The Bar News

Bar News Sections

Transitions

  • June 13, 2011 | People
    Blair joins Levin Schreder & Carey
    Levin Schreder & Carey Ltd. welcomes associate Charles G. Blair to the firm. Blair has been practicing law for seven years and focuses his practice on estate planning and administration. Before joining Levin Schreder & Carey Ltd., Blair practiced law at Wildman Harrold. Blair received his J.D. from John Marshall Law School (2004) and his B.S. in Interpersonal/Public Communications from Northern Illinois University (1992). “We are very pleased to have Chuck join our estate planning team. He will help expand our ability to continue to provide high quality timely service to our sophisticated client base,” noted Carleen Schreder, who founded the firm with partner Bob Levin in 1988. Levin Schreder & Carey Ltd. is a law firm focused on federal income tax, estate tax and gift tax planning and controversy resolution for individuals and closely-held businesses. The firm is one of the largest law firms devoted exclusively to income tax and estate planning and related litigation in the Chicago area. For more information, visit the firm’s website at: www.levinschreder.com.
  • June 8, 2011 | People
    Lewin joins Johnson Legal Group as special counsel
    [caption id="attachment_19956" align="alignright" width="150" caption="David Lewin"][/caption] David M. Lewin, experienced in commercial and insurance litigation and condominium association representation, is pleased to be acting as special counsel to Johnson Legal Group, LLC. Dave is admitted to practice before the Illinois Supreme Court, the Seventh Circuit, the Trial Bar for the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, and several other District Courts nationwide including Colorado, Michigan and Iowa. He has practiced literally from coast to coast, handling cases from Washington to Florida. He was awarded a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in 1992. He obtained a B.A., graduating with honors, from Loyola University of Chicago in 1989. Dave is a recognized authority in risk shifting for contractors and the Illinois doctrine of "targeted tenders," and has written and spoken on the subject at several regional and national conferences. He has authored numerous publications regarding insurance and construction issues. Cindy Johnson, the firm's Managing Member and a member of the ISBA Commercial Banking, Collections & Bankruptcy Law Section Council, said, "We are very pleased to have someone with Dave's unique areas of expertise acting in a special counsel capacity to our firm."
  • June 1, 2011 | People
    Hood to lead expansion of Polsinelli Shughart's IP practice in Chicago
    [caption id="attachment_19695" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Gary E. Hood"][/caption] Polsinelli Shughart PC welcomes attorney Gary E. Hood as a shareholder in the firm’s Trial department, where he will assist in guiding the expansion of the firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology Litigation practice. Hood regularly appears in courts throughout the United States. He represents individuals and organizations in a wide range of industries, including consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals, automotive parts and accessories, agriculture and medical devices and methods. Hood joins a national team of intellectual property and technology litigation attorneys located in Chicago, Kansas City and St. Louis. Having successfully led dozens of cases involving everything from IP disputes, to general civil and business matters, to criminal charges, Hood’s practice now emphasizes efficient resolution of lawsuits involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, counterfeiting and piracy and other related federal and state claims. Hood earned his law degree, magna cum laude, from Gonzaga University where he served as editor-in-chief of the Gonzaga Law Review. He was also the regional champion and National Sweet Sixteen qualifier in the prestigious National Moot Court competition. He earned a B.S.
  • May 11, 2011 | People
    Benz opens solo office in Chicago
    [caption id="attachment_19421" align="alignright" width="134" caption="Mary Patricia Benz"][/caption] Mary Patricia Benz, an experienced trial and appellate lawyer, opened her practice in downtown Chicago concentrating on litigation and appeals, mediation and arbitration, and lawyer professional responsibility matters. In her business model, Ms. Benz often works with co-counsel, adding collaborative services and offering clients an efficient, creative and personal approach to complex legal problems. Ms. Benz has over 30 years of experience in state and federal courts and will focus on dispute resolution for individuals and businesses including lawyers, educators, and other professionals. Recent cases include a dispute among the principals of a real estate development company, a contract dispute among pharmaceutical vendors, an alleged class action involving claims of violation of individuals’ rights of publicity, insurance disputes involving property damage coverage and title insurance, consumer disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, employment disputes, professional malpractice and malicious prosecution claims, disputes related to attorney’s fees and professional discipline, and legal ethics counseling. For more than 10 years, Ms. Benz served as a volunteer on the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) hearing and inquiry boards providing her with a solid base for representing lawyers at ARDC and counseling lawyers about ethics issues.
  • May 5, 2011 | People
    Mary Khouri joins Greensfelder
    [caption id="attachment_19257" align="alignright" width="178" caption="Mary V. Khouri"][/caption] The law firm of Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. is pleased to announce Mary V. Khouri has joined the Firm’s Employee Benefits Practice Group as an Associate. Khouri focuses her practice in the employee benefits and executive compensation areas.  Khouri has significant experience drafting and amending qualified retirement plans and welfare benefit plans.  Khouri regularly advises and counsels clients on employee benefit plan administration, compliance, contracts, and mergers and acquisition issues. While in law school, Ms.
  • April 27, 2011 | People
    Straka joins Walentine O'Toole McQuilan & Gordon as partner
    [caption id="attachment_19014" align="alignright" width="160" caption="Donald J. Straka"][/caption] Walentine O’Toole McQuilan & Gordon is pleased to announce that Donald J. Straka has joined the firm as a partner in the area of corporate and banking law. Straka has over 20 years of experience in representing public and private corporate clients, financial institutions, medical practices, manufacturing concerns and regulatory authorities in multiple jurisdictions. He specializes in corporate law, banking law and regulation, lending and finance, mergers and acquisitions (private and public companies), business transactions and litigation, regulatory matters, securities, real estate and employment matters. He provides strategic legal advice to clients relative to their growth and financial objectives, organizing and structuring business entities, acquisitions and divestitures, and negotiating and closing complex transactions. He served for eight years as the Chief Legal Officer of a Midwest regional Bank Holding Company and its subsidiaries where he advised the Board of Directors and led the Legal, Human Resources and Security Departments and served on a number of Committees. He has also served as a Director and/or CEO of various other corporate entities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
  • April 14, 2011 | People
    Dawn Gonzalez joins Baugh, Dalton, Carlson & Ryan, LLC
    [caption id="attachment_18846" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Dawn M. Gonzalez"][/caption] Dawn M. Gonzalez has joined Baugh, Dalton, Carlson & Ryan, LLC as a partner. She concentrates her practice in complex insurance coverage litigation and sophisticated insurance defense Ms. Gonzalez received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1991 and her law degree from the DePaul University, College of Law in 1994. Ms. Gonzalez was included in the 2009 to 2011 "Super Lawyers: Corporate Edition" magazine, as well as the 2008 to 2011 versions of the "Illinois Super Lawyers" magazine published by Law & Politics. In 2004, she was named to the Law Bulletin Publishing Company's 2004 list of "40 Attorneys Under 40 to Watch in Illinois". She was selected as the 2006 "Outstanding Young Alumna" by DePaul University, College of Law. She was the 2005/2006 President of the Women's Bar Association of Illinois and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Women's Bar Foundation. She has been a Vice Chair of the ABA's Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, TIPS Section since 2008 and was an Executive Committee Member of the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Evaluations from 2004 to 2007. In addition, she is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and the Defense Research Institute. She is formally of Litchfield Cavo LLP. For more information please visit www.baughdaltonlaw.com.
  • April 13, 2011 | People
    Patrick Fitzsimmons, Brenda Robinson join Baker & Daniels
    [caption id="attachment_18818" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Brenda J. Robinson"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_18817" align="alignright" width="150" caption="J. Patrick Fitzsimmons"][/caption] J. Patrick Fitzsimmons and Brenda J. Robinson have joined Baker & Daniels LLP as new partners in the law firm's Chicago office. Fitzsimmons concentrates his transactional practice in health care, medical device, biotech and life sciences.
  • April 6, 2011 | People
    VanFleet Law Offices move to new Peoria location
    The VanFleet Law Offices proudly announce they have relocated their business and commercial law practice firm from downtown Peoria to a more practical location in Peoria’s northern business district. To better serve client needs, the firm is now conveniently located at 7817 N. Knoxville Avenue (Corner of Knoxville and Pioneer Parkway).  All other contact information remains the same.
    • VanFleet Law Offices
    • 7817 N. Knoxville Ave.
    • Peoria, IL 61614
    • Telephone: 309-672-2200
    • Facsimile: 309-672-2201
  • March 28, 2011 | People
    Funk joins Polsinelli Shughart
    [caption id="attachment_18507" align="alignright" width="147" caption="Asher D. Funk"][/caption] Polsinelli Shughart PC welcomes attorney Asher D. Funk as an associate in the national law firm’s Trial department where he will focus his practice on government investigations and criminal defense of fraud and abuse issues within the health care industry. Funk brings a wealth of experience previously representing “whistleblowers” under the False Claims Act. He will now represent health care clients facing government investigations, civil and criminal lawsuits. Previously, Funk worked closely with the attorneys from the Department of Justice and state attorney generals’ offices across the country during the investigation and prosecution of False Claims Acts cases. Funk joins a national team of government investigations/white-collar criminal defense attorneys stretching from Phoenix to Washington, D.C. The firm advises clients on corporate governance issues and assists in structuring compliance programs to help clients avoid problems before they arise.