CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • SEPTEMBER 6, 2021 13
Meet the Rising Stars in Law: These 74 attorneys are making an impact in all corners of their profession, including corporate finance, intellectual property, litigation, health care, bankruptcy and real estate. All have been partners at their firms for five years or less. They have guided clients through the uncertainty of the pandemic, from interpreting the CARES Act to interpreting local health care orders and recommendations. Yet they’ve traveled different journeys. Some began in private practice right out of law school, while others have experience as prosecutors or reg-
ulators. Still others started out as teachers and performers. These rising stars are active in their firms’ governance. Many are involved in efforts to expand diversity and inclusion and are adding more women and people of color to their teams. They mentor younger lawyers. And they tackle pro bono projects, from defending wrongly accused prisoners to helping immigrants gain asylum. They’re certain to make even more of a mark in the years to come. By Judith Crown and Lisa Bertagnoli
GETTY IMAGES
METHODOLOGY: The rising stars featured did not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from nomination materials submitted. This list is not comprehensive. It includes attorneys for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after an editorial review. These honorees have been partners for five years or less and have demonstrated an impact at their firm and in the community. Letters of recommendation were required.
JONATHAN AMARILIO
ELIZABETH BABBITT
MICHAEL BABBITT
LAURA BACON
NICOLE BERG
Partner Taft Stettinius & Hollister
Partner Taft Stettinius & Hollister
Partner Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Partner Nixon Peabody
Partner Keller Lenkner
Appellate lawyer Jonathan Amarilio has two cases pending before the Illinois Supreme Court. One challenges the constitutionality of an Illinois statute immunizing ride-share companies from liability when their drivers sexually assault their passengers. The second concerns employers’ ability to protect sexual harassment victims from retaliatory lawsuits by workplace harassers. Amarilio is host of the Chicago Bar Association podcast @theBar and is a contributor to the Illinois Appellate Lawyer Association’s blog, the Brief. Amarilio was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to serve on the court’s Committee on Character & Fitness, which governs admission of attorneys to the Illinois bar. He is slated to be president of the Appellate Lawyers Association for 2022-23. He is on the board of Lawyers Lend-a-Hand to Youth, which provides tutoring to students from diverse backgrounds.
Litigation attorney Elizabeth Babbitt advises businesses on employment discrimination, employee whistleblowing, unfair business practices, trade secrets and other issues. She recently successfully reversed an $8.1 million jury verdict on a negligent misrepresentation claim in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She is one of the lead attorneys representing the city of Chicago in the litigation, negotiation and ongoing implementation of the Chicago Police Department consent decree and has expertise regarding police practices, use of force, crisis intervention and police reform measures. “She is a passionate advocate and a tough adversary,” says Kim Walberg, co-chair of the Taft Chicago Litigation Group. Babbitt was selected to serve on Taft’s executive committee. She also participates on the firm’s Associate Advancement & Recruitment Committee and leads the Chicago office’s women’s affinity group.
Michael Babbitt joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher last year and has helped expand the new Chicago office to more than 40 attorneys. Babbitt focuses on patent litigation, Patent Trial & Appeal Board proceedings and technology disputes. He uses his background in electrical and computer engineering to advise clients in technical industries. Babbitt serves as pro bono coordinator for the Chicago office and led the firm’s efforts this year teaming with a prisoners rights organization for a client unjustly accused of murdering his father. Babbitt previously was a partner at Jenner & Block, where he handled scores of federal litigations and more than 40 PTAB proceedings for petitioners and patent owners (about a quarter being patent owners). He recently became a trustee of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.
In the past year, litigation lawyer Laura Bacon was a key player in an international arbitration involving trade secrets. The case culminated in a hearing this summer in which she served as second chair. The Nixon Peabody litigation team achieved a directed verdict for their client. Earlier this year, Bacon spearheaded a pro bono collaboration with a Chicago legal service in an effort to expunge cannabis convictions, which involved fundraising and coordinating attorney training. She’s a member of the Chicago Bar Association’s Alliance for Women Committee. In 2018, she co-chaired a conference that brought together more than 80 Chicago-area female attorneys. Bacon joined Nixon Peabody through the firm’s 2015 merger with Ungaretti & Harris and was named partner last year.
At Keller Lenkner, Nicole Berg specializes in national product-liability matters and holds court-appointed leadership positions in two large litigations. She was appointed to a subcommittee in the case where military-issued 3M earplugs are alleged to have caused hearing damage to service members and veterans. It’s considered the largest multidistrict litigation on record. And she was appointed to the plaintiffs’ executive committee in a case alleging a defective Paragard contraceptive device. Over the past two years, Berg helped build the firm’s product-liability group to a team of more than two dozen attorneys, paralegals and case managers. She also helped build and mentor an attorney team made up almost entirely of women. Berg co-founded A Better Tomorrow Education Fund, a nonprofit that provides scholarships to Chicago students for higher education.
P013-P026_CCB_20210906.indd 13
9/3/21 2:17 PM