Crain's Chicago Businsess

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 22, 2021 13

2021

GEN X LEADERS IN ACCOUNTING, CONSULTING AND LAW The nearly 100 members of this group of Gen X Notables are at the peak of their careers, managing offices, chairing legal groups or running their own lucrative practices. The attorneys run the range of specialties, from capital markets to affordable housing. There are M&A lawyers leading megadeals and those shepherding transactions to build affordable housing. Some are pioneering young practice areas such as cannabis or niche real estate areas like tech incubators.

With the pandemic, these professionals quickly adapted to working virtually and navigated clients through new regulations and protocols. Labor and employ-

ment specialists counseled on modified work rules and labor shortages. With the reckoning on racial injustice, many led stepped-up initiatives on diversity and inclusion.

These professionals are generous in providing time to pro bono cases, such as advising clients seeking help in immigration or gaining political asylum. Their civic work runs from serving on the boards of top cultural institutions to supporting anti-poverty organizations on the South and West sides. They are sure to continue their influence for many years.

By Judith Crown and Lisa Bertagnoli

sdflaw.com

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METHODOLOGY: The honorees did not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from nomination materials.

This list features only individuals for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after a review by our editorial team. To qualify for the list, nominees must be based in the Chicago area and be part of Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980. They must have shown the ability or power to effect change and have assumed a leadership position outside their organization.

The Future of Family Law Since 1981.

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14 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

DAVID AGAY

DAVID M. ALT

BRANDON ANDERSON

SIDDESH BALE

Chicago managing member McDonald Hopkins

Partner BatesCarey

Partner Reed Smith

In addition to managing the Chicago office, David Agay is co-chair of the Business Restructuring Department and is on the firm’s board and executive committee.

He’s been involved in the $15 billion bankruptcy case of satellite operator Intelsat where he represents a special board committee. Other cases have involved small- and mid-cap companies in energy, manufacturing, gaming, media and health care. Agay also is active in the firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts. He helps recruit candidates from diverse backgrounds and works to help them advance to leadership positions. Before joining McDonald Hopkins, Agay was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.

In pro bono work, he’s represented a political asylum applicant.

He’s active in the Turnaround Management Association and as a board member arranging event speakers.

At BatesCarey, David M. Alt represents cases involving insurance, railroads, financial services, construction, professional liability, and premises and products liability. He defends insurers facing bad faith claims. Alt has litigated cases in more than 25 states and has been instrumental in the firm’s expansion. During the pandemic, he led the firm’s pivot to a remote ecosystem. He secured a significant win in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County in Kentucky, where a plaintiff sued its insurer for punitive damages and

Deputy Chicago office managing partner Latham & Watkins

attorneys’ fees on statutory bad faith claims. Alt is BatesCarey’s hiring partner and chair of the associate committee, overseeing the recruitment and development of the growing partner and associate ranks. He is a frequent speaker for the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance and several railroad associations.

As deputy office managing partner, Brandon Anderson helps lead the 215-lawyer Chicago office. As a partner in the Finance Department and banking practice, he represents financial institutions, corporate borrowers and private-equity funds on leveraged transactions. Recently, Anderson represented Antares Capital in a debt financing for the acquisition by Kohlberg & Co. of Ob Hospitalist Group, and NXT Capital in a senior credit facility for Audax Group’s refinancing of TPC Wire & Cable. Anderson also helped spearhead Latham’s Chicago Taskforce for the Commitment to Racial Justice & Equality, which provides pro bono support to organizations fighting racial injustice and promoting equality.

He’s working pro bono on a case with the Chicago-area Legal Aid Society and Metropolitan Family Services to provide immigration law assistance to victims of domestic violence.

Siddesh Bale, who is deputy practice group leader of the Corporate Group, helped lead a combination of the firm’s tech and data practices. That created the firm’s largest practice group worldwide, positioning it to capture market share in cutting-edge industries. Bale recently expanded his cross-border experience with deals in Australia, the U.K., Asia, Israel and Commonwealth of Independent States. He also handles transactions in the health care field, including physician practice roll-ups and deals involving medical device companies.

Bale is a member of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Group, and served as partner chair and in leadership roles on the Asian American Business Inclusion Group. Bale joined Reed Smith from Perkins Coie in 2012 and advanced to partner in 2015. He is on the governing board of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms.

MARGARET BATTERSBY BLACK Managing partner Levin & Perconti

Margaret Battersby Black is managing partner of the 30-lawyer firm and manages a large case load of catastrophic injury and death cases.

Battersby Black leads a team pursuing claims of wrongful death against nursing homes that failed to control COVID-19 outbreaks in their facilities through the use of personal protective equipment and other basic infection-control measures.

She was lead trial attorney on a $7 million medical-malpractice verdict involving a veteran patient who exited a moving ambulance to his death. In 2019, she sat first chair for 20 of Illinois’ top settlements, according to Jury Verdict Reporter rankings.

Battersby Black has hired and promoted women, and half of the firm’s attorneys are women.

She was a founding member and the inaugural chair of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association’s Women’s Caucus.

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#GenXThrowback Lauren Wolven

Jeffery Hoffenberg

David Solomon

Redefining the Generation Congratulations to our partners:

Lauren J. Wolven Trusts & Estates Jeffery D. Hoffenberg Real Estate David B. Solomon Corporate on being named Crain’s Notable Gen X Leaders in Law.

CRAIN’S NOTABLE LPlegal.com 2 North LaSalle Street, Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60602 | 312.346.8380

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16 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

LAURIE BAUER

MIKE BECHTEL

DEBBIE BERMAN

SARAH BERNSTEIN

TRACY BILLOWS

Founding Partner Cooley

Chief futurist and managing director Deloitte Consulting

Partner Jenner & Block

Partner Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg

Partner Seyfarth Shaw

In May, Laurie Bauer and her founding partners launched the Chicago office of Cooley, a Palo Alto, Calif., firm known for expertise in technology and venture capital.

Bauer focuses on representing emerging and growth-stage companies and their investors.

She advises clients on venture-backed private financings. As co-head of the Chicago corporate group, Bauer has contributed to the growth of the office, which counts more than 35 lawyers. Its founding partnership is 60% women and/or racially diverse attorneys. She is on the board of 1871, the business incubator supporting technology and other area startups. She’s lectured on topics relating to venture financings at 1871, as well as the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and University of Michigan Law School.

Before joining Cooley, Bauer was a partner at Latham & Watkins.

As chief futurist, Mike Bechtel helps clients develop strategies to thrive in the face of discontinuity and disruption.

He holds 12 U.S. patents.

His Nascent & Experimental Technologies team, or NExT, approaches futurism as a practical strategic discipline. In April, Bechtel published a report in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, “Technology Futures 2021: Projecting the Possible, Navigating What’s Next.” In September, he surveyed 400 C-level business leaders to understand how established firms create their futures. Bechtel is on the Deloitte US Ethical Tech committee. He also is professor of corporate innovation at the University of Notre Dame. Before starting his current position in 2020, he was senior adviser to the Deloitte chief technology officer.

Earlier, he co-founded and was managing director of venture capital firm Ringleader Ventures.

Partner Debbie Berman is cochair of Jenner & Block’s complex commercial litigation practice, trade secrets and restrictive covenants practice, and media and First Amendment practice.

She assists clients in broken deals and business relationships, as well as defamation and First Amendment-related tort cases. Last year, Berman won a precedent-setting win for client Hetronic International, a manufacturer of radio remote controls, with a $113 million verdict. She is known for litigating the seminal case on the inevitable disclosure doctrine for trade secrets, PepsiCo v. Redmond. Berman is co-chair of the pro bono committee, helping the firm manage its $250 million commitment. She is one of 27 on the board of governors from North America for the Jewish Agency for Israel. She is on the Homewood-Flossmoor High School District board.

Creative thinkers.

Sarah Bernstein is a partner in the firm’s Corporate and Financial Institutions groups. She co-chairs the Motor Vehicle Group and leads its transactional practice, assisting manufacturers with vehicle and related product distribution. Bernstein founded and grew Barack’s transactional practice to a leading source for legal guidance on vehicle distribution matters. In a record year for dealership transactions, Bernstein counseled manufacturer clients through evaluation, closing and documentation. During the pandemic, she worked with manufac-

turers to qualify as franchisors with the Small Business Administration to allow their dealers to apply for Paycheck Protection Program loans. Bernstein is an immediate past president of the Public Interest Law Initiative board and is vice president of the North Lawndale Employment Network board.

In addition to her role as co-managing partner of Seyfarth’s Chicago office, Tracy Billows is special counsel to Seyfarth’s COVID-19 task force, where she advises the executive committee and office managing partners on pandemic challenges. Billows worked to create platforms and communication streams to answer client and internal questions. Previously, Billows was chair of Seyfarth’s Chicago Labor & Employment Group. In 2020, she worked with the Society for Human Resource Management to highlight workplace issues, preparing a five-page white paper on family leave program principles. Billows collaborates with Seyfarth’s Diversity & Inclusion team to further its mission and blunt the impact of the pandemic on diversity in the profession. She tightened the focus on retaining talent by starting an internal interview process to improve the associate experience.

Strategic advisors.

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Crain’s Notable Gen X Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law

Crain’s Notable Gen X Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law

Crain’s Notable Nonprofit Board Leaders

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18 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

CATHY BIRKELAND

STEVEN BLOCK

Chicago office managing partner Latham & Watkins

Partner Thompson Hine

At Latham & Watkins, Cathy Birkeland is a partner in the corporate practice, advising issuers, underwriters and investors on capital markets transactions.

She’s Chicago office managing partner, the first woman to hold that role, and former global co-chair of the capital markets practice. Recently, she advised underwriters in connection with the IPO of Definitive Healthcare, a health care commercial intelligence company, and Hyatt on $2.3 billion of equity and debt financings to fund a portion of its pending acquisition of Apple Leisure Group. During the pandemic, she helped clients structure and execute transactions to raise capital necessary to sustain their businesses. She also leads Latham’s Chicago Taskforce for the Commitment to Racial Justice & Equality, which provides pro bono support to organizations fighting racial injustice and promoting equality.

Former federal prosecutor Steven Block focuses on white-collar criminal defense, internal investigations and government enforcement matters.

He represents business people under investigation for offenses that include insider trading, securities fraud, public corruption and intellectual property crimes. He is a vice chair of the firm’s national litigation department. Earlier this year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker appointed Block to the Illinois Torture Inquiry & Relief Commission, which investigates claims of tortured confessions. As a prosecutor, Block led the government’s case against former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Block was deputy chief in the U.S. attorney’s office and chief of the Special Prosecutions Bureau in the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. He joined Thompson Hine as a partner in 2018.

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MICHAEL F. BONAMARTE IV Partner Levin & Perconti

Michael F. Bonamarte IV is a managing partner and has been in leadership since 2014, when he was the youngest attorney at that time to make partner.

Bonamarte’s trial practice involves catastrophic injury and wrongful death matters. Currently, he’s focused on more than a dozen wrongful death cases related to a COVID outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home during which 36 veterans died. He and his team are working on cases that test the “civil immunity” granted under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s April 2020 emergency order. In 2020, he achieved an $8.1 million verdict in a failed cancer diagnosis and wrongful death case. He is on the Illinois State Bar Association Steering Committee on Racial Inequality, which is investigating disparities in health care across racial and ethnic groups.

NICK BRUNICK

MICHAEL CARRILLO

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Partner Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen

Chicago office managing partner Barnes & Thornburg

Partn Riley

Nick Brunick represents developers who are creating affordable housing or bringing amenities, such as grocery stores and health centers, to communities that need them.

He assists lenders in bringing capital to underserved communities. Brunick facilitated the creation of 100 new affordable homes in Logan Square, saved housing for the homeless in Humboldt Park and preserved 150 affordable homes in Pilsen.

Brunick volunteers with United Power for Action & Justice, which is preparing to build 250 new affordable homes in North Lawndale, part of a larger campaign to build or rehabilitate homes on the South and West sides.

Brunick is a vice president of the Illinois Housing Council and chair of its legislative committee.

He is on the board of Business and Professional People for the Public Interest.

Besides managing the Chicago office, Michael Carrillo specializes in patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret matters, as well as patent and trademark protection.

During the pandemic, the Chicago office grew by more than 10% in 2020 and is on pace to exceed 10% growth this year. Carrillo guides a team of lawyers and administrators to ensure that junior attorneys working remotely receive necessary training and mentoring. The office last year formed a committee to promote racial and social justice through pro bono efforts, community support and legal advice to businesses in minority communities. Carrillo is vice chair of the Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund of Illinois, where he mentors law students and assists in fundraising to increase the number of Hispanic law students and attorneys in the state.

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EDWARD CASMERE

LINSEY COHEN

FRANCISCO CONNELL

KEVIN COYNE

JESSE CRIZ

Partner Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila

Chair, real estate practice Gould & Ratner

Principal Chuhak & Tecson

Principal Chuhak & Tecson

Partner DLA Piper

Trial lawyer Edward Casmere is a founding partner, heads practice teams, and is chair of the marketing and business development committee.

He started the firm’s professional excellence and skills training, and heads associate training for litigation and negotiation skills.

His training program provides insights and practical application of negotiation theory, negotiation styles and tactics. In the past 18 months, Casmere successfully prosecuted several commercial lease actions on behalf of a national transportation com-

With her more than 20 years of real estate deal-making experience, Linsey Cohen became chair of the real estate practice last year. In recent deals, she negotiated leases for a discount supermarket chain in its nationwide expansion.

Cohen helped a leading drugstore retailer execute its store development plan. And she represented boutique coffee company Philz Coffee in its expansion, including its opening of four Chicago-area locations in 2019. Cohen is Gould & Ratner’s co-hiring partner and a member

pany related to force majeure COVID-19 pandemic claims.

And he counseled an aviation supplier through negotiations on supply chain management that was disrupted by COVID. He’s on the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section.

of the firm’s diversity committee, which is striving to create a more diverse workforce. She is a mentor for associates and partners, through her role as a lead member of Gould & Ratner Opportunities for Women, a program that supports women attorneys at the firm.

As leader of the banking practice group at Chuhak & Tecson, Francisco Connell oversees 24 transactional and litigation attorneys in Chicago and New York.

Over the past 18 months, Connell shepherded a number of simultaneously acquired, national-brand franchise stores from different sellers for a firm client. In addition to servicing banking clients, Connell developed a diverse client base of small to midsize businesses and private-equity groups. Connell began his career as a Chicago Police Department officer and says his experience handling domestic calls on a daily basis taught him how to diffuse tense situations.

He joined Chuhak & Tecson in 2009 as an associate in the banking group. He is legislative liaison and vice chair of the financial institutions committee for the Chicago Bar Association.

Kevin Coyne leads the firm’s 14-attorney real estate practice group and represents clients in food service, hospitality and national franchises. While the pandemic devastated retailers, restaurants and landlords, the real estate group’s revenue grew because of lease modifications needed because tenants couldn’t pay rent. Coyne joined Chuhak three years ago from Momkus where he was a partner.

He served two terms on the Naperville City Council, and last year decided not to seek re-election after running unsuccessfully for the DuPage County Board.

He also was on the DuPage County Stormwater Commission. Coyne recently founded Safe Suburbs USA, a political action organization that promotes public safety initiatives that support first responders and candidates for office. He speaks on career strategies at UIC Law, formerly John Marshall Law School.

At DLA Piper, Jesse Criz is head of the investment management and real estate capital markets practice and is also Chicago office co-managing partner.

He’s trained as a tax attorney and has experience representing real estate investment trusts.

Criz led a team that represented investment management firm Harrison Street in launching its closedend opportunity fund, targeting a capital raise of $2.5 million. He represented Equity Residential in an equity offering. Last year, Criz co-founded the Office Managing Partner Task Force comprising senior associates in the Chicago office. With a focus on diversity, the group meets monthly to discuss ideas and issues related to inclusivity and firm culture.

Earlier this year, he co-founded the Chicago DLA Piper Alumni Board, an advisory board composed of former DLA attorneys that meets quarterly.

Congratulations to our partner LINSEY COHEN And all of Crain’s 2021 Notable Gen X Leaders in Accounting, Consulting and Law Complex World. Practical Solutions.®

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www.gouldratner.com

Member of LawExchange International

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20 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

SETH DARMSTADTER

GINA DEBONI

NANCY DEPODESTA

SHELLY DEROUSSE

BARBARA DUNN

CHR

Chicago office managing partner Michelman & Robinson

Managing partner Romanucci & Blandin

Partner Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr

Partner Freeborn & Peters

Partner Barnes & Thornburg

Chica McG

Seth Darmstadter is managing partner of Michelman & Robinson’s Chicago office and is a member of the firm’s advertising & digital media industry group.

He represents clients in health technology, ad and media technology, and integrated marketing. Darmstadter was an early adopter of remote litigation technology and took his first dozen online depositions over Zoom. He was one of the first attorneys to first-chair a multiweek Zoom trial in his basement, which was converted into a virtual courtroom.

Recently, he represented a solar

In addition to managing the office, Gina DeBoni advocates for the firm’s clients who have suffered from traumatic personal injury, police misconduct, hazing, sex trafficking and other devastating events. DeBoni mobilized legal resources in the Sterigenics case when it was learned the Willowbrook-based company had emitted a carcinogenic chemical for decades.

She has met with the acting EPA administrator about regulating the toxic chemical, ethylene oxide. She advocates on behalf of a mother of a sex trafficking victim who was murdered in Chicago.

DeBoni’s client testified before a U.S. Senate committee, and they attended a White House ceremony when reforms were signed into law prohibiting online advertisement of children for sex.

She was elected to the Village of Glenview board of trustees earlier this year.

Former federal prosecutor Nancy DePodesta co-chairs the White Collar & Government Enforcement Group and is a leader of the firm’s women’s development initiative. She’s counseled clients on pandemicrelated compliance and risk management as government enforcement around potential PPP loan and CARES Act fraud has increased. DePodesta represented AB Specialty Silicones following a 2019 deadly explosion at a chemical plant in Waukegan and counseled executives through government investigations. She was a partner with Arnstein & Lehr from 2015 to 2017, when the firm merged with Saul Ewing.

Before entering private practice, she was an assistant U.S. attorney. Last year, DePodesta was appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to the Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board, which reviews law enforcement objections to an applicant’s eligibility to obtain a firearm license.

Restructuring industry expert Shelly DeRousse is practice group leader of the bankruptcy & financial restructuring practice group. She’s lead counsel for the Official Committee of Equity Security Holders of Greenpoint Tactical Income Fund, a $50 million income fund in Milwaukee. As counsel for the trustee in possession, she is handling the restructuring of the Ford City Condominium Association, which has seven buildings and more than 300 units in Chicago. This year, she spoke at the annual conference of the Na-

Barbara Dunn is co-chair of the firm’s Associations & Foundations Practice Group, advising nonprofits on laws that impact tax-exempt organizations.

She is a specialist in the hospitality industry and assists groups with meeting and trade show contracts. During the pandemic, Dunn assisted clients in resolving hotel and convention center cancellations, saving them millions in fees and helping them preserve their relationships with those same hotels and convention centers. She worked with nonprofits to update their policies for virtual meetings and online voting. In 2018, Dunn established a women’s forum to support female-identifying attorneys at the firm. Having lost her first husband to a brain tumor, Dunn supports brain tumor patients and their caregivers and has helped manage local fundraisers for the American Brain Tumor Association.

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power developer working in South Africa. He was Outcome Health’s general counsel after fraud allegations threatened to derail the company. Darmstadter has sat on the executive advisory board of Techweek and on the advisory board for Mexican technology firm Pounce Consulting.

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tional Association of Bankruptcy Trustees in Chicago and two other bankruptcy conferences in the Midwest. Last year, she was one of three national co-chairs of the Turnaround Management Association’s national conference and also moderated a panel. She was selected to co-chair TMA’s Education Committee for 2022.

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 22, 2021 21

CHRISTINA EGAN

KATHELEEN EHRHART

ANGELA ELBERT

BRIAN FAHRNEY

JESSICA FAIRCHILD

Chicago office managing partner McGuireWoods

Partner Freeborn & Peters

Partner Neal Gerber Eisenberg

Partner Sidley Austin

Founding partner Croke Fairchild Morgan & Beres

Former federal prosecutor Christina Egan manages the Chicago office and is a member of the firm’s board of partners.

She represents companies and individuals in criminal and civil investigations. Egan played a pivotal role securing the March 2019 dismissal of criminal charges against former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock of Illinois on his alleged misuse of campaign and government funds.

Before joining McGuireWoods in 2012, Egan was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois for 10 years. She tried more than 20 cases involving racketeering, public corruption, fraud, narcotics trafficking and gang activity. Egan is on the Seventh Circuit Pattern Jury Instruction Committee, which updates criminal pattern jury instructions. She’s a member of McGuireWoods’ Women Lawyers Network, which helps women lawyers navigate work-life balance.

At Freeborn & Peters, Katheleen Ehrhart is a partner in the litigation practice group and co-leader of the insurance brokerage group.

In 2020, just after the courts reopened, she represented her client in the first remote trial proceeding for the Cook County Law Division. She successfully defended a managing general agent in an $80 million damages claim brought by an insurance carrier in a multiweek Zoom arbitration. In another case, she obtained a temporary injunction and $20 million settlement for an insurance intermediary

Angela Elbert is chair of the firm’s insurance policyholder practice group and a member of the executive committee. She’s written extensively about the challenges policyholders face litigating COVID-19 business interruption cases with their insurance providers.

Elbert represents McDonald’s in connection with a lawsuit it brought against its insurer in Illinois federal court. For the past three years, Elbert has been regional director of Illinois for the Judicial Intern Opportunity Program, which helps provide judicial externships for law students

client in a restrictive covenant violation lawsuit. Ehrhart joined Freeborn in 2012 from Kirkland & Ellis, where she was a partner.

She co-leads the firm’s Women’s Leadership Council. And she’s been speaking at conferences on the role of virtual proceedings and other insurance topics.

from underrepresented groups and low-income families. She represented pro bono individuals seeking stem cell treatment for cancer, which was denied by their health insurance provider because the provider designated the treatment as experimental.

At Sidley Austin, Brian Fahrney is a global co-leader of the M&A and private-equity group and a member of the management and executive committees.

Recently, he represented Arthur J. Gallagher in its proposed $3.25 billion acquisition of Willis Towers Watson reinsurance operations, Willis Re. Fahrney advised Riot Blockchain in its $651 million acquisition of Whinstone US and Mastercard in its $825 million acquisition of Finicity, a provider of real-time access to financial data and insights. Earlier, Fahrney represented Cabela’s in its sale to Bass Pro Shops for $5.5 billion and GE in the sale of its appliances business to Haier for $5.4 billion. Fahrney is on the executive committee of the Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate & Securities Law Institute of the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

A founding partner and member of the management committee, Jessica Fairchild co-leads the transactional practice, advising companies, private-equity and venture-capital firms, startups and family offices. This year, Fairchild assembled and led the all-women deal team that advised Chicago-based health care startup Odeza on its multimillion-dollar acquisition

by Ensemble Health Partners.

The firm has quadrupled since its start in December 2019, and Fairchild added 17 attorneys to the transactional team, including 10 women. In 2007, Fairchild was tapped as general counsel for Chicago 2016, the organization that led Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games. She went on to launch her own firm in 2010. She is on the board of the Gorton Community Center, a cultural hub in her hometown of Lake Forest.

MENTOR.

LEADER.

ADVOCATE.

We celebrate our partners and executive committee members, Robert Gerber, Angela Elbert and William Tarnow, on their well-deserved recognition in Crain’s 2021 Notable Gen X Leaders in Law. Their steadfast leadership at Neal Gerber Eisenberg and within the community has advanced our commitment to excellence in client service, further developed our core values of collaboration and inclusion, and led the way for others to follow these exceptional role models.

We are proud to be led by a group of entrepreneurial and independent-minded GenX leaders.

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22 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

ZACHARY FARDON

BRADLEY FARIS

ADAM FAYNE

LINDA FINE

PAMELA GAMBLE

JAS

Chicago office managing partner King & Spalding

Partner, mergers and acquisitions practice Latham & Watkins

Partner Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr

Co-founder Buckley Fine

Partner Manning Gross + Massenburg

Exec River

Adam Fayne is co-founder and co-chair of the firm’s cannabis practice and a vice chair of the Transactional Department. The firm represented Canaccord Genuity as lead underwriter in two public offerings, including the first U.S. direct public listing of Ascend Wellness, which raised $80 million and has a market value greater than $1 billion. He serves as counsel to TerrAscend, a leading North American cannabis operator, and its Arise Bioscience subsidiary. And he’s counseled cannabis operator and retailer 4Front Ventures in its prospectus offering. Fayne began serving cannabis industry clients in 2015 and the practice has grown to 30 attorneys. He joined Saul Ewing in 2006 from the Department of Treasury, where he was special assistant U.S. attorney, representing the Internal Revenue Service.

At Buckley Fine in Barrington, co-founder Linda Fine is managing partner and chair of the estate planning practice group.

Last year, she co-founded the firm, which has grown to 13 attorneys. Fine administers estates and trusts and prepares estate and gift tax filings. Her work has included succession planning for an $80 million business, administering a $40 million estate with 15 trusts, and facilitating a client’s $100 million charitable endowment. Before starting her current firm, Fine was an equity member at Kelleher & Buckley, which she helped grow from a single office with eight attorneys to a 25-attorney firm with three Illinois locations.

Fine is a member of the DuPage County Estate Planning Council and the WealthCounsel Illinois Forum. She speaks frequently on estate planning.

Partner Pamela Gamble focuses on business litigation, including toxic torts, personal injury, product liability and commercial disputes. She’s one of the firm’s lead docket attorneys and attends Cook County trial and motion calls. Gamble is on the firm’s DEI Committee and Women’s Forum. During the pandemic, Gamble recognized that staff would need mental health support and phoned associates. Because of her care, the firm gave Gamble hiring responsibilities. Gamble joined Manning Gross + Massenburg in 2019 from HeplerBroom where she was a partner. Earlier, she was an assistant state’s attorney in Madison County, where she was head prosecutor of the domestic violence unit, order protection court and juvenile division. She is on the National Forum for Environmental and Toxic Tort Issues conference committee and helps plan the event annually.

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Former U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon leads the government matters practice group and is on the policy committee. He established King & Spalding’s Chicago office in 2017 and has grown the office to 45 lawyers. Most recently, Fardon counseled clients through recent mass shootings. He’s been at the forefront of multistate state attorney general investigations and litigation related to several data breaches. Following the George Floyd murder, Fardon established a Diversity & Equal Justice committee in the Chicago office as well as a D&I committee for the firmwide government matters practice. As U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Fardon handled the prosecution of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan and the red-light camera corruption trial. He’s an adjunct professor at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law.

Bradley Faris focuses on M&A, with a particular interest in friendly and unsolicited tender offers and proxy contests, takeover defense counseling and advising independent directors in conflict-of-interest transactions.

He previously served as global co-chair of the M&A practice and chair of the Chicago Corporate Department.

Faris has represented Aon in its attempted merger with Willis Towers Watson and the divestiture of its retiree health exchange business. He advised GTCR portfolio company Vivid Seats on its strategy to become a publicly listed company. During his tenure as co-chair of the M&A practice, Faris established a team that uses artificial intelligence and other technologies to support M&A transactions. He serves on the steering committee of the Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate & Securities Law Institute at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law.

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 22, 2021 23

JASON GANDY

GARY GASSMAN

Executive managing director Riveron

Member Cozen O’Connor

Jason Gandy leads Riveron’s Chicago office, which represents a major hub as the second-largest office of the Dallas-based business advisory firm. He leads a 75-person team. Gandy joined Riveron in 2019 after a career of more than 20 years at Accenture, where he was most recently managing director, banking and capital markets.

Riveron was founded in 2006 and has expanded to eight markets.

Riveron’s client revenue in the Chicago market has grown in the last 18 months. Gandy manages a market with a portfolio of more than 200 clients and this year has expanded the firm’s client portfolio with 30 new local clients.

This year, he helped attract and onboard 40 new team members.

Gandy is on the steering committee of the CFO Leadership Council.

At Cozen O’Connor, Gary Gassman is co-chair of the firm’s professional liability practice group, concentrating on insurance coverage counseling and litigation. He also leads the LGBTQ attorney resource group and is on the diversity committee. Gassman handles cases involving directors’ and officers’ liability and employment practices liability. Recently, he represented an insurer in a wrongful death action against a property management company worth over $30 million. And he recently negotiated a six-figure settlement for an insurer in the coverage dispute component of a class action. Gassman

was named ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section chairelect and will become chair in 2022-23. This past year, Gassman also spent considerable pro bono effort helping transgender people with legal name changes.

ROBERT “BOBBY” GERBER

TIA GHATTAS

JEREMY GLENN

Member Cozen O’Connor

Chicago office managing partner Cozen O’Connor

In June, Robert “Bobby” Gerber was named the third managing partner in the firm’s 35-year history. He’s a member of the executive committee and a partner in the corporate & securities practice group. Gerber began his career at NGE as a summer associate 24 years ago and is the first managing partner to rise through the associate ranks. As a member of the executive committee, Gerber helped steer the firm through the pandemic and led the development of the firm’s flexible return-to-work guidelines. Gerber leads efforts to hire, retain and advance under-represented groups

Tia Ghattas is co-chair of the transportation and logistics litigation industry team, representing clients across the product supply chain.

She’s tried more than 30 trials to verdict and is a skilled mediator.

In one of her most recent mediations, Ghattas not only negotiated a favorable settlement for her client with several million dollars at stake, but also obtained indemnification for her client and recovery of defense costs. Ghattas is a member of the firm’s Women’s Initiative steering committee and the new business committee. She’s represented pro bono clients in transgender rights and personal-identity matters.

In addition to managing the Chicago office, Jeremy Glenn is a member of the management committee and the national labor & employment practice.

He oversees more than 50 attorneys.

Glenn recently led a collective-bargaining negotiation for a Chicago building-owners multiemployer association, reaching agreements with a large engineering union.

As part of the firm’s coronavirus task force, Glenn helped clients navigate pandemic-related issues and develop policies to guide employers. Under Glenn’s leadership, colleagues participated in a 21-day racial equity

among its attorney ranks, resulting in NGE obtaining Mansfield Rule 4.0 certification this year, its third year of participation in the program. Gerber is a member of the Chicago Legal Aid Clinic development committee.

Last year, she published prescriptive pieces on how the trucking industry should respond to policy and regulatory changes. A former Division II college basketball player, she coaches basketball for Chicago Public Schools.

reading curriculum following the social justice reckoning of 2020.

He chairs the board of the Olive Branch Mission, the oldest continuously operating emergency and transitional housing shelter in Chicago.

Managing partner Neal Gerber Eisenberg

Congratulations to our colleagues Gary Gassman, Tia Ghattas, and Jeremy Glenn on being named Crain’s 2021 Notable Gen X Leaders in Law.

Michael J. Heller Executive Chairman & CEO (215) 665-4141 mheller@cozen.com

Vincent R. McGuinness President & Managing Partner (215) 665-2097 vmcguinness@cozen.com 775 attorneys | 31 offices

cozen.com

© 2021 Cozen O’Connor

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24 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

ANDREW S. GOLDBERG

BARBARA GRAYSON

ERIC GREENFIELD

ROBERT HAYWARD

LAURA HOEY

JEF

Managing partner Laner Muchin

Partner Willkie Farr & Gallagher

Shareholder Polsinelli

Partner Kirkland & Ellis

Litigation and enforcement partner Ropes & Gray

Partn Leve

A partner for 19 years, Andrew S. Goldberg stepped up to the managing partner role in May. He specializes in negotiating collective bargaining agreements, representing clients in arbitrations and before the National Labor Relations Board and also responds to union grievances. He recently led successful negotiations to convert the workday at an Illinois manufacturing plant from a five-day, eight-hour schedule to rotating three- and four-day workweeks with 12-hour shifts, keeping the facility competitive and allowing it to better meet customer demands. Throughout the pandemic, Goldberg guided

Barbara Grayson joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher last year as partner and chair of the private client practice. She was one of the original six partners to launch Willkie Chicago, now at 55 attorneys.

Grayson advises influential families, including the Crown family, and she’s worked with some clients for two decades and often counsels multiple generations.

She also has discreetly settled family disputes, often with creative solutions. Grayson joined Willkie Farr from Jenner & Block, where she was partner and chair of the private wealth practice.

Earlier, she practiced at Mayer Brown for more than 14 years.

Grayson’s pro bono practice has benefited educational and cultural institutions, including After School Matters, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Victory Gardens Theater. She is on the board of the Chicago Zoological Society.

At Polsinelli, Eric Greenfield chairs the real estate division, which focuses on niche areas, including industry-specific incubator spaces and technology hub locations rather than big-box retail.

His disciplined approach has enabled the department to triple in size over the past five years. Greenfield spent much of the last 18 months functioning as strategic counselor, offering guidance on issues from pandemic safety measures to lease forbearance. Despite the pandemic’s impact on commercial real estate, Greenfield closed 141 land purchase deals in North America and Europe last year, up from 137 in 2019. Greenfield joined Polsinelli in 2012 from Greenberg Traurig, where he was a shareholder. He’s a member of the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation, where he helps conduct classroom and onthe-water sailing instruction for people with disabilities.

Capital markets attorney Robert Hayward counsels public companies and private-equity funds.

Clients include Boeing, Deere, Kellogg, Cushman & Wakefield, Whirlpool and Carvana.

Hayward spent two decades creating a differentiated market position around founder-led and private-equity-backed companies. Over the past 18 months, Hayward led the most company-side IPOs, according to Deal Point Data’s list of the 20 most active lawyers for IPOs. He’s the only Midwest-based lawyer on the list. This year, he led Ryan Specialty Group’s $1.6 billion IPO, the first for a pure-play insurance wholesale broker. He led a $300 million debt offering for Whirlpool’s inaugural sustainability bonds. And he handled Boeing’s May 2020 $25 billion senior notes, considered the largest non-M&A offering. He leads Kirkland’s initiatives in green, social and sustainable bonds.

Former federal prosecutor Laura Hoey is co-leader of Ropes & Gray’s global litigation & enforcement practice group.

Recently, she was counsel to a defendant in the Operation Varsity Blues college admissions scandal and was lead counsel for H.I.G. Capital in a multiyear investigation by the Justice Department. Over several years, Hoey has served as Chicago office managing partner, co-leader of the government enforcement & white-collar group, co-leader of the health care & life sciences group and the co-chair of the Women’s Forum.

Hoey rejoined Ropes & Gray in

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2011 after serving as an assistant U.S. attorney in Little Rock, Ark., for more than four years. She’s a member of the Criminal Justice Panel of the Northern District of Illinois, where she provides pro bono criminal defense services.

in 20 coun treas on th Com ousl Gran for s

clients through managing new safety precautions and developed policies on prevention measures.

Key to this has been negotiating employment agreements to combat employee shortages.

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 22, 2021 25

JEFFERY HOFFENBERG Partner Levenfeld Pearlstein

Jeffery Hoffenberg this fall was appointed to Levenfeld Pearlstein’s executive committee after serving as chair of its real estate group since 2018. During Hoffenberg’s tenure leading the real estate practice, the group had net growth of more than 33%, with 68% of new hires being women. The group’s revenue grew by nearly 50%. During the pandemic, Hoffenberg and his wife teamed with an infectious disease doctor to launch a business that tests school communities for COVID-19 using a lab-developed saliva test. Before joining the firm

in 2011, Hoffenberg was general counsel for the Cook County treasurer. He is a commissioner on the Village of La Grange Plan Commission, after having previously served on the Village of La Grange Zoning Board of Appeals for six years.

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HELANA ROBBINS HUDDLESTON Partner CohnReznick

Helana Robbins Huddleston leads CohnReznick’s Midwest transactional advisory practice, managing client relationships, providing financial analysis in a variety of operational and financial areas, including M&A due diligence, restructuring, cash flow budgeting, operational analysis, financial auditing, internal control evaluation and business process improvement.

She founded two NextGen programs at CohnReznick that focus on guiding individuals on networking (virtually and in-person), following up with contacts, elevator pitch execution, monetizing networks and effective management styles. She is chair of the diversity committee at DePaul University and is a member of its finance board where she advises on undergraduate curriculum. She is on the executive board of ACG Chicago and has been a volunteer and wish grantor with Make-A-Wish for more than 11 years.

NICOLE JACKSON Partner Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen

Partner Nicole Jackson is a member of the firm’s management committee and is working to institutionalize efforts in diversity and inclusion.

She represents developers and investors in providing affordable housing, including the redevelopment of public housing.

The last 18 months have marked the culmination of projects she handled: the opening of the most recent phase of Holsten Real Estate Development’s Parkside Old Town project on the site of the former Cabrini-Green complex and the opening of 4400 Grove, a new commercial/residential development in her Bronzeville neighborhood. In her DEI work, Jackson advocates for the firm to annually contribute a portion of profits to a donor-advised fund to invest in social justice initiatives. She’s a member of the ABA Forum on Affordable Housing & Community Development Law.

SHERYL JAFFEE HALPERN Principal Much Shelist

The core of Sheryl Jaffee Halpern’s practice, guiding business leaders in labor and employment decisions, was in high demand during the pandemic as she guided employers managing remote workforces, mask and vaccine mandates, and return-to-work plans.

As a member of Much Shelist’s Management Committee, she helps chart the firm’s long-term strategic direction. As co-chair of Much University, she leads skill-building training and professional development initiatives, and co-facilitates a mentoring

group composed of attorneys at all levels. Jaffee Halpern formed Power Rainmakers NFP, an annual two-day conference that brings together women partners from law firms across the U.S. and Canada.

JAIME JONES Partner Sidley Austin

A co-leader of Sidley’s global health care practice, Jaime Jones represents the country’s largest health care providers and global life sciences companies in government enforcement, regulatory and compliance risk matters.

She also assists private-equity investors in evaluating opportunities in the health care and life sciences industries. She has defended one of the nation’s largest health care providers in three Department of Justice investigations. She counsels two of the nation’s largest retail pharmacy chains on enforcement risk related to pricing and is advising a global retailer to bring full-service primary care to retail centers nationally. She’s a member of Sidley’s COVID-19 Task Force and its Global Life Sciences Council, where she coordinates work across dozens of disciplines. Jones sits on the board of Legal Aid Chicago and on the Legal Advisory Board of World Business Chicago.

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26 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

JENNIFER KENEDY

RAY J. KOENIG III

JORGE LEON

ADAM LEVITT

KENNETH LUMB

AM

Vice chair, executive committee Partner and deputy general counsel Locke Lord

Managing member of Chicago office Global co-chair of litigation practice group Clark Hill

Partner Michael Best & Friedrich

Co-founding partner DiCello Levitt Gutzler

Managing partner Corboy & Demetrio

Jorge Leon is a partner, group co-leader of Employee Benefits and co-chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee at his firm. He’s been recognized as a leader in employee benefits by Chambers USA, an independent rating agency, and was elected a fellow of the American Bar Foundation (only 1% of Illinois attorneys achieve this honor). He is on the board of Gads Hill Center, a 123-year-old nonprofit serving Chicago’s Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, and is on the Leadership Advisory Council for the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

Since 2020, he’s served on the Field Museum’s Collections Committee, Retirement & Benefits Committee, Diversity Equity Access & Inclusion Committee and the Repatriation Subcommittee, which is responsible for resolving claims for restoring artifacts to native populations.

Adam Levitt co-founded his firm in 2017 to advance the cause of justice for individuals, businesses and governmental entities. He’s led a number of prominent cases, including multibillion-dollar damages and remediation litigation over PFAS “forever chemical” contamination, a multibillion-dollar class action against ComEd and Exelon seeking recovery of profits obtained by bribing politicians, and Norwegian Air’s claim for damages from Boeing’s 737 Max debacle. He serves on advisory boards for the American Constitution Society’s Chicago Chapter, Duke Law Center for Judicial

Kenneth Lumb helps oversee the firm’s operations as well as mass tort litigation, including a multiplaintiff toxic tort lawsuit stemming from a large chemical spill and a multiplaintiff lawsuit involving cancer related to herbicide exposure. In 2003, while in the Army Reserve and employed

by Corboy & Demetrio, he was mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and served six months at Walter Reed Medical Center as the Acting Center Judge Advocate Law. Today, he performs pro bono work on behalf of veterans and active duty and reserve service members. In

Chai Com McG

Jennifer Kenedy, vice chair of Locke Lord’s executive committee since 2018, concentrates her practice on commercial litigation, including trade secret misappropriation and other intellectual property litigation; employment and contractual disputes; construction; product liability; ERISA; real estate and eminent domain. She co-founded the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law, a nonprofit membership association bringing together organizations dedicated to advancing women lawyers. She also co-founded Women Office Managing Partners, which meets to share best practices. She currently chairs Locke Lord’s Business Transformation Task Force to ensure the firm leads the industry in transforming the way it provides legal services in a post-COVID-19 world. She is an Executive Board member of Chicago Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson’s Within Reach Foundation and a member of The Fairway Network.

Ray J. Koenig III is a managing member of Clark Hill’s Chicago office as well as co-chair of its litigation practice, a group of approximately 215 lawyers.

He represents individuals, families, financial institutions, medical institutions, and governmental organizations in all areas of tax and estate planning. He was the first openly LGBTQ individual to lead a major practice group at the firm, and used his platform to advocate for diversity, equity & inclusion initiatives; an expansion of the summer associate program into more diverse communities; and an adoption of firm policy positions on workplace equality. In March, he was elected as second vice president of the Chicago Bar Association. He is a commissioner on Chicago’s Commission on Human Relations and co-chair of the National Legacy and Planned Giving Council of the Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund.

Studies, and Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies.

2020, he tried a case remotely in federal court in Chicago, seeking to hold Iran accountable for its support of Iraqi militants who killed and wounded U.S. soldiers in southern Iraq in 2009.

Congratulations to our co-founding partner Adam Levitt Named to Crain’s Chicago Business 2021 Notable Gen X Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law

Justice in all its P013-P022_CCB_20211122.indd 26

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 22, 2021 27

AMY MANNING

LINDSEY MARKUS

MICHAEL MARTINEZ

MOLLY MCGINLEY

Chair of Antitrust, Trade & Commercial Litigation Department McGuireWoods

Shareholder Chuhak & Tecson

Managing partner, Chicago office K&L Gates

Partner K&L Gates

In addition to running her own national practice, leading a practice group (with 25% of the firm’s practitioners) and serving as a trustee for the firm’s profit-sharing plan, Lindsey Markus is on four committees: Executive, Business Development, Space Planning and Women Helping Women. The first woman shareholder in the firm’s 30-year history, she built a national practice through education, speaking engagements and television appearances, tackling topics such as assisted reproductive technology, cryptocurrency and income tax planning. She is also one of the founders of the firm’s Women Helping Women program.

Markus sits on the Jewish United Fund board and chairs their philanthropic funds committee.

She also co-chairs the Planned Giving Committee for the American Technion Society.

Michael Martinez is the managing partner of K&L Gates’ Chicago office and a member of the firm’s management committee and firmwide diversity committee.

He is chair of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms, one of the largest and oldest organizations focused on the advancement of diverse lawyers in Chicago. His practice is concentrated on multidistrict class actions involving antitrust cartel and other complex commercial litigation and government investigations. His involvement in pro bono and social justice initiatives include a case winning asylum for a Kenyan refugee who would have been subject to torture if she were returned to her home country.

About 75% of the lawyers hired under Martinez’s leadership have been female, racially or ethnically diverse, or LGBT. He is a board member for Northwestern Settlement.

Molly McGinley is practice group coordinator for securities and transactional litigation and leads the firm’s Biometric Data Compliance & Defense Affinity Group. She has extensive class action and complex litigation experience, including defending an audio & speech recognition services company in a putative class-action case involving a novel interpretation of the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act. She was selected as a Leading Lawyer in Commercial Litigation

by Law Bulletin Media. She is involved in the firm’s Women in the Profession Group and helped create the Chicago Mastermind Program, an initiative aimed at supporting the business and professional development goals of female lawyers. She also is co-chair of K&L Gates for Equal Justice, a joint initiative of the firmwide Diversity committee and Pro Bono committee.

As global chair of McGuireWoods’ Antitrust, Trade & Commercial Litigation Department, Amy Manning handles criminal and civil antitrust and commercial litigation matters for international and U.S. companies and individuals. In the past year and a half, she’s handled matters involving allegations of price fixing, market allocation, bid rigging, no-poach agreements, tying arrangements, bundling, monopolization and attempted monopolization. She is vice chair of the 2020 and 2022 ABA Antitrust Section International Cartel Workshop. She co-founded the Chicago Women Antitrust Lawyers Network, the first professional networking group for women antitrust lawyers in the area.

She is chair of the ABA Antitrust Section’s Diversity Long Range Planning Committee and twice served as chair of the American Diabetes Association Chicago board. She’s also on the Negaunee Music Institute Board of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

KERRYANN HAASE MINTON Managing partner Michael Best & Friedrich

Kerryann Haase Minton is Chicago office managing partner and on the firm’s management committee. She counsels financial institutions, manufacturers, logistics companies and higher education institutions on a spectrum of employment issues, including discrimination, wrongful termination, wage and hour claims, staff and leadership training, succession planning, board of directors governance and harassment avoidance. She is responsible for client service, office growth, teamwork culture and talent development. Since January, the Chicago office has hired more than 20 attorneys and staff and, under her leadership, the Chicago office is now more than 68% diverse. A graduate of John Marshall Law School, now UIC Law, Minton is on the firm’s Management, Compensation, DE&I and Women’s Development committees. She is on the board of Chicago Dancing Company and a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization.

ROPES & GRAY congratulates our partners

Laura Hoey and Paulita Pike and all the “Notable Gen X Leaders in Accounting, Consulting and Law” recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business.

Laura Hoey

Paulita Pike

Litigation & Enforcement

Asset Management

ropesgray.com

Attorney Advertising © 2021 Ropes & Gray LLP

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28 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

DESIREE F. MOORE

DAVID MORRISON

Partner K&L Gates

Principal Goldberg Kohn

Desiree F. Moore is a litigation partner at K&L Gates and founder of the firm’s Digital Crisis Planning & Response client solution.

Her practice focuses on crisis management, including helping corporations, educational institutions, sports clientele, and high-profile individuals navigate data security incidents and data breaches, online impersonation and harassment, public scandals, and celebrity disgrace events.

As a co-resident of the firm’s Doha, Qatar, office, Moore has experience in both domestic and international arbitration.

In 2020, she was honored with the St. Robert Bellarmine Award for notable contributions to her profession and the Loyola University School of Law. She also is firmwide director of professional development and is on the board of governors for Ingenuity, which promotes arts education in Chicago Public Schools.

As administrative partner, David Morrison chairs the firm’s regular partnership meetings, leads the firm’s assessment of COVID-19 policies and return-to-work guidance, serves as a principal in the litigation and labor & employment groups, and leads trial counsel on federal and state cases. Among recent highlights, he created a sustainable pro bono asylum program resulting in the 2021 PBI Corporate Partnership Award honoring a five-year partnership created by the firm with McDonald’s, the National Immigrant Justice Center and Jenner & Block to represent immigrants seeking asylum. He also argued

P013-P022_CCB_20211122.indd 28

before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirming a decision to enjoin the Trump administration’s public charge rule from taking effect. Morrison helped to create the first diversity initiative at the firm.

CINTHIA GRANADOS MOTLEY Member Dykema Gossett

At Dykema Gossett, Cinthia Granados Motley is director of the global data privacy & information security practice. She’s handled international data breaches for a decade. Motley acts as incident response counsel to large organizations, advising them on information governance and litigation readiness, as well as mitigating cyber-risk exposures, data security and privacy litigation.

Motley speaks to publications and in webinars on cyber risk.

She developed Dykema’s privacy and cybersecurity blog, “The Firewall,” and set up a cyber responder hotline. She’s a member of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Electronic Discovery Pilot Program committee and leads its privacy and data security project team. Motley joined Dykema in 2018 from Sedgwick, where she was a partner. Motley also is an adjunct professor for IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.

TIMOTHY NELSON

KRISTI S. NOLLEY

THO

Member Aronberg Goldgehn Davis & Garmisa

Partner BatesCarey

Share Foran

Kristi S. Nolley is coverage and litigation counsel to domestic and international insurers in matters of professional liability coverage, including D&O, E&O, health care and EPL coverage. She is called upon for clients’ most complex insurance claim issues involving securities fraud class actions, derivative actions, regulatory investigations and product liability class actions. Nolley has been handling the day-to-day defense of two insurance company clients in a high-profile Purdue Pharma insurance coverage lawsuit; the company is fighting to exit Chapter 11 in one of the largest bankruptcy proceedings in history. As the first-ever female member of the

Thom pres and and

An equity member at Aronberg Goldgehn, Timothy Nelson co-chairs the firm’s business law & transactions practice group, which increased its diversity composition by nearly 18% in 2021. In this role, he manages the group’s internal operations, external presence and profitable revenue generation. As a business lawyer, he works as outside general counsel for middle market and privately held businesses. The firm’s cannabis practice group has grown exponentially because of Nelson’s representation of multi-state operators in various business transactions and compliance matters. He was elected to the executive committee of Legal Netlink Alliance, an international network of law firms that facilitates the firm’s ability to remain competitive by connecting clients with high-quality legal counsel around the world.

firm’s management committee, Nolley also leads BatesCarey’s Tea Talk initiative, in which attorneys and clients discuss workplace inclusivity and diversity. She is a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society.

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 22, 2021 29

THOMAS ORLANDO

SEEMA PAJULA

BINAL PATEL

PAULITA PIKE

KAREN PINKERT-LIEB

Shareholder and firm president Foran Glennon

Partner Deloitte

Seema Pajula is vice chairman, clients, industries and insights leader and consumer national industry leader at Deloitte. She is lead partner for two Fortune 500 companies and has client leadership roles at several clients in both the attest and relationship spaces. She is a member of the U.S. management committee, Client & Market Growth executive committee, global clients & industries executive committee, and Deloitte’s U.S. growth council. She also is the cross-functional industry transformation go-to-market initiative leader. Pajula was the Manufacturing Institute’s STEP vice chair, championing the impact of women in manufacturing, and developed Deloitte’s external-industry DEI strategy to shape client thinking around attracting and enabling talent. She is vice chair of Chicago Scholars Foundation and finance committee chair of Leadership Greater Chicago.

Chicago managing partner and partner, asset management group Ropes & Gray

Senior partner Schiller DuCanto & Fleck

Thomas Orlando is the firm’s president, directing the growth and operations of nine offices and the professional development of 50 attorneys and 30 staff. His legal practice includes litigation and appellate work defending insurance companies in property and liability coverage cases. In his practice, he has obtained numerous reversals of summary judgments in insurance coverage disputes and product-liability cases.

Other career highlights include litigating claims involving fraud, bad faith and business interruption. Orlando transformed how the firm services clients across nine offices on two continents, pioneering a structure that, for example, has bolstered the firm’s London footprint and integrated U.K.-based partners in a cohesive way. He is a member of the Grant Park Music Festival board of directors and a governing member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Principal shareholder and president Banner Witcoff

Binal Patel is president of intellectual property law firm Banner Witcoff, managing patent procurement programs, leading complex litigation matters in federal courts, and handling inter partes review proceedings before the USPTO’s Patent Trial & Appeal Board. Patel has successfully enforced the IP rights for a large roster of clients, including major financial and insurance institutions, as well as innovative companies like YETI Coolers, Evertz Microsystems and Kraft Foods. A former engineer, he is an adjunct professor at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He is co-founder of the Indian American Bar Association of Chicago and the North American South Asian Bar Association. Patel also leads the North Shore Corporate IP Roundtable program, which he founded to provide networking opportunities for IP attorneys working as in-house counsel.

Paulita Pike is Ropes & Gray’s Chicago managing partner and a leading registered funds lawyer in the city. She represents registered openand closed-end funds, ETFs, funds of hedge funds, and funds investing in private equity. Among recent highlights, she guided Invesco on its market-first, semitransparent ETF; advised Calamos Funds in their acquisition of asset management firm Timpani Capital Management; counseled Primark Capital in the launch of its closed-end fund; and advised Innovator Funds trustees in their oversight of “defined outcome” mutual funds. Pike launched the

firm’s community engagement and outreach program, connecting associates with nonprofits and, as part of Ropes’ Women’s Forum, she mentors female asset-management associates.

Karen Pinkert-Lieb’s background in finance, tax law, and psychology make her well suited to navigate complex custody and financial cases.

After years of success as a litigator, she was one of the first attorneys at SDF to dedicate her practice to alternative dispute resolution. She was one of the firm’s first female equity partners, and she was chair of the Family Law Section of the Illinois State Bar Association where she drafted family law legislation. She has been instrumental in mentoring and promoting female attorneys from law clerks to owners, including promoting alternative work arrangements. A Chicago-

Kent College of Law grad, she also participated in the creation of SDF Cares, a firmwide volunteer initiative.

We salute all of the 2021 Notable Gen X Leaders in Accounting, Consulting and Law and are especially proud of our recognized attorneys.

Kevin, Lindsey and Cisco Your sound leadership and willingness to mentor younger or less experienced attorneys, outstanding client service and extraordinary community service are but a few reasons why we feel privileged that you have chosen to practice with us.

Kevin Coyne

P013-P022_CCB_20211122.indd 29

Lindsey Paige Markus

Francisco (Cisco) Connell

11/18/21 5:22 PM

30 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

ERIKA POWERS

MICHAEL RENETZKY

TRISHA RICH

WILLIAM RIDGWAY

STEPHANIE RIFKIND

MIT

Partner Barnes & Thornburg

Chicago office managing partner Locke Lord

Mana Much

Michael Renetzky leads Locke Lord’s Chicago office, one of the firm’s largest with more than 150 lawyers and team members. His practice focuses on investment management, securities and corporate law, counseling clients on securities law compliance, debt and equity financing matters, and investment company and broker-dealer regulation. He also devotes a substantial portion of time to representing buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions transactions. He chairs the firm’s finance committee, co-leads the firm’s investment adviser & alternative funds practice group, and is a member of the firm’s U.K. executive committee. A graduate of Harvard Law, Renetzky is on the board of directors of the Trees That Feed Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to planting food-bearing trees to feed people, create jobs and benefit the environment.

Partner Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom

Partner Swanson Martin & Bell

Erika Powers advocates for municipal and industrial clients facing complex water quality issues nationwide, including enforcement defense, permitting, and negotiating federal consent decrees governing community investments in wet weather infrastructure improvements.

She has led significant negotiations with the DOJ, the EPA, and states for communities across the country, helping Peoria, for example, achieve a novel agreement to address combined sewer overflows to the Illinois River primarily through green infrastructure projects. She’s also chair of the firm’s national environmental department, having restructured it to focus on attorney development, business development and recruiting rather than geographic offices. Powers is on the board of trustees for Alma College, is a former chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Environmental Law committee and is a past member of the Woman’s Club of Evanston.

Partner and co-chair, legal profession team Holland & Knight

Trisha Rich co-chairs Holland & Knight’s national Legal Profession Team, which provides outside lawyers, law firms, inhouse counsel, and legal technology companies with a suite of services addressing significant risk management and ethics issues. A leader in the field of legal ethics, Rich was part of teams that petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a man who charged that his denial of admission to the Illinois bar violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Supreme Court of New Jersey on behalf of a litigant who unjustly lost her bar license. She is on the Chicago Bar Association’s task force on the sustainable practice of law & innovation and is an adjunct professor of law for legal ethics and professional responsibility at NYU School of Law.

William Ridgway represents businesses, their boards and executives in government investigations and enforcement proceedings, internal investigations and civil litigation.

He also advises clients on cybersecurity incident preparation and response and national security issues, in addition to a variety of matters related to cryptocurrency, blockchains and digital assets. He represented Flagstar Bank in settling a consumer class action arising from a data breach and is part of the team representing Purdue Pharma in its resolution of Department of Justice civil and criminal investigations concerning the sale and marketing of opioid products. Ridgway is on the board of Future Founders, which seeks to seed more diverse founders in the startup ecosystem. He’s also active in the Leadership Greater Chicago fellowship program and is a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School.

Stephanie Rifkind is responsible for the defense, litigation and management of over 100 toxic tort suits for various corporate clients, including Fortune 500, international and Illinois-based companies.

Rifkind recently expanded her practice to include assisted reproductive technologies, a complex and emerging area of law about which she is particularly passionate due to her own struggles with pregnancy loss and fertility. She also co-chairs the firm’s Advancement of Women+ in Law committee, a tailored program to provide mentorship and guidance for women attorneys at all levels of the firm, and is also involved with paralegal recruitment, training, placement and support. A graduate of John Marshall Law School, now UIC Law, she also mentors multiple first-year associates at SMB as part of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism’s Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program.

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 22, 2021 31

MITCHELL ROTH

DOUGLAS SARGENT

ERIN SCHRANTZ

KRISTEN SEEGER

CHRISTOPHER SHEEAN

Managing partner Much Shelist

Partner Greenspoon Marder

Partner Jenner & Block

Partner Sidley Austin

Partner Swanson Martin & Bell

Mitchell Roth is responsible for Much Shelist’s direction and strategic vision while preserving its client-centric and employeefocused culture.

He also leads Much’s business & finance group and advises owners and executives at public and privately held companies as well as in the private-equity community. Recent highlights include his representation of Lakeshore Recycling Systems in several major acquisitions as well as a transformative recapitalization. In 2019, Roth committed Much Shelist to the Mansfield Rule initiative and successfully achieved Mansfield-certified status by considering at least

Douglas Sargent is a leading partner in Greenspoon Marder’s cannabis law practice group, which recently launched a Chicago office. He advises clients on legal and regulatory issues, including licensing, compliance and litigation. He also represents clients in consumer finance and other types of litigation. Sargent and his team recently represented more than 20 plaintiffs in a landmark cannabis litigation against the state of Illinois centered around cannabis license lotteries. He provides pro bono legal services to individuals disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs, assisting participants of the pilot Social Equity & Education Development incubator program launched by Cresco Labs. Over the past 15 years, he has been involved with the National Immigrant Justice Center as a board member and pro bono attorney, helping secure asylum for many clients.

Erin Schrantz is co-chair of Jenner & Block’s investigations, compliance & defense practice, and a core member of the firm’s monitorship practice, representing clients across industries in investigations and complex litigation. She conducts compliance-risk assessments on financial crimes, including bribery and corruption, fraud, #MeToo and other compliance-risk areas. She is part of the team-appointed monitor of the United Auto Workers in response to a government investigation involving union officials. She also led the compliance team for the monitor of Credit Suisse following the bank’s $715 million settlement with New York for aiding and abetting tax evasion. A member and former co-chair of the Women’s Forum, Schrantz participates in coaching circles, has promoted programs to support working parents and created a mentor program to advance junior women partners to equity.

Kristen Seeger is a leading partner in Sidley’s securities & shareholder litigation practice, focusing on high-stakes cases and investigations. She represents companies, executives, and corporate boards in sensitive securities and shareholder litigation and SEC enforcement. She also co-leads Sidley Chicago’s associate evaluation committee and is on Sidley’s diversity committee. Recent high-profile cases include representing Walgreens in disputes related to Theranos, the blood-testing venture, and Johnson & Johnson in defense of securities fraud and shareholder derivative litigation involving talcum powder products. She also represents Johnson & Johnson in opioid litigation alleging breaches of fiduciary duty. She’s treasurer of Mujeres Latinas en Acción, which supports survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She is also on the DEI committee of the Red Cross board.

Christopher Sheean chairs Swanson Martin & Bell’s class-action practice group, manages a practice of commercial litigation and products liability defense work, and sits on the firm’s associates committee. He also is responsible for managing all aspects of the paralegals program, overseeing hiring and ensuring that the candidates are pooled from a diverse group. He is national counsel for a sporting goods manufacturer and has obtained successful outcomes for TransUnion, Under Armour and ABS Graphics in commercial disputes in Illinois state and federal courts. Sheean is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, teaching trial advocacy; is active in the Defense Research Institute; and is a board member for the Chicago chapter of Swim Across America, which raises money for cancer research at Rush University Medical Center.

30% historically under-represented attorneys for leadership roles, executive committee roles, equity partner promotions, pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions.

Congratulations to Thompson Hine partner Steven A. Block for being named a Notable Gen X Leader in Accounting Consulting and Law. Thompson Hine LLP, a full-service business law firm with approximately 400 lawyers in 8 offices, is committed to innovation. Its nationally recognized SmartPaTHTM approach to service delivery is a smarter way to work – predictable, efficient and aligned with client goals. Learn more at ThompsonHine.com/SmartPaTH.

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32 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

MARK SILBERMAN

KIMBERLY SMITH

MAILE SOLÍS

DAVID SOLOMON

Partner Benesch

Partner Katten

Partner Levenfeld Pearlstein

Mark Silberman chairs Benesch’s white-collar, government investigations & regulatory compliance group and is vice chair of the firm’s Healthcare+ group. He helps health care organizations ensure regulatory compliance and industries manage internal and external investigations, audits and government inquiries.

As the pandemic pushed states to adjust regulatory requirements, he guided multiple clients so they could utilize expanded telehealth platforms and other innovations.

He assisted Encompass Health in winning approval permits to construct three new rehabilita-

In spring 2021, Kimberly Smith was named corporate global chair, leading more than 125 attorneys based in offices throughout the U.S., the U.K. and China. She is instrumental in the strategic planning for the entire firm, including operations, profitability, and diversity and inclusion.

Smith maintains an M&A and private-equity practice, counseling clients on leveraged buyouts, acquisitions, joint ventures and other investments across multiple industries ranging from health care and technology to business services and manufacturing. She also represents some prominent family

Partner Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg

tion hospitals, and represented UroPartners, the Midwest’s largest urology group, in obtaining a new linear accelerator. Silberman is on the board of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and is involved with its Tikvah program, which provides inclusion opportunities for children with special needs.

offices in Chicago in their direct investments in private companies.

She is on the corporate board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago and is a founding member of the organization’s guild board, which helps with fundraising. She also supports the Women’s Association of Venture & Equity.

Maile Solís co-chairs BFKN’s litigation group and is a partner in its fashion, luxury and retail, and motor vehicle groups. She has two decades of experience in complex commercial litigation, litigating matters involving breach of contract, fiduciary duty, data privacy, trademark infringement, insurance coverage, real estate, and employment discrimination disputes throughout the country. She serves as national counsel for LVMH in a range of litigation matters. Over the last year, she served as counsel to LVMH in an antitrust case; to Sephora in

a biometric information privacy class action; and to Moët Hennessy USA in consumer class actions.

Solís is co-chair of BFKN’s pro bono committee and has been a member of the Leadership Council of the National Immigrant Justice Center since 2003.

Midwest focus.

Global perspective.

David Solomon founded and currently leads the firm’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan practice and represents clients in merger and acquisition transactions, along with acting as outside general counsel to many clients.

The practice has grown to include nearly 50 ESOP clients who complete approximately 30 transactions a year. During his five-year tenure as chair of the firm’s corporate practice group, it expanded into the insurance brokerage, cannabis, accounting and litigationfinance industries. Solomon is currently a member of the board

of the Illinois Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, a member of Vistage International, a past president of the Jewish Council for Youth Services, and a former member of the corporate committee of the Chicago chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

GRETCHEN HARRIS SPERRY Partner Hinshaw & Culbertson

Gretchen Harris Sperry handles appeals in state and federal appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, on matters ranging from constitutional litigation to catastrophic injury. In one high-profile case, she secured partial reversal of a preliminary injunction order in a legal challenge to Cook County Jail’s COVID protocols. Sperry represents the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bulls and the United Center in personalinjury and player disputes. She defended Major League Baseball and the White Sox in a multimillion-dollar, personal-injury lawsuit brought by a former New York Yankees player. Working with Hinshaw’s chief knowledge officer, Sperry assisted in the integration of technology and artificial intelligence into general litigation and appellate practices at the firm. She is on the executive board of the ABA Council of Appellate Lawyers.

Congratulations to Laurie Bauer, a founding partner at Cooley’s Chicago office, on her recognition as one of Crain’s 2021 Notable Gen X Leaders.

© 2021 Cooley LLP, 444 W Lake Street, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60606 www.cooley.com

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 22, 2021 33

WARREN STIPPICH

ROBERT SURRETTE

ANTHONY R. TAGLIA

WILLIAM TARNOW

NOEMIE TILGHMAN

National managing partner Grant Thornton

President McAndrews Held & Malloy

Managing partner Golan Christie Taglia

Partner Neal Gerber Eisenberg

Principal Deloitte Consulting

Warren Stippich oversees quality and risk management for advisory services and leads the firm’s COVID-19 response. He also works with multinational public and private companies, including boards of directors and audit committees, providing internal audit and related controls services.

Stippich built the firm’s risk practice in the Chicago market and is often called on to build new services from scratch at a U.S. or global scale. He lectures on data analytics, governance, risk, audit committee readiness and compliance. He is a member of Grant Thornton’s African American business resource group and is active in supporting diverse recruiting and hiring practices. To improve the pipeline of qualified applicants, he also works with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Gies College of Business and its first associate dean for equity.

Robert Surrette is the leader of McAndrews and a key collaborative member managing the firm’s governance structure. For example, he is helping to innovate the firm’s business practices in view of significant recent changes in U.S. patent law.

His practice is focused on the resolution of intellectual property and technologyrelated disputes with an emphasis on patent, trademark, trade secret and trade dress litigation. For the last 15 years, he has counseled a leading global medical device manufacturer on numerous litigation and transactional matters. Surrette has been president of the ChicagoKent Alumni board of directors,

Anthony R. Taglia counsels clients on corporate matters, mergers and acquisitions, tax, succession planning, real estate, banking and finance law, and structuring commercial deals. He is a CPA and earned his MBA in finance and his J.D. from DePaul University. His tenure at GCT spans 22 years, including serving on the executive committee for 12 years and leading the firm’s corporate group. He has been lead counsel for many years for a Chicago-based, 60-year-old family business that started in the family’s garage and grew into a multimillion-dollar business.

William Tarnow is chair of NGE’s Labor & Employment practice and a member of its executive committee. He manages employment-related disputes before federal and state courts and administrative agencies throughout the country and is a strategic partner to companies concerning business and employment matters. He’s handled trials and other court proceedings remotely, securing victories for clients in restrictive covenant, contract, and equal employment opportunity disputes. Tarnow recently secured a partnership on behalf of the Jordan Foundation with Sothe-

president of the Richard Linn American Inn of Court and regional commissioner of American Youth Soccer Organization Region 210.

He’s also been an adjunct professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

When the family considered selling, Taglia’s estate planning strategy saved millions in tax liability. He is on the board for the nonprofit Rainbows for All Children, focused on children growing up with traumatic circumstances.

by’s for the sale of original Michael Jordan items, with all sale proceeds going directly to the foundation’s charitable missions.

Deloitte Consulting’s oil, gas & chemicals sector leader Noemie Tilghman guides multifunctional, global service strategy and operating model design programs that help drive large-scale cost reduction, process efficiency and effectiveness improvements.

She is the go-to-market leader for Deloitte’s proprietary Visual Decision Xccelerator tool and is the chief talent officer for Deloitte’s enterprise performance practice, managing the full talent life cycle. Tilghman was Deloitte Consulting’s Strategy & Operations Competency Area leader, where she led Deloitte Consulting’s national campus hiring efforts enhancing the go-to-campus strategy. She works on Deloitte’s DEI efforts to increase representation at the analyst, consultant, and senior consultant levels, and is Deloitte’s sponsor to the Forté Foundation in support of women’s career advancement through access to business education.

CONGRATULATIONS, BOB SURRETTE McAndrews, Held & Malloy’s President and Shareholder, for being named one of Crain’s 2021 Notable Gen X Leaders in Accounting, Consulting, and Law. Thanks for your steadfast commitment to our colleagues, GPMIRXW ERH ƼVQ EPP [MXL E GSRWXERX JSGYW SR 1G%RHVI[W remaining one of the world’s premier, full-service intellectual TVSTIVX] ERH XIGLRSPSK] PE[ ƼVQW

mcandrews-ip.com

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34 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

MARK TIVIN

AMY VAN GELDER

MELISSA VENTRONE

KRISTIAN WERLING

STEVEN WHITMER

GRE

Partner Manning Gross + Massenburg

Partner Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom

Member Clark Hill

Partner McDermott Will & Emery

Partner Locke Lord

Melissa Ventrone is the leader of the cybersecurity, data protection & privacy group and cochair of the Asset360 integrated services group.

She directs a multidisciplinary group including 25 lawyers and a team of forensic investigators across 26 offices to minimize client security risks and curtail cyberattack damages in the event of an incident. Over the last 18 months, Ventrone and her team have managed to mitigate numerous significant attacks and saved clients millions of dollars through negotiations with those holding data and systems hostage. A certified information privacy professional, Ventrone recently completed 21 years of service in the Marine Corps Reserve. She is a mentor in the Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Society of Women in Law mentorship program and volunteers as an ombudsman for the Employer Support of the Guard & Reserve.

Kristian Werling is co-head of McDermott’s private-equity practice and a member of the management committee. He recently represented Regenxbio in its $1.8 billion strategic partnership with AbbVie to develop and commercialize RGX-314, a potential one-time gene therapy. He also recently represented Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin SCA in its cross-border, $475 million sale of its subsidiary, Solesis, to Altaris Capital.

Prior to becoming co-head of McDermott’s private-equity practice, Werling was co-head of the firm’s life sciences practice.

In 2020, he helped launch the McDermott Rise steering committee, which provides a set of free legal and business services to companies founded and run by entrepreneurs of color. He is editor-in-chief of “The Fundamentals of Life Sciences Law: Drugs, Devices and Biotech.”

Steven Whitmer is a member of Locke Lord’s executive committee and is litigation coordinator for the 70-plus litigators in the firm’s Chicago office. Over the past 20 years, he has litigated all types of commercial disputes, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, false advertising, fraud and unfair business practices. In 2018, he was CVS’ lead hearing counsel before state insurance departments to obtain approval for the $70 billion CVS/ Aetna transaction. He also won an appeal before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case against the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services regarding the legality of the federal government’s Medicare reimbursement demands. Since 2012, Whitmer has been on the board of trustees for Outreach Community Ministries, including as board president for two years (2019-2020).

Partn Skad Flom

Mark Tivin is the sole equity partner at MG+M’s Chicago office, essentially serving as partner-in-charge. His practice areas include asbestos, employment and environmental litigation, personal-injury and products liability. He is on the firm’s pro bono and professional education committees and, as national trial counsel for large industrial companies, handles thousands of toxic tort cases nationwide. In the past 18 months, he has secured victories on the trial teams of several major industrial corporations, including dismissals from several South Carolina high trial-threat cases in difficult courts. He also works in employment and racial discrimination cases in Illinois. A John Marshall Law School grad, Tivin was one of the firm’s seven attorneys named to the Law360 personal injury & medical malpractice editorial board.

Amy Van Gelder represents clients in complex commercial litigation, arbitration and trials, including class actions, bankruptcy litigation, and civil suits arising out of mergers and acquisitions, contracts, torts and constitutional violations. Van Gelder’s practice also includes bankruptcy cases and adversary proceedings.

Van Gelder also is the attorney development partner for the Chicago Litigation Group and on the firmwide editorial board.

In this role, she oversees staffing matters, educational opportunities and training. Van Gelder is the partner liaison for Skadden’s Women Excelling at Law organization. She also is on the board of directors and is secretary for CARPLS, Cook County’s largest provider of free legal services.

HOSPITAL CEO BREAKFAST

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Register at ChicagoBusiness.com/HCEO Questions? Contact CCBEvents@crain.com

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#CrainsHospitalCEO @CrainsChicago

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 22, 2021 35

GRETCHEN WOLF

LAUREN WOLVEN

LANCE ZINMAN

Partner Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom

Partner Levenfeld Pearlstein

Partner Katten Muchin Rosenman

Lauren Wolven is a partner in the firm’s trusts & estates group, and in July 2021, was appointed to the firm’s executive committee. She concentrates her practice on estate planning, representing corporate fiduciaries, tax and succession planning for privately held businesses, and trust and estate administration and litigation. In March 2020, Wolven wrote the initial draft of the executive order signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and renewed throughout the pandemic, which allowed for remote witnessing and notarization of documents.

In 2021, she was named to the

Lance Zinman leads a diverse, international team of 80-plus lawyers, including former Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities & Exchange Commission officials.

Among recent highlights, he successfully guided quantitative trading firm Headlands Tech Holdings through numerous transactional/regulatory issues in the sale of its FINRA-registered broker-dealer to Toronto-Dominion Bank. Zinman began his career at Katten as a corporate lawyer working on private-equity and M&A deals, specializing in sports,

Gretchen Wolf is a litigation partner in Skadden’s Chicago office, representing clients in complex regulatory investigations, enforcement matters and civil litigation. She has experience managing multijurisdiction and cross-border matters with investigation and litigation components.

She played an integral role in representing JPMorgan Chase in receiving final court approval of a favorable settlement in an antitrust lawsuit involving foreign currency trading. She also was a lead partner responsible for securing a precedent-setting victory in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 17-year-old antitrust lawsuit filed by U.S. Futures Exchange against the Chicago Board of Trade. She is co-chair of Skadden’s Global Women’s Initiatives committee and is on the boards of the National Immigrant Justice Center and the Chicago Foundation for Women.

AVERAGE CONSULTANT SALARY Illinois

$70,948

Chicago

$71,132

The average consultant salary is $74,668 per year, or $35.90 per hour, in the United States. People on the lower end, the bottom 10%, make roughly $56,000 a year, while the top 10% make $98,000. Alaska, Washington, Maryland, New Jersey and Massachusetts provide the highest consultant salaries.

CONSULTANT SALARIES, BY INDUSTRY Professional

$95,990

Health care

$82,229

Manufacturing

$81,701

Retail

$81,091

Technology

$79,897

Finance

$76,582

MANAGEMENT CONSULTING IN THE U.S. $253.07 billion $250.0 billion 200.0

advisory committee of Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning’s annual conference, the largest estate planning conference in the country. She is a fellow of the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel, where she is state chair for Illinois.

including representing the White Sox and Bulls franchises and developer Lew Wolff when he bought the Oakland Athletics. He is a member of the Northwestern Law Board and on the board of Help For Children, which raises money to help prevent child abuse.

150.0 100.0 50.0 0

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‘12

‘13

‘14

‘15

‘16

‘17

‘18

‘19

‘20

‘21

Sources: Zippia, IBIS World

BARACK FERRAZZANO OC CONGRATULATES O G U SO OUR U PARTNER PARTNERS S RECOGNIZED R ECOGNIZED COG DA AMONG O G THE CRAIN’S CRAIN’S RA ’S ’S CHICAGO A O BUSINESS' B ' NOTABLE NOTAB NO O AB GEN X LEADERS IN ACCOUNTING,, CONSULTING & LAW

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WE APPLAUD SARAH M. BERNSTEIN & MAILE HITOMI SOLÍS FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP, MENTORSHIP, AND COMMITMENT TO OUR FIRM AND THE LEGAL COMMUNITY Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP | T. 312.984.3100 | bfkn.com

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