The Employment Law & HR Summit: Chicago

Jemelle D. Cunningham is EWR Director, US Commercial at AbbVie, where she leads and advises on workplace strategies, employee relations, human capital risk mitigation, and organizational policy matters that help shape a positive and compliant work environment across the company’s U.S. workforce.

She is an employment attorney and inclusive HR leader with experience bridging legal insight and human resources practice, focusing on equitable and effective approaches to employee relations and organizational culture. Cunningham also engages in broader leadership development, including her selection for the Chicago Urban League’s IMPACT Leadership Development Program, which develops civic and professional leaders.

Her background reflects a blend of legal training and operational leadership in employer-employee dynamics and workplace policy implementation, positioning her as a strategic partner for senior HR and legal stakeholders at AbbVie.

Experienced lawyer with a demonstrated history of managing attorneys and litigating cases in the government administration industry. Skilled in labor and employment law, human resources, trials, arbitrations, administrative hearings, police accountability, and public policy. Strong legal professional with a J.D. from Loyola University Chicago, an M.A. in Political Science from Loyola University Chicago, and a B.S. in History from St. Joseph’s College.

Katie Flaherty serves as the Director, Legal Counsel – Employment for JLL. She is responsible for employment law compliance and advises the company on compliance with new and amended employment laws throughout the U.S. She also provides advice on a wide range of employment matters, such as wage and hour, EEO laws, leave laws, reasonable accommodation, pay transparency and equal pay laws, and many more. Prior to working for JLL, Katie worked in-house in higher education and practiced labor and employment law in the public sector.

Trisha Cole is Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at Medtelligent Inc., a health-tech company known for its ALIS software platform for assisted living and senior care providers. In her dual leadership role she leads both legal strategy and operations, helping drive customer-centric growth, cross-departmental alignment, and company-wide initiatives that support organizational effectiveness and product adoption.

Cole is a trained attorney with a Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law, and she began her legal career in complex commercial litigation before transitioning to corporate leadership in healthcare technology. Her work at Medtelligent spans legal matters, compliance (including HIPAA and data protection), and operational strategy to support sustainable growth and differentiated customer experiences.

Nick Cholis is Associate General Counsel, Labor and Employment at Invenergy, a leading global renewable energy developer. In this role he provides strategic legal counsel on labor and employment matters including workforce relations, compliance with federal and state employment laws, workplace policies, and legal risk mitigation across the company’s U.S. operations.

Nick earned his law degree and is licensed to practice in Illinois, where he remains engaged with professional legal communities focused on employment and labor law best practices.

Laura Platt is the employment & litigation counsel for North America for Univar Solutions. She manages the entire docket of agency and court litigation covering all areas of law from commercial litigation and personal injury to environmental claims and CERCLA to labor and employment; manages the global Ethics Compliance Hotline; consults on commercial contracts; manages executive compensation;  advises and counsels all business units on labor and employment, risk assessment and mitigation, and regulatory compliance; and partners with Human Resources on employment compliance, policy and process refinement.

Kiran Advani is General Counsel at SQN Associates with more than 20 years of experience leading compliance, governance, and workplace culture initiatives across public, nonprofit, and private-sector organizations. She has overseen large-scale training programs, HR policy development, and risk mitigation strategies. Kiran brings a practical, business-aligned perspective on meeting Illinois’ training mandates while strengthening organizational culture and accountability.

Chelsea Smialek is Corporate Counsel II, Labor and Employment at HARMAN International, where she provides legal guidance on labor and employment matters, workplace compliance, and employment law risk across the company’s operations. She partners with HR and business leaders to advise on workforce policy, regulatory compliance, and labor-related legal issues in a complex manufacturing and technology environment.

Smialek is a licensed attorney in Michigan with more than 10 years of experience practicing employment and labor law. Her professional background includes advising employers on labor and employment compliance matters, helping align legal strategy with organizational goals.

Aneta Turek is a senior Human Resources leader with extensive experience across the private and public sectors, supporting complex, global organizations. She had held HR leadership roles within an international company, partnering closely with executive teams on workforce strategy, employee relations, compliance and organizational effectiveness. Her experience includes advising on US and international labor and employment matters, workplace investigations and the prevention of discrimination and harassment, as well as policy development, risk mitigation, and cross-border workforce management. Aneta is PHR and SHRM-CP certified and holds an Executive MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University, further strengthening her focus on inclusive leadership, effective communication and people centered organizational practices.

Staci is a partner in Taft’s Immigration and Citizenship practice. She focuses on employment-based immigration with an emphasis on advising large global companies and employers in the health care arena, including pharmaceutical companies, medical device entities, medical research organizations, health care systems, and physician groups.

Elliot Molk is Vice President, Corporate Development and General Counsel at Mizkan America,Inc., the U.S. operating company of Mizkan Group, a ninth-generation family-owned company headquartered in Japan that has been Bringing Flavor To Life™ for more than 220 years. Mizkan America manufacturers and sells food and beverage products under the Ragú®, Bertolli®, Zing Zang®, Holland House®, Nakano® and Mizkan™ brands. Mizkan America also distributes Angostura® bitters in North America.

Prior to joining Mizkan America in 2021, Elliot was VP, Associate General Counsel at Instant Brands (f/k/a Corelle Brands and World Kitchen), a private-equity-backed housewares company. Before his in-house career, Elliot was a partner at Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum and Nagelberg in Chicago, where he enjoyed a transactions practice. He began his legal career at Latham & Watkins in Chicago.

Elliot earned his law degree at The University of Chicago Law School and his BBA degree from

The University of Michigan.

Sam M. Schwartz-Fenwick is a Partner in the Labor & Employment practice at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, based in Chicago. He represents employers in complex employment and employee-benefits litigation, with a particular focus on ERISA matters, including class actions and fiduciary-breach claims related to retirement and benefits plans.

In addition to litigation, he advises companies on workplace strategy, collective bargaining, and risk management around evolving employment laws, including issues involving workplace culture, benefits design, and diversity and inclusion. He co-leads the firm’s Cultural Flashpoints Taskforce and regularly speaks and publishes on employment law and employee benefits topics. He earned his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law (cum laude) and his B.A. from Tufts University.

Morgan Taylor is a Partner in the San Francisco office and heads the Mintz Group’s Executive Diligence practice. She specializes in managing cross-border investigations into potential partners, transaction targets and executive or board placements to support pre-deal and pre-hire due diligence. She also oversees investigations for law firms and employers related to issues such as employment disputes, fraud investigations and allegations of workplace misconduct.

Prior to joining the Mintz Group in 2014, Morgan worked for a start-up due diligence firm, where she conducted investigations for private and public sector clients in dispute-related cases, including international asset tracing and link analysis to uncover fraud. She is also an experienced researcher, with a focus on financial crimes, anti-money laundering, counterterrorism and Middle East history and politics.

Morgan has an M.A. in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and a B.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder in International Affairs.

Erin McAdams Franzblau is a Partner at Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres who litigates employment matters and counsels employers across nearly every sub-specialty of employment law. She advises organizations on a wide range of workplace issues, including personnel policies, executive employment and independent contractor arrangements, accommodations, restrictive covenants, employee misclassification risks, and internal investigations. Erin also serves as employment counsel on M&A transactions and represents employers through all stages of litigation, from initial filings through trial and appeal. She frequently writes and speaks on employment law topics and currently serves as President-Elect and an Executive Board member of the Federal Bar Association’s Chicago Chapter.

Tracey Wolfe is a Partner at Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres whose practice focuses on employment law and commercial litigation. For more than two decades, she has advised companies ranging from startups to established enterprises on complex workplace issues, including employment agreements, restrictive covenants, internal investigations, and discrimination and wrongful termination claims. Tracey regularly represents clients in litigation and administrative proceedings and has handled matters involving whistleblower claims, executive compensation disputes, and retaliatory discharge. She also litigates commercial disputes such as shareholder conflicts, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and contract disputes, representing clients through all phases of litigation from inception through appeal.

Asha brings more than two decades of leadership in complex investigations, compliance assessments, and high-stakes litigation matters across both the public and private sectors. Before joining Mintz Group, Asha served as Deputy General Counsel and Senior Managing Director at a global investigations firm, where she specialized in investigations, monitoring and compliance. Asha co-led their Los Angeles office and played a central role in several major federal monitorships and cultural reform efforts at large institutions, including work with General Motors, the New York City Housing Authority and the University of Michigan. Her counsel to boards, general counsels and senior executives has spanned a wide range of risk areas, including sexual misconduct, data privacy, and anti-corruption matters.

Earlier in her career, Asha was a partner at Willenken LLP, where she led white-collar defense and internal investigations for Fortune 500 clients. She also served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles for seven years, investigating over 145 federal cases involving fraud, cybercrime, violent offenses, and domestic security matters. Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Asha practiced at Latham & Watkins, LLP in the white-collar defense & investigations practice group. Asha also served as a federal clerk in the Southern District of New York.

Asha earned a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University.

Amber joined Laner Muchin in 2009 as an associate and has been a partner at the Firm since 2015. She regularly counsels clients on compliance-related and strategic issues arising under a broad range of federal, state and local employment laws.
Amber conducts employment-related corporate investigations in a variety of settings and frequently conducts supervisory training on a number of employment topics including maintaining a discrimination and harassment free workplace; effective documentation and discipline; and positive employee relations.
Amber also represents employers in labor law matters including labor arbitrations, collective bargaining, representation cases and other proceedings before the NLRB.

Autumn Willingham is a seasoned Human Resources leader with over 18 years of experience partnering with business leaders to drive organizational performance, manage risk, and foster inclusive workplace cultures. Her work sits at the intersection of employment strategy and legal compliance, where she advises on complex employee relations matters, workplace investigations, and organizational change.  She has held HR leadership roles O’Reilly Auto Parts, Facebook/Meta, and is currently the Chief People Officer at the Parking Spot, headquartered in Chicago.

Currently pursuing a law degree at the University of Chicago Illinois, Autumn is deepening her expertise in employment and labor law to better advocate for both organizations and employees. She is passionate about bridging the gap between legal frameworks and practical HR leadership to build modern and high-performing workplaces. Autumn lives in Arlington Heights, IL with her husband and two children.

A trusted adviser with over two decades of experience, Terese (Terri)

Connolly gives world-class employment counsel to in-house lawyers, CHROs,

and C-suite executives, giving them the tools they need to thrive in their

businesses. Terri is skilled at building compliant workforces in a budget-smart

way and resolving issues that amplify their performance.

Terri has played a key role in guiding Fortune 50 and Fortune 100 companies

through global employment audits that span 50 countries and multiple

business lines. She has also been the go-to advisor for a major labor audit

across all 50 states. Terri was instrumental in helping a security service firm

strategize and roll out non-compete and non-solicit agreements across almost

every state in the US. Through her client engagements, Terri aims to provide

creative solutions that push the industry forward.

Terri is a seasoned navigator in the turbulent sea of compliance, steering

companies clear of high-stakes violations that can trigger million-dollar

lawsuits. She’s also a guru at tackling everyday issues, from leave laws and

performance management to termination procedures and disability

accommodations. Her insightful advice and counsel makes the difference.

Keeping her clients ahead of the curve is a top priority for Terri. She’s an

early-warning system, scanning the horizon to identify potential threats and

opportunities before they emerge. Beyond helping clients stay compliant, she

also equips them to excel in their business and supercharge their corporate

roles. In essence, with Terri in your corner, compliance becomes a strategic

asset propelling a business towards its goals and driving individual success in

every role.

https://www.taftlaw.com/people/terese-connolly/