Driving Diversity in Law & Leadership: Chicago

Rebecca Weinstein Bacon tries and litigates complex cases for Fortune 500 clients. With over 20 years of experience, Rebecca has represented companies in some of their most important cases on a variety of claims: pharmaceutical products liability claims, antitrust cases, consumer class actions, and commercial disputes. She is an expert legal strategist with extensive trial experience, as well as the business sophistication and acumen to know when and how to obtain the best possible settlement for her clients.

Rebecca tried one of the only consumer class action cases to go to trial, which resulted in a defense verdict for Whirlpool. She also tried one of the only “pattern or practice” employment discrimination cases to go to trial. It was brought by the EEOC against Texas Roadhouse. She is currently leading the team defending FedEx Ground against sweeping claims by the EEOC relating to their treatment of deaf package handlers. She serves on trial teams for bellwether cases in pharmaceutical companies’ most important mass torts. She has tried and is slated to try pelvic mesh trials for Johnson and Johnson in 2020.

Her representation of Bayer in the WeightSmart litigation led to one of the seminal class action decisions related to ascertainability. In this case, her leadership resulted in appellate review of the only certified state class which she argued before the Third Circuit. The Third Circuit reversed the class certification decision and denied plaintiffs’ request for rehearing.

Rebecca is a nationally recognized attorney. She is Chambers ranked, named one of Crain’s Most Influential Women Lawyers in Chicago, a Benchmark Litigation National and Local Litigation Star, one of the Top 250 Women in Litigation for many years, and on the Lawdragon 500. Rebecca served as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law for three years where she taught a class on trial advocacy, and she has published and presented on a wide range of topics related to high-stakes litigation.

Rebecca graduated from Columbia University School of Law as a Kent and Stone Scholar and earned her bachelor’s degree from UCLA with honors.

Mischa focuses her practice on real estate and commercial litigation around issues involving eminent domain, trade secrets, real property, construction, and business torts at the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts. Her clients include utility companies, municipalities, state transportation departments, publicly traded REITs, Fortune 500 corporations, small enterprises, and individuals.  Mischa is passionate about DEI and is actively involved in the firm’s leadership on these issues and also serves on University of Michigan’s leadership council for Diversity Equity and Inclusion and the Center for the Education of Women.  She earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan and has been recognized as a Michigan Super Lawyer and a Michigan Top Lawyer.  In 2015, Michigan Lawyers Weekly named her to its elite annual list of “Women in the Law.”

Ms. Plonka is one of the preeminent litigators in Michigan, who handles a wide array of civil litigation matters, including first-party no-fault and third-party automobile negligence claims, premises liability, employment litigation, fraud, and insurance coverage disputes, both at the trial level and before appellate courts. She has a nearly flawless record of “No Cause of Action” verdicts over the past few years and her reputation for winning has prompted insurance carriers to substitute Ms. Plonka for its existing defense counsel. Her clients include State Farm, Farmers Insurance Exchange, Geico, and the State of Michigan handling matters through the Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility. She is also currently litigating employment cases for TCF Bank and Piston Group.  In 2015, she was named to the list of Michigan Top Lawyers, and in 2017, Michigan Lawyers Weekly named her to its prestigious list of “Women in the Law.” She is dedicated to serving the community through mentoring youths, serving with the State Bar of Michigan’s Attorney Discipline Board, and as a Member on the Board of Directors of the Black Women Lawyers Association, as well as serving as co-chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee. Ms. Plonka earned her undergraduate degree in social work from Eastern Michigan University and received her law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law.

Nancy DePodesta is a highly acclaimed trial lawyer with substantial experience handling trials in the federal district courts and arguments to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She has also overseen numerous investigations at the state and federal level, involving regulatory agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Labor, and Securities and Exchange Commission, and has handled internal investigations for corporate clients.

With extensive experience in a broad array of subject matters, including securities fraud, tax fraud, health care fraud, bankruptcy fraud, corporate fraud, bribery and corruption, racketeering, and narcotics conspiracies, Nancy focuses her practice on white collar criminal defense. An adept and hands-on manager, she has led teams of in-house attorneys and outside counsel in handling complex litigation and investigative matters.

Toby Eveland is the Managing Partner for Saul Ewing’ Chicago Office, the firm’ second largest office of its sixteen throughout the country. As Managing Partner, Toby leads a team of more than 120 professionals handling litigation and transactional matters. Toby also is a skilled litigator and trial advocate for clients who are involved in high-profile cases that pose a risk to their reputation and complex business disputes and class actions that could affect their viability. In addition, Toby is a passionate civil rights advocate and previously served as Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association’ Diversity Leadership Council.

Vice President, Associate General Counsel, IBM Corporation

Donna is currently Vice President, Associate General Counsel, with global responsibility for supporting IBM’s cloud business. Donna is also a Founding Board Member of IBM’s AI Ethics Board, and she led IBM’s Global Pro Bono Program for three years. From 2011 to 2014, Donna worked in Dubai on international assignment as Senior Regional Counsel, IBM Middle East, North and West Africa. Donna has over 25 years of experience in advising her senior business clients on various legal issues as well as more than 25 years of non-profit board service in a variety of leadership, advisory and committee roles. Donna has been involved in AI legal matters since the inception of IBM’s Watson AI business unit in 2014.  Donna is a speaker on AI, AI Ethics, AI and the Law and the intersection of STEM and the Law. Donna holds a JD from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and a BA in Economics and Political Science from Northwestern University.

Community and Board Involvement

Donna is a member of the Executive Committee of Law Board at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and is Chair of the Board’s Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group.  Donna also serves on the Joint Committee of Law Firm Partners and Corporate Counsel of The National Judicial College. She is Past President and current member of the Board of Directors of the Arab American Bar Association of Illinois. Donna was recently awarded the Chicago Bar Association’s Vanguard Award, which honors individuals who have made the law and legal profession more accessible to and reflective of the community at large.

Kara Goodwin serves as RRD’s Vice President, Associate General Counsel – Labor, Employment & Compliance.  Reporting directly to the Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel, Kara advises Senior Management and Human Resources on all areas of the employment relationship and compliance with key ethical mandates, including adherence to the Company’s Principles of Ethical Business Conduct, the Company’s policy on Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption, and the Company’s treatment of Whistleblower complaints.  Kara conducts or oversees many of the Company’s internal investigations, develops and reviews Company policies to ensure compliance with laws, rules, and regulations, and works with new hires and managers regarding compliance with the Company’s ethical requirements.  Kara also oversees all aspects of the Company’s employment litigation and provides instructional leadership to the Company’s Corporate Human Resources, Corporate Communications, DEI, and Environmental, Health and Safety functions.

Prior to joining RRD in 2019, Kara spent 10 years at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, a leading global law firm, representing companies in employment-related disputes, business counseling, and internal investigations.

Gerald has extensive trial and courtroom experience, and has represented employers in a wide variety of state and federal employment matters, including complex discrimination litigation and class actions, employment contracts, harassment claims, and claims brought under Title VII, the ADEA, the ADA, and various other state and federal statutes. He also provides advice, training, and counseling to clients regarding employment policies and practices and diversity issues.

Gerald is a member of Seyfarth’s seven-member executive committee, the leadership team that guides the firm’s growth and business strategy, and manages its global operations.

Gerald’s achievements as an accomplished litigator and trial lawyer—whose court room advocacy includes numerous jury trial wins, summary judgments and “no money” settlements—have been broadly recognized. He was inducted as a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and also is a Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago. Gerald has consistently been listed in Illinois Super Lawyers in the area of Labor & Employment (Thomson Reuters) (2009-2020). In 2021, Crain’s Chicago Business recognized Gerald on its list of “Notable Black Leaders & Executives.” Chicago United, one of Chicago’s preeminent organizations devoted to business, leadership, and diversity, selected Gerald as a “Business Leader of Color.” Gerald has been featured in Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s Diversity and The Bar magazine as a “Cutting Edge Labor and Employment Practitioner,” and in other prominent publications, such as the ABA Journal, Savoy Magazine, and the Law Bulletin.

Nashunda is the Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for JLL. She is responsible for driving the company’s DEI strategy, identifying comprehensive actions that help JLL provide environments where all employees feel they belong, creating a company culture of which employees can be proud, and enabling higher performing teams.

Since joining JLL in 2015, Nashunda has served as an IT business partner for our Work Dynamics and Markets businesses, helping to implement strategies, programs and solutions.

Additionally, she has been deeply involved in JLL’s DEI initiatives, having led the Empower–Black Professionals Network in the United States and founded and led JLLT’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Prior to joining JLL, Nashunda worked as a technology manager at Allstate, which included leading the Allstate Center for Assistive Technology, which ensured all employees have access to diverse accommodations to ensure an ideal work environment. Her passion for culture and leadership enabled her to conduct workshops for the Emerging Leader Program as well as be part of a transformative culture at Allstate.

Nashunda holds a degree in Information Systems from Howard University and is a certified SCRUM Master. She is based in Chicago, has three children and enjoys reading in her spare time.

Olivia is a trusted advisor on civil litigation matters, especially regarding intellectual property. She has represented individuals and corporations across the country in complex technological matters. She helps clients protect, enforce, and defend intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets, copyrights and trademarks.

An experienced trial lawyer, Olivia has litigated and tried significant cases before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and other federal courts around the country, and has also briefed and argued patent appeals before the Federal Circuit. She was recently appointed to serve on the Advisory Committee for Local Rules for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Before practicing law, Olivia spent five years as a patent examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, gaining extensive experience regarding the use of procedures available before the USPTO.

Olivia devotes a substantial amount of her time to pro bono service.  In 2018, she received the Excellence in Pro Bono Service award, presented by The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and The Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Her dedication began when she represented a Chicago high school student charged with first-degree felony murder in People v. Shannon, which received national attention after a videotape of the incident went viral. Olivia remains dedicated to her pro bono clients and continues to fight for their cause through petitions and appeals. She received the Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Professional Service in 2011 for that representation. She is the current Membership Chair for the Economic Club of Chicago and will serve on its DEI Committee for 2022-2023.

Erica Longfield acts as Counsel for Allstate Insurance Company in its Law and Regulation Department overseeing extra-contractual liability and coverage matters. In her role, Erica advises the Company on risks related to casualty, property and commercial claims across the country, and manages high exposure matters in litigation. Prior to joining Allstate, Erica was a Partner at Swanson, Martin, & Bell, LLP in their Chicago office. Throughout her 15 years in private practice Erica obtained significant litigation and trial experience handling personal injury, product liability, complex commercial, and general liability matters. Erica and her husband live in Chicago where they are raising their three children between ages ten and two.

Kathleen Amuzu is Senior Counsel for CNA Insurance in Chicago, Illinois where she provides legal counsel on complex regulatory and compliance matters to various business units. Additionally, Kathleen provides legal support to CNA’s Long Term Care insurance group. Prior to joining CNA, Kathleen served as Assistant Counsel to the American Property & Casualty Insurers  Association (APCIA) where she provided legal support and counsel to over 1,000 member companies. Kathleen is a dynamic legal professional with cross-functional competencies demonstrated by a diversified background providing highly competent counsel, directing corporate policy, and a proven ability to construct and implement legal strategies. Kathleen earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame and her Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School.

Kyle Lewis is Senior Counsel on the Safety & Insurance Legal team at Uber Technologies, Inc. He oversees a team of in-house attorneys who work closely with outside counsel to defend the company in Northeast U.S. claims litigation matters, which present a host of novel and first-impression legal issues. Before joining Uber, Kyle was an Associate at an insurance defense law firm in Chicago where he defended a range of corporate defendants in a variety of tort liability litigation. He received his B.A. in International Studies and Communications from Saint Louis University, and his J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. He is a Member in Good Standing of the Illinois State Bar.

In his free time, Kyle enjoys exploring Chicago with his wife or taking weekend trips to mountain towns to go hiking.

Jessica K. Robinson is a product counsel at GitHub where she serves as the lead product counsel to various engineering, product, and development departments. She began her legal career in technology, supporting a startup before officially transitioning to product counseling. She earned a bachelors from the University of South Florida and juris doctor from DePaul University College of Law. Her journey into the technology industry began out of curiosity and has transformed into a career of innovation, creativity, and connection. Her hope is to diversify legal professionals in technology and continue to foster connection amongst likeminded peers.

A lawyer with two decades of recruiting experience, Anna Marie Armstrong thrives on the prospect of finding the very best talent for her clients and new, rewarding, and ultimately, better opportunities for her candidates. An expert in legal recruiting as well as a vocal supporter of women and minority lawyers, Anna is a frequent speaker at legal conferences and top law schools about diversity as well as many other cutting-edge issues affecting the legal market.  Anna graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in English and American Literature and received her J.D. from U.C. Berkeley School of Law where she served as an Associate Editor of the California Law Review.

Lisa Davis George is Director & Assistant General Counsel, Litigation at Discover Financial Services. Her responsibilities include advising on significant antitrust matters for the company as well as managing a high volume consumer litigation portfolio. Lisa also leads Discover’s Associate Mentoring Program which supports the advancement and retention of diverse talent at partner law firms and serves as the Co-Chair of Discover’s Pro Bono Committee which further supports diverse projects and communities. Prior to joining Discover, Lisa was Executive Counsel at GE Capital Corporation where she managed high exposure complex commercial litigation.

Vania is Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at United Airlines. In this role, Vania oversees a team of attorneys responsible for managing litigation and legal compliance in the areas of intellectual property, antitrust, commercial, employment, labor and benefits. She is also is responsible for global antitrust and competition compliance. Working closely with business stakeholders, her team provides counsel and direction in all of these areas.

Vania joined United in 1999. Prior to working for United Airlines, Vania was an associate with the law firm of Littler Mendelson. Vania received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Northwestern University, and a JD from Harvard Law School.

Vania is a member of the American Bar Association and Hispanic National Bar Association. She currently serves on the Leadership Board of the National Immigrant Justice Center. She is also a founding member of the Western Suburban Giving Circle of the Chicago Foundation for Women.

Samera Syeda Ludwig focuses her practice on labor and employment. For more than 20 years, she has represented employers in both state and federal courts and in administrative proceedings throughout the country. As an experienced litigator, Samera counsels and represents businesses on matters involving employee discipline, employee claims of discrimination, and harassment and retaliation and conducts internal investigations.

For over a decade, Javaria Neagle has led significant litigation and provides strategic advice on key company initiatives at United Airlines, Inc. She currently serves as Associate General Counsel of Litigation. In that role, she oversees a robust team of attorneys and legal professionals responsible for providing client counseling on an array of customer/external partners issues, in addition to a vast portfolio of governmental investigations and litigation including antitrust, commercial, securities, and personal injury. She also manages eDiscovery, record retention, and subpoenas functionalities for the enterprise. Javaria founded and served as President of United’s Business Resource Group for parents and caregivers, and previously served on the Board of United’s Business Resource Group for women. Outside of work, Javaria represents asylum seekers and is a founding board member for Dress for Success-Central.

Heidi J. Azulay is a transactional real estate, finance and proptech lawyer. Real estate investment trusts, emerging growth companies, and institutional, commercial and developer clients value Heidi’s guidance and approach to their commercial real estate transactions, which range from acquisitions, dispositions, development and leasing to financings, joint ventures and restructurings covering nearly every asset class.

Borrowers also rely on Heidi to counsel them through their most sophisticated and complex secured and unsecured REIT and corporate credit facilities, agency financings, construction financings, and commercial and personal finance transactions, including the acquisition of senior and junior debt.

Beyond her deep experience across the spectrum of real estate and finance transactions, Heidi has particular experience in complex transactions related to sports stadium and arena projects, including negotiation of project ground leases and development documents, facility use agreements, and financings throughout the lifespan of such projects.

Shannon Clark is Global Director and Associate General Counsel, Data Protection & Privacy for CBRE Group.  She leads CBRE’s Global Data Privacy Office and is responsible for its Global Data Protection and Privacy Program, which seeks to embed a privacy-respectful culture and ensure CBRE complies with privacy laws globally.  Shannon also sits on CBRE’s Data Risk Governance Council and CBRE’s Chicago DE&I Council.

Cindy Sobel serves as the firm’s hiring partner and concentrates her practice on complex financial cases for Fortune 100 companies, accounting firms, hedge funds, insurance companies, and private equity firms. Before practicing law, Cindy was an accountant and tax consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she worked in the international tax and transfer pricing groups. Cindy uses her accounting background to simplify complicated financial transactions, damages, and other related issues for judges and juries.

Cindy has significant trial experience in state and federal courts nationwide. Most recently, Cindy represented Pratt & Whitney in a multi-week bench trial regarding the Department of Defense’s $210 million claim related to Cost Accounting Standards. Cindy also served as trial counsel in a series of residential mortgage-backed securities cases, including a matter for MassMutual against Credit Suisse that settled four weeks into trial.

Cindy’s drive for justice extends well beyond her legal work, as she leverages her experience to mentor others and to foster diversity and inclusion in her community. Cindy is an active member of the Advisory Council for Prep for Prep, a New York-based organization devoted to creating a generation of diverse leaders. She also served as a fellow for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity in 2018 and on the Chicago board of directors for Step Up from 2015 to 2019, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing mentorship and after-school programming to girls in under-resourced communities. Cindy chaired the Step Up board in 2018. Before joining Bartlit Beck, Cindy established a domestic violence clinic in collaboration with the City of Chicago that trained lawyers to represent victims of domestic violence in obtaining emergency and plenary orders of protection. The clinic still exists and has been used as a model by several Chicago law firms.

Markena Peavy is  Senior Counsel, U.S. Personal and Business Banking at BMO Harris Bank, N.A.

 Prior to joining BMO, Markena was Vice President, Compliance Advisory Manager of MB Financial Bank, N.A. She managed a team of compliance advisors that supported the bank’s consumer lending business units in the areas of Consumer Lending, Indirect Lending, Consumer Loan Documentation, Private Banking, Loan Servicing, Default Administration, and the Mortgage Division. She has also worked extensively in the area of federal compliance and on litigation matters as outside counsel for various financial institutions. Markena has held multiple compliance positions at financial institutions and a non-bank mortgage servicer prior to joining MB Financial – as Compliance Attorney with Dovenmuehle Mortgage Company, Mortgage Resolution Specialist with Bank of America N.A., and Legal Analyst with J.P. Morgan Chase. Her experience also includes representing financial institutions on litigated matters in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana as an associate attorney with Crouch and Ramey in Dallas, TX.

 She earned her J.D. in 2012 from DePaul University College of Law, Chicago, IL and her B.A. in 2003 from Miami University of Oxford, Ohio. She was admitted to the bar of the State of Texas in 2012 and the State of Illinois in 2015. She is also an adjunct professor at DePaul University College of Law and teaches Secured Transactions and The Law of Financial Institutions.

Raymond Rushing is Corporate Counsel at Cummins Inc. in the Global Litigation Group. Prior to Cummins, Raymond spent six (6) years at national and global law firms helping clients solve some of their most complex issues in the areas of product liability, toxic tort, and commercial litigation. Raymond is also a former judicial law clerk to the Honorable Maria Valdez of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In 2021, Raymond was named as a Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and Chicago Lawyer 40 Under Forty Illinois Attorneys to Watch honoree. Raymond is also a fierce advocate for service in the community and lives by the motto “be better and do better.” Raymond serves on the board of BUILD, one of Chicago’s leading gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth development organizations. Raymond is also the President-Elect of the Cook County Bar Association, the oldest association of African American lawyers and judges in the country. A native of Oklahoma, Raymond received his Bachelor of Arts in African and African American Studies and Master’s in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. Raymond received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.

Eligio is a member of the Executive Committee and a Shareholder at McAndrews. For 25 years, he has litigated and tried complex, high-stakes patent cases in courts across the United States. He has represented clients in billion-dollar Federal court disputes, as well as in arbitrations, including one resulting in a $166 million award in favor of his client. As trial counsel, Eligio uses these experiences to guide all aspects of trial strategy and preparation, including complex discovery and related post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The result is pragmatic and cost-effective dispute resolution.

Joanne Moon is Senior Counsel at Uber Technologies, Inc.  She oversees a team of in-house attorneys and works closely with outside counsel to defend the company in Northeast U.S. claims litigation matters, which present a host of novel legal issues.  She is also a trusted advisor to her business counterparts, and is known for her ability to navigate complex legal issues with ease.  Joanne has a bachelors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law.  In her free time, Joanne enjoys exploring Chicago with her husband and 2-year-old daughter, experimenting with new recipes, and trying new restaurants.

Maggie is the General Counsel for the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA), a City of Chicago agency focused on police accountability. As General Counsel, Maggie advises elected and appointed officials on compliance and policy issues. Prior to serving as General Counsel, Maggie was a Supervising Assistant Corporation Counsel with the City of Chicago, Corporation Counsel’s Office. With the Corporation Counsel’s Office Maggie litigated wrongful death, Freedom of Information Act, and Open Meeting Act lawsuits including representing taxpayers in jury trials.

Prior to working for the City, Maggie served as a Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney, advocating on behalf of victims of crime. While working as a prosecutor, Maggie tried numerous cases to verdict including jury trials, felonies, and sexual assaults.  She currently sits on the board of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association and the Chicago Bar Association, Young Lawyer’s Section where she received the Milton Gray Award for Outstanding Project Leadership for the 2021-2022 bar year.

Jennifer brings over 7 years of Document Review experience to TCDI.  In her role as MSMR Director Jennifer oversees review projects to ensure reviews are efficient and effective so that quality deliverables are provided to the client.  Her understanding of document review processes and military spouse lifestyle allowed her to create and implement TCDI’s Managed Spouse Military Review program, providing for remote review possibilities for military spouse attorneys in search of remote opportunities.  She successfully manages and trains teams of attorneys, paralegals, and administrative staff on review, coding, and management tasks related to document review.

Kathleen also regularly represents companies in cases involving allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or wrongful termination brought by single-plaintiff employees at all levels of a company. In addition, she proactively counsels clients to ensure their employment practices comply with current or new workplace laws and regulations. For example, she has guided clients through new workplace issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also offered training and guidance on the legalization of recreational and medical cannabis and its impact on a client’s workplace drug policies, complaint procedures, disciplinary action policies, and accommodations practices.

Before joining Epstein Becker Green, Kathleen worked in medical prosecutions at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. She has published numerous articles and presented on a variety of employment law topics, including the impact of the legalization of cannabis on the workplace, wage and hour compliance, and reasonable accommodations in health care workplaces. She also speaks on developments in wage and hour class action law, managing remote employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fair Labor Standards Act classification, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and cannabis workplace issues.

Dana O. Williams is a Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Northern Trust in Chicago. Dana supports global Human Resources groups, providing legal advice and counsel to the Human Resources Consulting Function, Employee Relations, Talent Acquisition, Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Human Resources Service Center, regarding all aspects of the employee lifecycle. Dana also manages pending and threatened employment litigation against the company. 

Prior to joining Northern Trust, Dana practiced in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP in the Labor and Employment and Litigation, Trade Secrets and Corporate Espionage groups, primarily defending Fortune 500 employers in state and federal court litigation. Dana also worked in the Chicago office of Sonnenschein, Nath and Rosenthal LLP (n/k/a Dentons) in the Litigation group.

Dana has a B.A. in African-American Studies from Dartmouth College, and a J.D. from Georgetown University.

For over ten years, Dana has been an active member of the board of Primo Center, a provider of permanent and transitional housing to homeless women and children on Chicago’s South and West Sides. Dana was recently appointed to the board of CARPLS, Cook County’s largest provider of free legal aid services.

Dana is currently serving as Co-Chair of the Women of Color Alliance within Northern Trust’s Women in Leadership Business Resource Council.

Dana is also a Leadership Greater Chicago Class of 2022 Fellow.

Dana lives in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago with her husband and three children.

Tajanae Mallett is the General Counsel and Secretary for Arjo Inc., a medical device distributor with a U.S. headquarter in Addison, IL. Arjo, the Malmo, Sweden-based company, manufactures products and solutions for ergonomic patient handling, medical beds, personal hygiene, disinfection, diagnostics and the prevention of pressure ulcers and venous thromboembolism in acute and long-term care facilities and for the government. Mallett reports directly to the CFO/VP of Finance for Arjo Inc. Mallett is the only attorney for the U.S. based entity and is responsible for overseeing all legal activities including litigation, contract drafting, employment issues and M&A activities. Mallett joined the organization in 2015.

I help clients with financial markets legal, regulatory, compliance, and policy advice to navigate the fast-changing financial markets and fintech regulatorylandscapes.

Maggie advises clients on a wide array of regulatory, policy, compliance, and enforcement matters concerning derivatives, securities, blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital assets, and environmental-social-governance (ESG) issues. Maggie has more than 15 years of legal and policy experience advising on financial institutions and financial markets, as well as years of senior-level government experience working for and with U.S. and international financial markets or prudential regulators.

Maggie also served as senior policy advisor and the director of International Engagement, Financial Markets Group, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Before joining the Federal Reserve, she worked at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where she held multiple roles, including as senior counsel to the chairman. At the CFTC, she advised on legal and policy matters as well as enforcement actions touching a wide range of issues: designated contract markets, derivatives clearing organizations, swap execution facilities, broker-dealers, asset managers, fintech, cryptocurrencies, and Dodd-Frank Act rules. She served as a deputy to the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), and represented the CFTC in various international forums, including at the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). She also later served on the CFTC’s Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC).

Before her government service, Maggie worked for several years as a litigator for global law firms in Washington, D.C. She represented large banks, hedge funds, financial services providers, energy companies, and/or their executives in complex civil litigation, including trials and appeals, as well as in internal and government investigations and enforcement proceedings. Maggie was an officer at McGonigle, P.C., before the firm combined with Davis Wright Tremaine.

As Managing Counsel for McDonald’s Corporation, Krystin Hernandez serves as a strategic advisor to one of the world’s leading global foodservice businesses, with more than 36,000 locations globally, serving approximately 69 million customers in more than 100 countries each day. More than 80% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business men and women.

Ms. Hernandez currently leads a team of twenty Real Estate Legal Professionals within McDonald’s U.S. Legal team that provide legal services focused on real estate and property management issues that impact McDonald’s restaurants and McDonald’s portfolio of surplus real estate and are critical to the operation and execution of McDonald’s U.S. business strategy.

Ms. Hernandez has been practicing law in-house at McDonald’s since July of 2010. She began her practice in McDonald’s real estate, negotiating leases for special venue restaurant locations, such as museums, malls, airports, tollways and military bases. In 2012 she joined the Corporate Commercial Practice Group advising clients and negotiating supplier agreements relating to equipment and restaurant building materials. In 2015, she transitioned to a role on the U.S. Business Counsel team, focused on supporting U.S. business operations, partnering side by side with field operations to ensure compliance with McDonald’s Brand Standards and managing franchisee relationships and agreements.

In 2017, Ms. Hernandez pivoted to a hybrid role with the Commercial Practice Group and the Marketing and Intellectual Property team, focused on review of trademarks, sustainability initiatives, McDonald’s antibiotic use policies, supply chain, equipment, operations, antirust compliance, government relations and fundraising and PAC laws.  Ms. Hernandez also led various M&A transactions, including the acquisition of McDonald’s largest landlord in the U.S. and the sale of a technology company.

Ms. Hernandez has also been sponsored by McDonald’s Legal Department to participate in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellowship program in 2019 and was selected to join PODER25, a General Counsel talent pipeline initiative of the Hispanic National Bar Association in 2020.

At McDonald’s, she serves on the company’s legal diversity committee and professional growth committee, while also serving on the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Chicago Chapter Diversity Committee where she leads the diversity internship program for the chapter. Ms. Hernandez was also recently elected to serve as the Marketing Officer for the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Chicago Chapter Executive Board.

Ms. Hernandez is licensed to practice law in Illinois. She received her BS and JD from the Illinois Institute of Technology and Chicago-Kent College of Law after being accepted into its Honors Scholars program which offers an undergraduate and a law degree in six years and a full-tuition law school scholarship. Ms. Hernandez became the first student to complete the program in five years. Ms. Hernandez grew up in Chicago, Illinois and graduated from Loyola Academy.

As the child of Cuban immigrants, Ms. Hernandez is fluent in Spanish and is committed to playing a meaningful role in eliminating systemic racism that has resulted in an exceedingly low number of diverse board members, CEO’s and General Counsel.

Lalania Gilkey-Johnson is an Associate General Counsel at GE Appliances, a Haier Company (GE Appliances).  In this role and as managing counsel, Lalania is primarily responsible for providing and managing the legal support for all aspects of the global sourcing of commodities, parts and sourced finished goods for the company.  She is also response for GE Appliances’ joint venture – Mabe.

Lalania has both legal and business experience.  Previously, Lalania was Assistant General Counsel at US Foods, a food distributor based in Chicago, Illinois. While working at US Foods, she supported the National Sales organization, negotiated large, complex deals, managed a team of attorneys, and provided legal support for external communications. Prior to US Foods, Lalania worked for Axiom, where she was Senior Counsel for CDW Government sales. In addition to her legal roles, she was also an adjunct professor at Trinity International University, where she taught Business Ethics and Business Law. Lalania started her legal career at Schiff Hardin, a Chicago law firm, where she worked on white collar litigation, general litigation, and transactional intellectual property matters. Prior to becoming an attorney, started her professional career as a Branch Sales Director for Sprint Corporation, now T-Mobile, with a focus on Sprint’s largest data communication customers.

Lalania graduated from Howard University for her undergraduate studies, and she received her law degree from Chicago Kent College of Law.  

John Mielitz joined TCDI in early 2020 to bring a focus on business development and client advisory to the central states’ region.  With 30 years of legal services industry experience, John works directly with in-house lawyers and law firms to create custom solutions to dispute and non-dispute related problems.  He advises and consults with clients in a wide variety of practice areas, including litigation management services covering the full EDRM spectrum, legal operations initiatives, and contracts lifecycle management.  He focuses on process improvement via Lean Six Sigma methodologies, bespoke workflows incorporating proprietary as well as industry leading technologies, and demonstrable ROI to provide significant cost savings while ensuring the best possible business outcomes. 

April Morgan is the Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Board, the governing arm of the second largest transit agency in the United States with 11,000 employees and an annual operating budget of $1.6 billion. As Chief of Staff, April advises the Chairman and Board directors on policy issues that impact the daily operations of the agency, and coordinates with the CTA President and senior leadership on key initiatives such as finance, workforce development, procurement policy, DEI and intergovernmental relations. She also directs and oversees the daily operations of the Board Office and serves as a trustee to the CTA Employee Retirement Plan (Plan), which manages a $2 billion employee retirement fund. As a trustee to the Plan, serves on the finance, audit and personnel committees, where she uses her legal and policy expertise to lead the committees through policy decisions.

Prior to her current role, April was a corporate lawyer for the CTA, where she was lead counsel for transactional and advisory matters in the areas of technology, general administration, diversity and intergovernmental relations. She also provided counsel and developed policy for CTA to create diverse contractor and workforce development opportunities on major agency projects such as the Red Line South and 95th Street Station reconstruction, the Red and Purple Modernization, Ventra fare system and the LoopLink bus rapid transit system. Prior to CTA,April was an attorney for the Illinois General Assembly where she drafted and advised on legislation pertaining to transportation and education issues. She also prosecuted administrative hearings on behalf of the Chicago Board of Education.

April is a founding member and current President of the Associate Board of the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. In addition to her service on the Associate Board, Aprilis a Girl Scout troop leader, volunteers as a Street Law instructor and Illinois High School Association speech judge, and serves in the youth and career development ministries at her church. 

April received her Juris Doctor from Northern Illinois University College of Law, where she was a member of the Law Review. She graduated with honors from Knox College in Galesburg, IL, where she received her B.A. in Political Science and Sociology

Lynn Janulis, Ph.D., Partner at Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP, focuses her practice on securing patent rights within life science technologies. She has extensive knowledge in the fields of biotechnology, including molecular biology, virology, microbiology, immunology, biochemistry, and pharmaceuticals. She guides clients in obtaining worldwide patent rights within patent prosecution, opinions, due diligence analyses, and interference proceedings. At Marshall Gerstein, Lynn chairs the firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee – leading the firm’s efforts and initiatives in diversity, professional development, and recruiting. She handles pro bono matters through Cabrini Green Legal Aid and is an active member of Women In Bio – Chicago chapter.

Drawing on more than 25 years of experience providing dedicated client service as an attorney and consultant, Maureen engages with Consilio’s customers to ensure a best-in-class client experience. She works cross-functionally across the company to develop and deploy best practices that embed Consilio’s commitment to service excellence, and to deliver the highest levels of quality and value. She seeks opportunities to create differentiating moments for clients—from bespoke educational sessions to loyalty programs to peer networking events—to foster client satisfaction and loyalty.

Maureen also serves as Consilio’s Diversity & Inclusion Officer. She leads the development and implementation of the company’s strategies, policies, and programs for ensuring a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. Partnering with Consilio’s internal and client Advisory Boards on Diversity & Inclusion, Maureen guides the organization in carrying out its mission of attracting and encouraging a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and ideas; fostering a global, inclusive culture; and celebrating employees’ diverse strengths.

Maureen is a respected industry thought leader, speaking and writing frequently on significant issues that impact Consilio’s clients, such as current challenges for legal professionals around data privacy and security; strategies and tactics for engaging in cross-border discovery; the latest developments in e-discovery law and practice; and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession.

Prior to joining Consilio, Maureen was a partner at Paul Hastings LLP, where she represented Fortune 100 and other multinational companies in complex employment litigation, including class and collective actions. Maureen also co-chaired the Firm’s E-Discovery Practice Group. In that role, she advised clients on various e-discovery issues, such as identifying and inventorying sources of electronic information, drafting legal hold notices, and developing protocols for document collection, storage, and management. She also consulted internally with attorneys at the Firm on e-discovery issues, and helped develop best practices for litigators engaged in e-discovery.