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Chicago. Jennifer recently served as a panelist for the Mealey's-sponsored seminars, “Women Achieving Leadership In A Law Firm” and “Women Achieving Partnership In A Law Firm” as well as for LexisNexis’ Women in the Legal Profession Summit. She is one of six attorneys featured in the June, 2009 issue of Chicago Lawyer Magazine in the cover story “The Next Generation Leaders” and in the June, 2008 issue of Chicago Lawyer Magazine in the roundtable discussion entitled “Combining Firms to Create a New Enterprise” concerning law firm mergers. Jennifer was also featured in the April, 2009 issue of Today’s Chicago Woman Magazine article “Taking it to the Greens”, an article about professional women mastering golf to help them succeed in business. She currently Chairs the Board of Directors for The Fairway Network, a nonprofit golf networking organization for businesswomen.
Kearney W. Kilens is a Partner with the national law firm of Litchfield Cavo LLP. She received her undergraduate degree from Denison University in 1982 and her law degree from the DePaul University, College of Law in 1985. Kearney is an experienced litigator concentrating in the defense of management in labor and employment matters. She is admitted to practice in Illinois, the Federal trial bar of the Northern District of Illinois and the Central District of Illinois, the Northern District of Texas, and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She has tried several cases to verdict, including suits for retaliatory discharge and various tort and contract claims. Additionally, she hasauthored and argued many successful Motions for Summary Judgment and Appeals in Federal and State Courts as well as successfully defended Charges of Discrimination with the EEOC, IDHR, Chicago Commission on Human Rights and comparable agencies in other States. Kearney’s practice also includes client counseling and in-house training to develop and implement effective employment practices.
Frank Kimball , the owner of Kimball Professional Management has interviewed, hired, placed, or counseled more than 9,500 law students and attorneys. Frank was a partner with McDermott, Will & Emery from 1986-1992 and was the firm’s national hiring partner in 1990-1992. He has placed partners and associates with more than thirty firms. He has provided consulting and training services and spoken at retreats for twenty leading firms. Since 1992, he has spoken at nine NALP Annual Conferences and has presented dozens of programs to hiring partners and recruiting professionals in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Philadelphia. Frank has presented more than 60 programs to students at Chicago, DePaul, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Illinois, Indiana, Loyola Chicago, Michigan, Northwestern, NYU, Virginia, and Washington & Lee. A 1977 Michigan graduate, he won the Campbell Moot Court Competition, was a Comment Editor of the JOURNAL OF LAW REFORM , and a Senior Writing Instructor. He graduated magna cum laude from U.C.L.A. and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Deborah Knupp has worked globally with CEOs, executives, managing partners and attorneys as a coach, consultant and business executive for nearly 20 years. She is the founder and Managing Partner of Akina. Akina is a national consulting and training firm based in Chicago that helps organizations rethink how to sell and lead though creating and sustaining relationships. Prior to Akina, Deb was an executive in sales and human resources in high-tech professional service firms and at Alcan Packaging, Frito-Lay, and Pearle Vision. She graduated with a B.S. and Senior Fellows honors in Organizational Communication from The University of Texas at Austin.
Andrea S. Kramer is a partner in the international law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP. She is based in its Chicago office and is a member of its Tax Department. Andie is head of McDermott’s Financial Products, Trading and Derivatives Group, is co-chair of its Energy Services Group, and is a member of its Global Renewable Energy, Emissions and New Products Group. She is a member of the firm's Management Committee and is chair of its Gender Diversity Committee. She previously served on the firm’s five-person Compensation Committee. Andie has committed herself to improving gender diversity in law firms and professional service firms. She played a leading role in developing the Chicago Bar Association’s “Call to Action,” a program designed to increase employment and advancement opportunities for women lawyers. In 2006, Andie co-founded the Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Alliance (WLMA) to bring professional women in Chicago together to network, mentor, and support leadership opportunities for younger women. Andie is a founding board member and chair of the board of The Women’s Treatment Center (TWTC), a Chicago-based residential and outpatient treatment facility for alcohol and substance abuse. Andie recently joined the board (and currently serves on the Executive Committee) of the Chicago Foundation for Women, one of the largest women’s funds in the world, which is dedicated to the principle that all women and girls should have the opportunity to realize their full potential and live in safe, just, and healthy communities. She is a former member of the board of directors of DanceArt, an organization providing dance and communication training to at-risk children in Chicago. As an undergraduate at University of Illinois, Andie was Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated summa cum laude and with high distinction in history. While in law school at Northwestern University School of Law, she was a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology and graduated cum laude.
Julie LaEace is the Firmwide Pro Bono Manager for Kirkland & Ellis LLP. After graduating from Notre Dame Law School in 1998, she specialized in employment litigation and employee benefits at two large Chicago law firms before transitioning to law firm management. Prior to joining Kirkland, LaEace focused on business development at Baker & McKenzie. She serves as secretary of the Board of Directors for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
Catherine Lamboley , retired Sr. Vice President and General Counsel of Shell Oil Company, graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Texas School of Law. Cathy joined Shell in 1979, and, with the exception of three years as Vice President of Commercial Marketing in Shell's Oil Products business, spent her career in the Shell Legal organization. Cathy's commitment to issues concerning opportunity and inclusiveness is reflected by her participation on the Board of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and as a past Chair of its Board of Directors, her service on the American Bar Association's Racial and Ethnic Diversity Commission and her current service on the Commission on Women. She is a founder and member of the Executive Committee of the Center for Women in Law, University of Texas School of Law.
The Hon. Joan Humphrey Lefkow was appointed by President Bill Clinton on September 1, 2000 as a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to this appointment, she served as United States Bankruptcy Judge and United States Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Illinois. Before joining the judiciary she was Executive Director of the Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation, an instructor at the University of Miami Law School, an Administrative Law Judge and Chief Judge for administrative hearings before the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commission, and an attorney with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago. She has served as the co-chair for the Chicago Bar Association’s Alliance for Women; as an Advisory Committee member for the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University Law School and that school’s Dean’s Advisory Committee on Community and Diversity. She received the 2008 Founders Award from the CBA’s Alliance for Women, was twice awarded the Judiciary Award by the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, and in 2006 received its distinguished Judge Mary Heftel Hooton Award. Judge Lefkow has a bachelor of arts degree from Wheaton College (Illinois), a juris doctor degree from Northwestern University School of Law, and a doctor of laws (honorary) from John Marshall Law School. Finally, Judge Lefkow is the proud mother of four fabulous daughters, who keep her on her best behavior most of the time.
Karen M. Lockwood, a retired partner from Howrey LLP with 31 years of trial and federal appeals practice, founded The Lockwood Group, LLP in 2009 to advise law firms, corporate counsel, and other legal organizations on advancing women and diverse lawyers. Committed to inclusiveness and the power of all lawyers to realize their full potential, Karen has furthered these principles throughout her career practicing law. At Howrey, she served as Global Co-Chair of the Women’s Leadership Initiative, expanding the missions and activities of the group. As President of the DC Women’s Bar Association in 2005-06, Karen conceived the WBA Initiative on Advancement and Retention of Women to bring stakeholders into intensive exchange analyzing why the best practices were not good enough. Earning the attention of The New York Times, the Initiative published its findings in Creating Pathways To Success (May 2005)(www.wbadc.org), and continues as a model of collaborative change-making. As principal of The Lockwood Group, LLC, Karen advises clients on diversity through original research, strategic planning, group facilitation, and presentations in multiple venues where actions affect the careers of diverse lawyers. Ms. Lockwood is an ABA Delegate for the DC Bar, is Liaison with the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, and serves on the Editorial Board of Perspectives Magazine; she is a Consultant with PAR and participant in the inaugural UT Center For Women Summit. Karen teaches trial skills as program director for the DC NITA Intensive Trial Skills program, and in other NITA private and pro bono programs. She continues her work as an arbitral judge with the AAA Panel of Neutrals. The winner of the outstanding graduate awards at The College of Wooster, and at American University’s Washington College of Law, Karen has received numerous awards for her leadership and voice on women in the law, has had numerous media appearances, and is a frequent speaker at corporate, industry, and bar conferences.
Holly E. Loiseau is a litigation partner and a member of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP’s Complex Commercial Litigation and Product Liability practices in the Washington, DC office. Ms. Loiseau’s litigation practice is dynamic and diverse. She has litigated and tried cases in a variety of fields including, antitrust, trade regulation and false advertising, products liability, insurance coverage, tax, bankruptcy, contracts, healthcare and international trade. She has extensive experience litigating large consumer class actions and multi-jurisdictional cases for clients in various industries and has achieved significant victories for clients on motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment and oppositions to class certifications motions. She has represented and advised clients in grand jury proceedings and Congressional investigations. In addition, she counsels clients with respect to select government contracts issues. She is also the President Elect of the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia for 2009-2010.
Jennifer L. Long is Special Counsel at Duane Morris LLP where she practices in the area of employment litigation and preventative employment practices with clients ranging from closely held corporations to Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries. Her experience includes the successful defense and litigation of claims arising under federal and state discrimination laws, FLSA, FMLA, whistleblower retaliation and other employee claims, as well as providing counsel on employee policy development, implementation and training, restrictive covenant development and compliance, and global restructurings and reductions in force. Ms. Long is a summa cum laude graduate of the Valparaiso University School of Law, where she was note editor of the Valparaiso University Law Review, and a magna cum laude graduate of Valparaiso University.
Professor Andrea D. Lyon is a Clinical Professor of Law at DePaul University College of Law, and the Associate Dean for Clinical Programs Law and Director of the Center for Justice in Capital Cases. Professor Lyon graduated from Rutgers University, and from the Antioch School of Law. She first worked for the Cook County Public Defenders' Office, working in the felony trial division, post-conviction/habeas corpus unit, preliminary hearing/first municipal (misdemeanor) unit, and the appeals division. Her last position there was as Chief of the Homicide Task Force, a 22-lawyer unit representing persons accused of homicides. She has tried over 130 homicide cases, both while in the Public Defender's office and since. She has defended over thirty potential capital cases at the trial level and has taken nineteen through penalty phase; she has won all nineteen. In 1990 she founded the Illinois Capital Resource Center and served as its director until joining the University of Michigan Law School faculty as an Assistant Clinical Professor in 1995. A winner of the prestigious National Legal Aid and Defender Association's Reginald Heber Smith Award for best advocate for the poor in the country, she is a nationally recognized expert in the field of death penalty defense and a frequent continuing legal education teacher throughout the country. In 1998, she was awarded the “Justice for All” award at the National Conference on Wrongful Convictions and the Death Penalty. In 2003, she received the lifetime achievement award from the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In 2005 she received the president’s commendation from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for her death penalty work.
Lynette Lupia is a Senior Manager in Legal Operations in the Abbott Laboratories Legal Division, where she focuses training and development of attorneys and staff as well as division-wide communications and a variety of initiatives designed to measure and improve the performance of the Legal Division and its individual attorneys. She began her career practicing real estate law as an associate at Sonnenschein and Jones Day. She has also worked as an inhouse attorney for a startup hospital system and a regulatory attorney for the U.S. EPA. She has gained significant experience in counseling law students and lawyers on career-related issues through her work as an Assistant Director of Career Services at The John Marshall Law School and in the legal staffing industry. She is a graduate of University of Virginia and Northwestern University School of Law.
Amy B. Manning is a partner in the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Department at McGuireWoods LLP, and co-leads the firm’s Life Sciences Industry Team. She was the 2007-2008 Chairman, and 2006-2007 Vice Chairman of the Chicago Bar Association Antitrust Law Committee. Ms. Manning has handled antitrust matters in federal and state courts and arbitration tribunals throughout the United States. Her cases have involved allegations of price fixing, bid-rigging, market allocation, tying arrangements, cartels, monopolization, attempted monopolization, monopoly leveraging, Robinson-Patman Act claims, and antitrust conspiracies. Ms Manning also handles complex commercial litigation, class actions, health care litigation, and intellectual property disputes. She has designed and implemented national and international compliance programs, and has spoken and written on antitrust, compliance, high-profile litigation and e-discovery issues. Ms. Manning obtained her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1992, where she won the Hinton Moot Court competition before Justice Antonin Scalia. She obtained her B.A. in biology, summa cum laude from Monmouth College in 1989. She was named to Lawdragon’s 500 New Stars, New Worlds list and Lawdragon's 3000 Leading Lawyers in America. She also received the National Association of Women Business Owners 2006 Corporate Woman of Achievement Award. Ms. Manning was voted an Illinois “Super Lawyer” in the area of Business Litigation in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Christina L. Martini is a partner with DLA Piper. She is Vice Chair of the Chicago Intellectual Property Practice Group and is a member of the Policy Committee. Ms. Martini focuses her practice in domestic and international trademark and copyright law, as well as domain name, Internet, advertising, unfair competition and entertainment law. Ms. Martini is the Co-Hiring Partner of DLA Piper's Chicago office, and for over four years, she served as the office's Hiring Partner. She was recently appointed as DLA Piper's first ombudsperson to support the diversity and inclusion efforts and, in particular, for the LGBT community. Ms. Martini sits on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms, and she serves on the Board of Managers of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago. She is a member of the Chicago Committee on Women's Initiatives in Law Firms and sits on its Policy Committee. In June 2009, Chicago Lawyer magazine featured Ms. Martini in its article "The Next Generation of Leaders," as one of a small group of "leaders of the future" who "go above and beyond practicing law because they care about what their firm looks like today and will look like in the future." Ms. Martini received her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 1994 and her B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Michele Coleman Mayes received her B.A. degree and J.D. from the University of Michigan. Mayes taught as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois and then as an Adjunct Professor of Civil Trial Advocacy at Wayne State University in Detroit. Mayes served in the United States Department of Justice from 1976 to 1982 as Assistant United States Attorney in Detroit and Brooklyn, eventually assuming the role of Chief of the Civil Division in Detroit. In 1982, Mayes entered the corporate sector as managing attorney of the Burroughs Corporation, later Unisys Corporation, where she served as staff vice president and associate general counsel for Worldwide Litigation during her tenure. In 1992, Mayes joined the Colgate-Palmolive Company where she served in various positions, including vice president, legal and assistant secretary, and a corporate officer. Two years later, she accepted the position of senior vice president and general counsel at Pitney Bowes. In 2007, Mayes was named vice president and general counsel of The Allstate Corporation and senior vice president and general counsel for Allstate Insurance Company. Mayes is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Margaret Brent Award and The Trailblazer Award. She was also named one of America's top black lawyers by Black Enterprise in 2003. In 2009, Michele was recognized as one of the most Influential General Counsels in America by The National Law Journal.
Megan Healy McClung works from home, where she raises her twin two-year-old boys, serves as General Counsel for the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and teaches the spring trial advocacy class at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Ms. McClung is an accomplished trial lawyer from her years as an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago Law Department, Torts Division. There, she defended the City of Chicago in a variety of liability and personal injury related matters. In the past, she also prosecuted building and land use violations on behalf of the City, and litigated real estate, employment and commercial matters while in private practice. She is currently a member of the Board of Managers of the Chicago Bar Association. In 2006-2007, she served as Chair of the Young Lawyers Section of the CBA. She has also served on the Chicago Bar Foundation Board of Directors and CBA Strategic Planning Committee, and continues to write as a Editorial Board member of the CBA Record since 2002. Ms. McClung earned her J.D., magna cum laude, in 1998 from Northern Illinois University College of Law, where she was a “Notes and Comment” Editor of the NIU Law Review, a Graduate Assistant for the NIU Student's Legal Assistance Office and recipient of the 1998 NIU Outstanding Woman Student Award. She received her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1995.
Mercedes K. Meyer , Ph.D. is a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. She provides strategic intellectual property counseling to clients in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology areas, including domestic and foreign companies of all sizes. Dr. Meyer’s practice focuses on patent prosecution, transactions and asset management, which extends to due diligence investigations and the preparation of validity, infringement and freedom to operate opinions regarding biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents. She has also been involved in patent interferences, and provides strategic advice on structuring interferences. Dr. Meyer received her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Bryn Mawr College in 1988 and her Ph.D. in virology from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1994. She earned her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1996. In October 2009, Mercedes will join the Board of Directors of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA); she is the past chairperson of the Women in IP Law Committee (2005-2007), past vice chair of the Biotechnology Committee (2007-2009). As former chairperson of the Women in IP Committee, she helped start a professional women’s book club to enable women to become more successful in their careers, and helped organize a yearly women in IP dinner with over 700 women participating in over 17 cities in the United States and Canada.
Lee I. Miller is the Joint Chief Executive Officer of DLA Piper and a member of DLA Piper's Executive Committee and Global Board. For nearly 30 years, Mr. Miller has concentrated his practice in the area of commercial real estate law. Mr. Miller has lectured extensively before bar, trade, and professional associations on a variety of topics. For the past several years, he has served as co-chair of NorthStar Conferences LLC, law firm management programs that focus on numerous law firm leadership topics including compensation structures, mergers, and management. Mr. Miller has received significant accolades for his devotion to community service. In 2008, he received the Arthur Goldberg Social Justice Award from the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, recognizing his leadership in advocating on behalf of some of Chicago's most vulnerable populations. Mr. Miller is a President's Club Member of The Real Estate Roundtable, a real estate organization that brings together leaders of top real estate firms and trade associations to address key national policy issues relating to real estate and the overall economy. Mr. Miller received his both his B.A. and J.D. from Georgetown University.
Tonya Wilkes Moore is the founder and Principal of The Benefits Compliance Group, based in Chicago. Tonya advises clients on a wide variety of qualified plan issues. Prior to starting The Benefits Compliance Group, Tonya was a member of The Employee Benefits Department at McDermott Will & Emery LLP based in the firm's Chicago office. In addition, she worked as a consultant for ABN AMRO Trust Services Company and the Principal Financial Group in Chicago. Tonya is an Adjunct Professor in John Marshall’s Employee Benefits LLM program. She an officer of the AIDS Legal Council of Greater Chicago and Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. Tonya received her L.L.M. in Employee Benefits from John Marshall Law School, her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin, and her B.A. from DePaul University. Tonya is admitted to practice in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Michael Morkin is a partner in Baker & McKenzie's Global Dispute Resolution Practice Group focusing on international arbitration and litigation, including the cross-border enforcement of court judgments and arbitral awards. Mr. Morkin has represented domestic and foreign based companies in arbitration proceedings pending in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and throughout the United States under most of the major arbitration rules. His representative matters include the successful arbitration of construction, intellectual property, energy, post-acquisition, reinsurance, shipping, sports, unfair competition and other commercial disputes. Mr. Morkin is a frequent author and speaker on arbitration and other international disputes topics. His successful representation of clients has led to numerous honors including the Law Bulletin Publishing Company's 40 Under 40 Illinois Attorney's to Watch (2000), Who’s Who Legal, Illinois in area of Arbitration (2008), Best Lawyers in America, in International Arbitration (since 2006), one of 19 Illinois Super Lawyers practicing in the International area (2005), Augustana College's Finest Under 40 Recipient (2001), Leading Illinois Attorneys in the area of International Business Law (1997), and featured by the National Law Journal in "Standouts: Leading Litigators Who Appear Regularly Before the 7th Circuit" (May 21, 2001). Mr. Morkin also serves as the Talent Management Partner on the Management Committee for Baker & McKenzie’s Chicago Office. He received his J.D. degree from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1990 (magna cum laude , Order of the Coif, Administrative Editor Law Review) and his A.B. degree in Mathematics/Computer Science and Physics from Augustana College in 1987.
Michelle Nasser has worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago since 2003. She is currently an AUSA in the Financial Crimes and Special Prosecution Section. In addition, since November 2008, she has been an Acting Deputy Chief in the General Crimes Section. In her six years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she has been involved in a wide variety of investigations and prosecutions, including all types of fraud cases (including bank, mail, wire, tax, mortgage, bankruptcy, healthcare, document, credit card, computer and insurance fraud). She also has been involved in investigations and prosecutions of embezzlement, money laundering, alien smuggling, identity theft, copyright infringement, theft of trade secrets, RICO, VICAR, public corruption, bank robbery, Hobbs Act robbery, arson, narcotics, firearms trafficking, Project Safe Neighborhood cases, terrorism, computer crime, civil rights violations, child pornography, perjury and obstruction of justice. Michelle has successfully prosecuted over 55 cases involving over 110 defendants. She has tried nine federal criminal cases to jury verdict, and prevailed in each of them, and she has successfully briefed and argued eight appeals in the Seventh Circuit. Before becoming an AUSA, Michelle was an associate at Jenner and Block. Prior to working at Jenner and Block, she was a judicial law clerk to the Honorable James H. Alesia, United States District Court Judge in the Northern District of Illinois. Michelle received her J.D. from Washington University Law School, and her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Sheila Nielsen is a leader in the field of career counseling for attorneys. She is both a social worker and an attorney. She received her masters of social science degree from Bryn Mawr, and her J.D. from Temple University School of Law. Ms. Nielsen is the founder of a counseling and executive coaching business for attorneys, Nielsen Consulting Service. Ms. Nielsen assists lawyers to assess careerpath options both inside and outside the legal field, to conduct effective job searches, to develop alternative work-time options, and to enhance career development within the law. One of Ms. Nielsen's particular areas of expertise is helping lawyers who have been "stuck for years" to overcome their ambivalence. She also has expertise helping lawyers who face difficult situations or decisions at work, problematic bosses, or other politcally complex situations to make strategic, career-enhancing decisions. Ms. Nielsen has written and spoken extensively about career issues for attorneys. Her articles have appeared in numerous trade journals for attorneys: Illinois Legal Times, Illinois State Bar Assn Journal, Legal Times in Washington, D.C., Detroit Legal News, Florida Bar Journal, and others.
Linda Oliver serves as Hogan & Hartson’s Associate Development Partner. She is responsible for supervising the firm’s individualized associate professional development and mentoring program across all of the firm’s practice areas and offices worldwide. Previously, Linda was a partner in the firm’s communications practice group, where her practice emphasized telecommunications industry regulation. Linda joined Hogan & Hartson after a long career with the FCC, where she served as legal advisor to Commissioner Ervin S. Duggan and as a senior trial attorney in the Litigation Division of the Office of General Counsel at the FCC.
Peter R. Olson is an Illinois attorney and the founder of The Law Office of Peter R. Olson located in Chicago. He’s in his 8th year as an Illinois family law attorney, advocating on behalf of individuals, families, and children during dissolution of marriage and parentage cases involving child custody, child support, and intricate property issues. He blogs about law practice management issues at SoloinChicago.com . He’s a graduate of both Winona State (MN) and Southern Illinois universities.
Dr. Ellen Ostrow is founding principal of Lawyers Life Coach, Inc., a firm specializing in leadership, business development and career coaching for lawyers and consultation to legal employers. Ellen’s practice is focused on helping women overcome barriers to their career advancement without compromising the quality of their lives. Ellen’s email newsletter, Beyond the Billable Hour , has been reprinted by bar and women’s bar associations throughout the country and she has been invited by the ABA, NAWL,NALP and numerous other legal industry groups to address their members about the how women lawyers can succeed professional while achieving work-life integration. Ellen has been quoted by the NY Times, the Washington Post, The Legal Times, the ABA Journal, Lawyers USA, NY Law Journal, The Complete Lawyer and PINK Magazine. She is a contributing author for NY Law Journal Magazine, NAWL’s Women Lawyers’ Journal, Perspectives, The Complete Lawyer, and other legal publications. Ellen has a Ph.D. in psychology and is a Certified MentorCoach ™.
Marcia Owens is a partner in the Business Transactions Department at Wildman Harrold. Marcia represents clients in all aspects of real estate, from development and leasing to construction and finance. She has experience in office, industrial and mixed use transactions, but has a particular concentration in retail development and leasing, representing developers, owners, investors, brokers and property managers in all aspects of a transaction. Marcia has extensive experience in real estate acquisition and disposition, including vacant, improved or income-producing assets, complex debt and equity financing, retail leasing, including the negotiation of leases with national department stores, big box retailers, junior anchors, grocery stores and national small shop tenants, and the drafting and negotiation of complex development and reciprocal easement agreements, as well as listing and property management agreements. Chair of her firm's Women's Initiative, she is also a member of the Executives' Club of Chicago, the International Council of Shopping Centers, and the Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law Firms in Chicago (Board of Directors and Subcommittee Co-chair for Community Outreach). She received her J.D. (Order of the Coif) and B.B.A. from the University of Iowa.
José D. Padilla is Vice President and General Counsel of DePaul University. Mr. Padilla joined DePaul in May, 2005 and works closely with DePaul’s Board of Trustees, its President, Provost, Executive Vice President and other officers. He directs an office of seven attorneys, six of whom are women, drawn from some of the best law schools in the nation and from some of the best law firms in Chicago. Together they provide advice and counsel on a myriad of legal issues. Mr. Padilla has sixteen years experience working with federal issues in Washington, DC. From 1990 to 1993, he was a lawyer/legislative assistant to the late Senator Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX). From 1993 to 1998, Mr. Padilla was a senior appointee in the Clinton Administration, serving as the Assistant Commissioner for Congressional and Public Affairs at the United States Customs Service. Mr. Padilla is a 1983 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and is licensed to practice law in Illinois and the District of Columbia. He is currently a board member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys and a director of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. He is a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
Lisa M. Passante is Corporate Counsel for E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, located in Wilmington, Delaware. Lisa joined DuPont in 1993, where she currently is General Counsel for DuPont Teijin Films, a joint venture that specializes in the production of innovative, high quality polyester films as well as lead counsel to DuPont Refinish, a major global presence in the supply of automotive and industrial coatings. In prior years she focused on the management of toxic tort, products liability and commercial litigation, and served in a special assignment to DuPont’s Government Affairs department. Lisa is the founder of the DuPont Women Lawyers’ Network, an organization consisting of women lawyers at DuPont and its outside primary law firms. The Network has been featured in numerous publications and was cited as a best practice in the 2001 Catalyst study “Women in Law”. Lisa holds the office of Secretary of the Executive Board of the National Association of Women Lawyers, and is chair of the 2009 NAWL General Counsel Institute.
The Honorable Angela Petrone is an Associate Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County. She was appointed to the bench in 2007 and currently sits in the Criminal Division where she hears all types of felony criminal cases. Judge Petrone was formerly an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, where she worked for 18 and a half years in various capacities, including as a first chair in a felony trial courtroom and in various supervisory positions. She has tried hundreds of bench trials and 91 jury trials, including double juries, a tripe jury, cases involving multiple victims, serial rapes, domestic violence cases, death penalty cases, and cases involving forensic evidence, such as pathology, prints, firearms, gunshot residue, handwriting analysis, and DNA. Judge Petrone was also an Assistant Cook County Public Defender and a Deputy Court Clerk in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. She is a native Chicagoan.
Jane DiRenzo Pigott is the Managing Director of R3 Group LLC, specializing in working with professional service organizations on leadership and change in connection with diversity and inclusion. Before founding R3 Group, Ms. Pigott practiced law for more than two decades at large law firms where she chaired a practice group, served on the executive management and compensation committees, and founded and ran diversity initiatives and affinity groups.
Kate Pomper is a Polikoff-Gautreaux Fellow at Business and Professional People for the Public Interest. As an attorney with BPI, Kate advocates for compassionate, just, and effective revitalization of Chicago's public housing communities and works on political reform in Illinois. She received her law degree from the University of Michigan in 2008 where she was a Dean’s Public Service Fellow and an Article Editor for the Journal of Law Reform. She also received a masters degree in public policy from the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. Kate was a Jefferson Scholar at the University of Virginia, graduating in 2001, Phi Beta Kappa, with a B.A. in Economics with High Distinction. Before attending the University of Michigan, Kate spent three years in D.C., working for two years as a research assistant with the Urban Institute, and one year as a policy fellow with the National Women’s Law Center.
Amy Leytem Pretty is the Attorney Recruiting Manager for the Chicago, New York, and Pittsburgh offices of McGuireWoods LLP. Prior to joining McGuireWoods, Ms. Pretty worked as a legal recruiting consultant and as an attorney with another large law firm. She currently serves as Vice President of the Chicago Association of Legal Personnel Administrators. She is a member of the Professional Advisory Board for the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms and the Midwest Region Representative for the 2009/2010 NALP Nominating Committee. Ms. Pretty earned her J.D. with distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law and her B.A. cum laude from Drake University.
Shelby Prusak is currently a faculty member at The Depaul University College of Law. She is there this year as a visiting clinical professor with the Misdemeanor Legal Clinic. After graduating from law school, she served as an assistant public defender in the Lake County Office of the Public Defender handling a wide variety of criminal matters. Soon thereafter, she joined the Cook County Public Defender's Office where she worked in a felony courtroom with a caseload involving serious criminal matters. While there, she accepted a position with the Homicide Task Force and represented individuals accused of homicide, including those facing the death penalty. Ms. Prusak has worked with both the Cook County Public Defender's Office and the Office of the State Appellate Defender to train young lawyers in all aspects of trial preparation. She has also taught trial advocacy as an adjunct faculty member at DePaul University. Since leaving the Public Defender's Office, she has been a partner at Prusak Law Group, a firm devoted to private representation of those charged in criminal matters. Ms. Prusak earned her BA from Syracuse University and her JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Adele Rapport has practiced as a management, plaintiff’s and government lawyer since 1980. Ms Rapport was a non-equity partner at Arnstein and Lehr (1980-1991) and Charfoos, Reiter, et al. from 1991-1993. Ms. Rapport was the Regional Attorney for the U.S. EEOC Detroit District office from 1993-2006. She was Senior Counsel at the Law Offices of Richard T. Seymour from June, 2006- April, 2008. Ms. Rapport now serves as the Chief Attorney for the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights here in Chicago. Ms. Rapport earned her J.D. from the University of Michigan following an undergraduate degree at the College of Wooster.
Arin Reeves has worked in the areas of racial/ethnic, gender, age/generational, sexual orientation, class, and cultural diversity in organizations for over fifteen years. She received her J.D. from University of Southern California and her Ph.D. in Sociology from Northwestern University where she led several comprehensive research projects on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In her practice as a consultant on diversity issues in the legal profession, she has personally worked with over one hundred law firms, almost 50 legal departments in Fortune 500 companies, dozens of law schools, and bar associations/organizations in every major legal market. Prior to founding The Athens Group, Arin gained valuable experience in the areas of discrimination, conflict resolution, and organizational effectiveness as an attorney practicing in the state of Illinois. Arin’s work with The Athens Group focuses primarily on diversity issues within law firms, corporate legal departments, legal work places in the public/government sector, law schools, and professional associations within the legal community. She has developed and implemented strategic plans and programming on recruitment, retention, attrition, promotion, mentoring, marketing and client development issues for attorneys and staff in these various arenas, and she has also researched and written on these issues extensively. Arin currently serves on the ABA Center for Racial & Ethnic Diversity, the umbrella organization for all of the ABA's racial and ethnic diversity entities. She previously served as a Council Member on the ABA Presidential Advisory Council on Diversity focusing on diversity issues in the talent pipeline, and she was a Commissioner on the ABA Commission on Women (2003-2006) where she chaired the Women of Color Research Initiative.
Allegra Rich is Seyfarth Shaw’s full-time Pro Bono and Philanthropy Partner. Ms. Rich directs Seyfarth Shaw’s overall pro bono program in the firm’s nine offices throughout the United States, ensuring that legal and staff support is provided to maintain pro bono commitments and identifying additional opportunities for volunteer legal representation. In addition, Ms. Rich oversees the firm's community service activities and manages the Seyfarth Shaw Charitable Foundation, through which attorneys and staff can suggest donations to qualified organizations on behalf of the firm. She works closely with the firm's attorneys and staff to identify regional and national community service and charitable giving opportunities in order to provide the greatest possible benefit to the communities in which Seyfarth does business and the greatest possible support of the charitable and volunteer efforts of the firm's attorneys and staff. Ms. Rich earned her J.D. at the University of Virginia (1995) and her B.A. from the University of Chicago, with honors (1992). In 2001 she was named one of the "40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 to Watch", and four years ago was identified as an "Illinois Super Lawyer."
Leslie Richards-Yellen is a bond attorney with experience as in–house counsel and in private practice who has closed bond deals all over the country. In addition to her public finance practice at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, Ms. Richards-Yellen serves as the Firm’s first Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Prior to relocating to Chicago, Ms. Yellen was associate general counsel with Vanguard where she provided legal services and analysis for the Fixed Income Group; she also served on several company initiatives including the Diversity Leadership and Training Committees and the Mentee Program. She is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers Steering Committee and sits on the boards of the Chicago Jesuit Academy and the Chicago Committee for Minorities in Large Law Firms. Leslie is a graduate of Cornell Law School.
Lauren Stiller Rikleen, the author of Ending the Gauntlet: Removing Barriers to Women’s Success in the Law, is the founder and Executive Director of the Bowditch Institute for Women’s Success. Through the Bowditch Institute, Lauren works with law firms and professional service organizations throughout the country to improve the retention and advancement of women in their workplace. Lauren is also an equity partner in the Real Estate and Environmental Law Practice Group of Bowditch & Dewey, LLP, where her practice includes mediating complex land use and environmental disputes. She has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America , Chambers USA America’s Leading Business Lawyers , Massachusetts Super Lawyers and is also the recipient of numerous honors and awards. Among her many professional and civic commitments, Lauren is a member of the American Bar Association’s Board of Governors and recently completed three years as a member of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. As the former president of the Boston Bar Association, Lauren created the Task-Force on Professional Challenges and Family Needs, which produced a nationally recognized report entitled: Facing the Grail – Confronting the Costs of Work/Family Imbalance . In addition to her consulting work through the Institute, Lauren is frequently published in national and international periodicals. Lauren is regularly requested to appear as a keynote speaker or participant in regional and national programs addressing women and workplace issues.
Michelle Rozovics is the founder and principal attorney of Rozovics Law Firm, LLC. Michelle J. Rozovics created the Rozovics Law Firm, LLC in order to demonstrate that attorneys can be caring, personable professionals while simultaneously providing zealous, quality and sophisticated legal services for business and individual clients. Rozovics Law Firm, LLC assists small and mid-market business owners in selecting and forming business entities, as well as drafting and negotiating contracts, agency and distribution agreements and business purchase documents. Ms. Rozovics represents both U.S. and foreign businesses in a wide variety of business litigation matters in state and federal courts. Ms. Rozovics is particularly interested in helping businesses with between one and 100 employees transition into the global marketplace. Prior to opening her own law firm, Ms. Rozovics obtained extensive experience as a litigator with large national law firms and a Fortune 500 insurance company. From 1996 until 1998, Ms. Rozovics was a visiting lecturer in law at universities in Katowice, Poland and Nizhni Novgorod, Russia, where she taught courses in European Union law, comparative and international law, U.S. contract law, and legal writing. Ms. Rozovics has spoken to lawyers and other professionals regarding international law, litigation practices and health care law. Ms. Rozovics received her B.A., with honors, from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where she taught courses in legal writing and served as a note editor for the Michigan Journal of International Law.
Stephanie A. Scharf is a partner with Schoeman, Updike, Kaufman and Scharf, one of the nation’s largest women-owned law firms. She heads the Firm’s Chicago office, which she opened in 2007. She is a member of the New York and Illinois bars and represents clients in complex litigation, including tort and class action defense, commercial disputes, insurance coverage, and employment defense. Stephanie has been honored by her peers with many awards, including being named as one of 500 leading litigators in the U.S. Stephanie is also active in national bar organizations. She is a former President of the National Association of Women Lawyers and currently is President of the newly formed NAWL Foundation. At NAWL, she started many initiatives, such as the Annual Survey on the Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms. Stephanie received a Ph.D. in Behavioral Sciences and a J.D. from the University of Chicago. Before joining her current firm, Stephanie was an associate and partner at Kirkland & Ellis and a partner at Jenner & Block. Stephanie is married to an attorney, Jeffry T. Mandell, and in the past year they have tried three jury trials together as co-counsel. They are the parents of two young adult children.
Lorraine Schmall is serves as a Professor of Law at Northern Illinois University. Professor Schmall received her B.A from the University of Illinois at Chicago, her M.A. from Columbia University and her J.D. from George Washington University. She practiced at a small union- side law firm in Chicago in order to follow her husband to the Midwest. After giving birth to her first child, she unsuccessfully attempted part-time work; however, the law firm world was not ready to accommodate working mothers. She began teaching nights at Chicago Kent College of Law while working part-time in a LaSalle Street firm. She left practice to teach full-time first at Kent, then at Wake Forest School of Law. After two years at Wake Forest, she returned to Chicago, a widow with two young daughters. She accepted a job at the Northern Illinois University College of Law and has taught there for over 20 years. She has published over 20 articles, contributed to a few books, and dragged her daughters to countless conferences where she was asked to speak. She filed a sex harassment charge against an associate law school dean, resulting in an improved environment for women at NIU Law. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Schmall served as a Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA/PEACE Corps) and taught remedial reading for six years.
Rachel G. Skaistis is a partner in the Litigation Department at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. Rachel handles a wide variety of litigation matters, including securities, antitrust, ERISA, bankruptcy, patent and general commercial/contract matters. Recently, Rachel has defended numerous clients in connection with class action, individual and derivative securities lawsuits. Rachel devotes a significant amount of her time to pro bono service. In addition to pro bono litigation, Rachel is one of the liaison partners for Cravath’s relationship with Montefiore Children’s Hospital and Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, through which Cravath represents patients who need legal services related to their medical care. Rachel was also recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York. Rachel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She received a B.A. in 1992 from Yale University. After graduating from Yale, Rachel worked as a newspaper reporter in Fort Worth, Texas. She first joined Cravath in 1997, the year she received a J.D., cum laude , from Cornell, where she was Managing Editor of the Cornell Law Review . In 1999, Rachel served a one-year clerkship with the Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin (U.S. District Court, Southern District of NewYork). She returned to Cravath fall 2000 and became a partner in 2005.
Mary L. Smith currently is a Partner at Schoeman, Updike, Kaufman & Scharf LLP, a women- owned firm. Smith specializes in complex litigation, regulatory practice, and government investigations. Earlier in her career, she served as Senior Litigation Counsel at Tyco International (US) Inc. where she managed the securities class action multi-district litigation – one of the largest cases pending in the country. While at Tyco, Smith interacted with the tax department on a range of issues including employee benefits and more strategic issues involving litigation and the company’s corporate reorganization. Prior to Tyco, she was an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, D.C. Prior to her time at Skadden, Ms. Smith served in the Clinton White House as Associate Counsel to the President and Associate Director of Policy Planning where she was responsible for a number of policy areas including domestic violence, tax issues, equal pay, Internet gambling, Native American issues, and civil rights issues. She was the highest-ranking Native American in the White House during the Clinton Administration. From 1994-96, Smith served as a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice Civil Division. Smith graduated from the University of Chicago School of Law, cum laude , where she was a member of the Law Review. Smith clerked for the Hon. R. Lanier Anderson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She received a B.S., magna cum laude , from Loyola University of Chicago. Smith is a former member of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession and a member of the Board of Managers for the Chicago Bar Association.
Susan Sneider is the Director of Client & Business Development for Freeborn & Peters LLP. A former general counsel of an international chemical company, prior to joining Freeborn & Peters, Susan worked for eleven years with legal industry consulting firms New Vistas Consulting and Hildebrandt International. Susan is nationally recognized for her consulting on all aspects of the business of the practice of law. A highly recognized trainer, Ms. Sneider has worked with groups and individuals on marketing, career development, mentoring and networking and has facilitated retreats for leadership groups, law firms, corporate teams and charitable boards.Ms. Sneider is the author of the American Bar Association's best seller, A Lawyer's Guide to Networking and is also one of the authors of the seminal West/American Corporate Counsel Association or ACCA (now Association of Corporate Counsel or ACC) joint four-volume treatise, Successful Partnering Between Inside and Outside Counsel . Susan graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University and received her J.D. from Boston College Law School. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Piven Theatre Workshop, a theater company and acting school, and of Literature for All of Us, a Chicago-based literacy initiative. She is married with three children.
Susan D. Snyder is Deputy Trust Counsel in Legal Department at Northern Trust in Chicago. Prior to that, she was an estate planning and probate attorney at McDermott, Will & Emery, and, most recently, a partner at Sachnoff & Weaver (now ReedSmith) in Chicago. Her areas of emphasis are estate planning; estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning; probate settlement and trust administration; fiduciary income tax planning; family business planning, and fiduciary risk management. Susan is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and is a member of its Fiduciary Litigation and State Laws committees and the Editorial Board of the ACTEC Journal. Susan is also a Full Member of STEP, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and is a member of the American Bankers Association’s Trust Taxation Committee. She received her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law.
Rebekah Stafford is an Engagement Manager at Axiom, a modern alternative to the traditional law firm. The firm’s founding premise was to strip out the unnecessary overhead and inefficiency that exists in BigLaw and create a firm comprised of experienced, business savvy attorneys who are uniquely integrated into the law departments of corporate clients. At Axiom, Rebekah is responsible for working closely with General Counsel and other decision makers to understand their unique needs and develop innovative solutions. Prior to joining Axiom, Rebekah was a litigation and tax controversy associate at Nixon Peabody in Washington D.C. In addition to her legal work, she helped the firm create a pro bono clinic for domestic violence, an issue which she also passionately defended during her law school days. Before law school, Rebekah worked at Brown Brothers Harriman doing securities lending. Rebekah holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. magna cum laude from Stonehill College, where she played Division II Soccer.
Hanna Stotland is Associate Director of the Center for Career Strategy and Advancement at Northwestern University School of Law, specializing in judicial clerkships and alumni counseling. She served as law clerk to the Hon. Ann Claire Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Hon. Elaine Bucklo of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Ms. Stotland spent three years practicing complex litigation at a large corporate firm and at a small civil rights firm before coming to Northwestern. She received her A.B. in Psychology, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Harvard College and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She is a member of the Judicial Clerkship Section of the National Association for Law Placement. Kelly Tautges is the Chicago Bar Foundation's first Director of Pro Bono. Kelly is the primary point person within the CBA and the CBF on pro bono issues and will work with lawyers, law firms, corporations, the courts, and the pro bono and legal aid organizations serving our community to maximize the impact of pro bono work in ensuring access to justice. Prior to joining the CBF, Kelly was an associate at Vedder Price P.C. for six years, where she represented clients in complex civil litigation. Kelly was an active member of Vedder Price’s pro bono committee, and represented children and families in a variety of pro bono cases, including delinquency, adoption, and guardianship proceedings. She is currently an Adjunct Professor of Legal Writing at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Kelly graduated from Marquette University with a degree in Social Work, and earned her law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she graduated cum laude. While at Loyola, Kelly was the Articles Editor for the Children’s Legal Rights Journal, a legal writing tutor, and a member of the Juvenile Justice Moot Court Team.
Tara Thompson is an attorney with Loevy & Loevy in Chicago. She specializes in civil rights and post-conviction litigation. She is also a lecturer in law at the University of Chicago Law School and co-teaches a clinical project there, The Exoneration Project, in which law students represent individuals convicted of crimes of which they are innocent. Ms. Thompson previously worked in the litigation department of Mayer Brown’s Chicago office, and clerked for the Honorable Judge Elaine Bucklo of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She received her J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago Law School in 2003, and her B.A. from the University of Utah in 2000.
Lane Vanderslice is currently the volunteer Director of the Mentorship Academy, a mentorship initiative organized by the Chicago Committee for Minorities in Large Law Firms. In addition, he provides strategic advice to law firm managers and career counseling services to associates, partners and professional development specialists throughout the country. Previously, Lane was the Special Assistant to the Chairman of Mayer Brown, a role he assumed after serving as the firm's fulltime Partner for Associate Development and Recruiting for seven years. At Mayer Brown, Lane worked to develop and implement strategic initiatives in hiring, evaluation, retention, and, as founding member of the firm's diversity committee, inclusion. Among other initiatives, Lane created a comprehensive first year curriculum aimed improving integration and long term success; facilitated the development of a U.S. wide training and development program; and provided career counseling to lawyers at all levels. Lane worked closely with management on compensation and hiring issues and talent management strategy. Prior to undertaking these roles, Lane was a practicing real estate lawyer at the firm. Lane has presented on recruiting and development issues at NALP Conference and was an organizer of and presenter at the 2008 NALP Diversity Summit . Lane graduated from Columbia Law School, where he was Managing Editor of the Law Review, and Columbia College. After Law School, Lane clerked for Judge Walter J Cummings of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Charlotte Wager is partner at Jenner & Block. Ms. Wager is an active member of the Firm’s Diversity Committee and has worked closely with the Firm’s partners, associates and staff to implement various strategies and initiatives related to diversity and inclusiveness. As Co-Chair of the Hiring Executive Committee she has been involved in designing and implementing programs to expand sourcing and outreach to diverse candidates. As the Firm’s Chief Talent Officer, Ms. Wager is responsible for overseeing all aspects of associate training and development from orientation of new associates through advanced career development plans for senior associates. Ms. Wager also chairs the Firmwide Associate Development and Evaluation Committee that conducts performance reviews for all of the Firm’s associates. She is an active member of the Firm’s Women’s Forum and a member of its Steering Committee. Ms. Wager regularly speaks to groups regarding hiring and development matters.
Stacy Smith Walsh is a senior associate at Day Pitney LLP in Hartford, Connecticut, where she practices in the firm’s employment litigation and labor regulation and union relations practice groups. Ms. Walsh represents employers in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies in cases involving claims of employment discrimination, wrongful termination, breach of contract, and violation of noncompetition covenants. In addition to employment litigation, she regularly counsels employers with respect to all aspects of employment law in both Connecticut and Massachusetts, and provides clients with advice federal and state laws governing employment relationships. She was recognized as a Connecticut Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in 2009, and was named as one of a “Dozen Who Made a Difference” in 2008 by the Connecticut Law Tribune in recognition of her efforts for gender equity in the profession. She currently co-chairs Day Pitney LLP’s women’s initiative, Women Working Together. She is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association, where she is the co-chair of the Women in the Law Committee and sits on the Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section. Ms. Walsh received her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Alabama, her M.A. in Rhetoric from the University of Maryland, and her J.D., cum laude, from Cornell Law School, where she was editor of the Cornell Law Review.
Jennifer Waters is a partner at Schopf & Weiss LLP, a business litigation firm in Chicago, IL. She earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 2002. Ms. Waters practices commercial litigation in federal and state trial and appellate courts nationwide. Her clients range from multi-national Fortune 500 companies to closely-held corporations operating in a broad spectrum of industries, including banking, telecommunications, energy, computer software, manufacturing, and retail. Ms. Waters handles complex commercial disputes in a variety of practice areas, including trademark infringement, executive compensation, ERISA and employment, environmental, fraud, class action defense, real estate, insurance coverage and contract matters. Ms. Waters achieves successful plaintiff-side and defense- side results through practical and thoughtful application of trial, arbitration, mediation, summary judgment or settlement tools based on her clients’ goals. Ms. Waters also serves on the Policy Committee of the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law Firms.
Elaine Weiss is the President and CEO of the Illinois CPA Society, Illinois CPA Foundation and CPAs for the Public Interest. In 2004, Accounting Today named her as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.” Under her direction the Society has embraced new technologies and ideas to increase awareness of the value of the profession and guide its members through the constant change of today’s global business environment. Prior to joining the Illinois CPA Society in 2002, Elaine served as the Associate Director of the American Bar Association (ABA). She has also held the position of Regional Director for the United States Department of Health and Human Services and staff attorney for the Special Commission on Administration of Justice for Cook County, Illinois. Elaine holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and a J.D. from the National Law Center at George Washington University in Washington D.C. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Association Forum of Chicagoland and in 2007 was awarded their John C. Thiel Distinguished Service Award.
Corinne Wood made history with her election to statewide office. On January 11, 1999 she was inaugurated as the first female Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, pledging to be an active lieutenant governor for the people of the state. Wood played an important role leading efforts on health care, downtown economic development, rural affairs, the environment and family issues. After nearly 20 years in public service as Lt Governor, State Representative, attorney, and community leader, Wood became the first Republican woman to run for the Governor of Illinois. She lost in the primary to Attorney General Jim Ryan. Since then she has stayed active in state and local politics by serving in various roles with the Illinois State Republican Party, the Lake County Republican Federation, the Wish List, and other political organizations. She currently serves on the boards of The Chicago Stock Exchange, Metropolis 2020, University of Chicago Harris Public Policy School’s Visiting Committee, Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Cancer Center Advisory Board and Rush University Medical Center’s Cancer Institute, The Illinois Juvenile Justice Initiative, Y- Me and other civic and not for profit organizations. She continues to speak on issues of women’s health, public service and politics. A graduate of the University of Illinois (Phi Beta Kappa) and Loyola University of Chicago Law School, Wood resides in Lake Forest with her husband, Paul and their three children Ashley (22), Brandon (21) and Courtney (18).
Beth B. Woods is a Managing Director in Major, Lindsey & Africa’s Chicago office where she focuses on representing attorneys in the lateral marketplace. Prior to joining MLA, Beth was a Litigation Partner at Williams, Montgomery & John Ltd., specializing in the areas of trucking, construction and premises liability. In addition to taking well over 100 depositions, Beth tried and successfully defended multiple jury trial cases in State and Federal Courts. Beth played basketball at the University of Chicago and graduated with honors with a B.A. in Romance Language and Literature. She obtained her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami and practiced in Naples, Florida, as a commercial litigator before moving back to Chicago.
Erica Zalokar is the founder & CEO of The Legal Balance, Inc. After practicing corporate litigation for many years, Erica was alarmed at the rate in which women attorneys were leaving the practice of law. She felt the legal profession was losing a powerful group of brilliant, successful, self-motivated women. She realized a new passion: helping women attorneys from all backgrounds gain access to work and life resources. The Legal Balance is an online membership community for women attorneys focused on providing work-life balance solutions in one place to help with the promotion, advancement and retention of women attorneys in the legal profession and beyond. Erica was a corporate litigator at numerous prestigious Chicago law firms, including Eimer Stahl Klevorn & Solberg, a litigation boutique spun-off from Sidley & Austin & Ungaretti & Harris. Erica graduated from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 1998.
Andrea L. Zopp serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Exelon Corporation. Ms. Zopp joined Exelon in 2006 as Senior Vice President, Human Resources. In January 2008, she was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. Prior to joining Exelon, Zopp was senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Sears Holding Corporation. Before joining Sears, Ms. Zopp was vice president, deputy general counsel in the law department at Sara Lee Corporation. Prior to Sara Lee, Ms. Zopp was a partner in the litigation department of the law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, specializing in the areas of commercial, employment and white-collar criminal litigation. Zopp was also the First Assistant State’s Attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office where she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the nation’s second largest prosecutor’s office. Ms. Zopp received the Woman of Achievement Award from the Anti-Defamation League (2008), Visionary Award from the Black Women Lawyer’s Association–(2004), the Luminary Award from the Girl Scouts of Chicago (2005) and she was named one of Chicago United’s 2005 Business Leaders of Color from Chicago United. Ms. Zopp received a bachelor’s degree in history and science and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University. She began her legal career as a law clerk to United States District Judge George N. Leighton in the Northern District of Illinois. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Harvard Law School, Northwestern University and the University of Chicago School of Law. She and her husband, Bill, have three children, Alyssa, Kelsey and Will.