CBA Officers & Board of Managers 2025-2026

Officers:

 

President Judge Nichole C. Patton

Nichole Patton is a Circuit Court Judge of Cook County where she is currently assigned to the Law Division – Trial Section. Judge Patton presides over civil actions involving, but not limited to, personal injury, motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, and products liability.

Previously, Judge Patton was assigned to the County Division where she presided over matters involving Mental Health Law, Real Estate Taxation, Civil Asset Forfeitures, Election Law, and Name Changes.

Prior to Judge Patton’s ascension to the Bench, she was an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Special Prosecutions Bureau.  Earlier in her legal career, Judge Patton was the owner of The Law Offices of Nichole C. Patton.  She was also an associate at Iwan Cray Huber Horstman and VanAusdal where she concentrated in the areas of medical malpractice and transportation defense.  Before joining the firm, she was a staff attorney with Liberty Mutual Insurance Company where she specialized in personal injury defense and strict liability matters.  

Judge Patton is currently the President-Elect of The Chicago Bar Association and a sustaining member. Her past service with the CBA includes co-chairing the CBA’s 150th Anniversary Celebration; past member of the Board of Managers; Moderator for “Civility in the Profession . . . How to Play Nice”; Speaker at the CBA’s Annual Basic Skills Program; Keynote Speaker for the 2024 Law Day “Voices of Democracy” and the 2022 Law Day “Toward A More Perfect Union: The Constitution in Times of Change”; the featured guest for the Young Lawyers Section (YLS) “Lunch with Judge Nichole C. Patton”; and co-authored, “The Need for Pro Bono Attorneys in the Courtroom: A Judicial Perspective” for the CBA Record. She is also the 2023 recipient of the CBA’s Vanguard Award.

She is a former board member for The Chicago Bar Foundation where she was committed to developing solutions to the access to justice issues.  Judge Patton was a member of the CBF’s Pro Se Advisory Committee and served as a Co-Chair for the 15th Annual Pro Bono Week, entitled “Connecting with Communities.” Her board memberships also included the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and Respond Now, an organization that provided food, shelter, and counseling for the residents of the south suburbs of Chicago. She is also the Past President of The Lawyers Club of Chicago. 

An advocate for legal education, Judge Patton serves on the adjunct faculty at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law and formerly taught at Prairie State College. She maintains active membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (Chi Omega Omega Chapter); Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated (South Suburban Chicago Chapter); and The Links, Incorporated (West Towns (IL) Chapter), through which she continues to support service, leadership, and community engagement.

First Vice President Trisha M. Rich

Trisha Rich is a partner at Holland & Knight LLP, where she is a legal ethicist and commercial litigator. She serves as the firm’s Co-Chair of its national Legal Profession Team and as a Professional Responsibility Partner in the Chicago office. Her practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, legal ethics, and professional responsibility law.

In her commercial litigation practice, Ms. Rich represents a wide variety of clients in litigation and other disputes, including national and international companies, small businesses, municipalities and state agencies, and individuals. She has extensive experience in resolving disputes between businesses and represents clients at the trial and appellate levels in a wide variety of matters, including actions for breach of contract, tort claims, breach of warranty, fraud, consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices, tortious interference and all aspects of real estate, property management and receivership litigation.  In her professional responsibility practice, Ms. Rich represents lawyers, law firm, in-house legal departments, and legal technology companies in all areas of legal regulation and discipline. She also serves as an expert witness on legal ethics and professional responsibility matters.  

Ms. Rich is involved in a number of community and bar initiatives, including serving as the Immediate Past President of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, the nation’s leading bar association for legal ethicists.   Ms. Rich is the author of Practical Ethics, the ethics column in the Chicago Bar Association's publication, The Record, and she is the Co-Host of the CBA’s award-winning podcast, @thebar. She is also the co-editor of the sixth edition of Attorney Fee Agreements in Michigan, published by The Institute of Continuing Legal Education.  She is also a frequent speaker and author on a variety of issues related to legal ethics and risk management and is currently an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law, where she teaches legal ethics and professional responsibility. 

Ms. Rich received her undergraduate degree and Master’s Degree (Philosophy) from Western Michigan University and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.  Prior to practicing law, Ms. Rich taught practical and theoretical ethics at two universities.

Second Vice President Kathryn C. Liss

Katie Liss graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a BA in psychology and double minor in sociology and criminology of law in 2002. She received her JD from DePaul University College of Law in 2006. While in law school as a working evening student, she attended a comparative family law course in Granada, Spain, was a dean’s scholar, volunteered with the International Human Rights Law Institute, and authored a published Comment in the DePaul Law Review entitled Amending the Illinois Postconviction Statute to Include Ballistics Testing. 

Prior to joining DePaul, Katie practiced exclusively as a family law attorney in the Chicagoland area for over ten years.  She represented litigants in divorce, paternity, and adoption proceedings, mediated cases, negotiated prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and was court appointed as a Child’s Representative and Guardian ad Litem.  Katie also taught Adoption Law at DePaul as an adjunct.

Katie served as the Chair of the CBA Young Lawyers Section (2016-2017), a Chicago Bar Foundation Board Member (2015-2020), CBA 2nd Vice President (2023-Present), CBA Secretary (2021-2023), CBA Board of Managers Member (2018-Present), Co-Chair of the Alliance for Women (2021-2022), Founder and Chair of the Task Force Against Sexual Harassment (2020-Present), CBA Record Editorial Board (2018-Present) and Founder and Past Chair of the Anti-Human Trafficking Committee (2017-Present).

Treasurer Jonathan B. Amarilio

Jonathan Amarilio is a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. As Co-Chair of the firm’s Appellate group, Jonathan has garnered a wealth of connections and experience in the business and legal communities. Jonathan represents individuals, businesses, and state and local governments before state and federal appellate courts. He is especially experienced representing clients in the Illinois Appellate Court, the Illinois Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Jonathan also serves as an arbitrator for the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, and has served as a Special Assistant Corporate Counsel for the City of Chicago, and as a Special Assistant Attorney General of Illinois.

In his practice, Jonathan regularly works on high-profile appellate cases for both sides of the bar. His work on these cases has set precedents and driven change in a wide range of areas of the law, such as administrative law, antitrust law, complex asbestos and insurance liability, constitutional law, construction law, contract disputes, data privacy, defamation claims, election law, energy market regulation, gaming law, governmental immunity, investment and tax shelter litigation, medical malpractice and hospital liability, multi-district class action employment claims, personal injury, and railroad liability.

He was the recipient of the Chicago Bar Association President’s Award for Service to the Bar in 2018, the Chicago Bar Foundation Distinguished Service Award in 2019 and, when Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Young Lawyer’s Section, won first place in the nation awards from the American Bar Association for Service to the Bar, Service to the Public, Diversity, and Comprehensive programming. Eager to share his experience with fellow practitioners, Jonathan founded the CBA’s national award-winning podcast “@theBar,” and publishes on appellate topics.

Jonathan graduated from American University, cum laude, and received his J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law, where he was captain of the school’s National Trial Advocacy Team and received the award for Distinction in Trial Advocacy Skills from the International Academy for Trial Lawyers.

Secretary Andrew Vail

Andrew Vail has spent his entire career as a litigator in Jenner & Block's Chicago office and serves as the Co-Chair of Jenner & Block's Specialized Litigation and Arbitration Practice, among other practice groups. He counsels individuals, businesses, and institutions through high-stakes disputes where regulatory, contractual, reputational, and business concerns intersect, helping clients navigate complex matters that extend far beyond the courtroom. 

Mr. Vail is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is ranked (Band 2) by Chambers USA in its Litigation: General Commercial category. Crain's Chicago Business has profiled him as a Notable Litigator & Trial Attorney and as a Notable Gen X Leader. The National Law Journal has named him a Litigation Trailblazer. And during 2021 and 2022, he served as special prosecutor, appointed by the Honorable Erica Reddick, Presiding Judge, Cook County, Criminal Division. 

After serving as the Chair of Jenner & Block's pro bono program for a number of years, in 2020, he transitioned from that role to begin serving as General Counsel for United Way Metropolitan Chicago. In that role, he helps guide strategic advice and legal counsel to help the United Way and its partners throughout Chicagoland fulfill the organization's mission of improving communities and the common good. In June 2025, on behalf of Jenner & Block, he accepted the United Way Corporate Leadership Award for the firm’s longstanding commitment to United Way and nonprofit organizations across the Chicago region. 

Mr. Vail received the Chicago Bar Foundation and Chicago Bar Association's Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award and later the Edward J. Lewis II Pro Bono Award. In 2021-2022, he served as Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Strategic Planning Committee, which authored a new strategic plan for the CBA. He previously served on the CBA's Board of Managers, for several years chaired its Civil Practice committees, along with serving on the JEC and as the Co-Chair of Pro Bono Week in 2016. 

He currently serves on the boards of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, The Legal Aid Society, The Mikva Challenge, and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law's Center on Wrongful Convictions. He is a member of the Leadership Greater Chicago Signature Fellows Program, Class of 2020. 

Immediate Past President John C. Sciaccotta

John C. Sciaccotta is a Senior Equity Partner/Member at Aronberg Goldgehn in Chicago. He has nearly 40 years of trial and litigation experience advocating for clients in complex civil litigation, arbitration, mediation, business ownership separation (business divorce) and business transactional and counseling matters with a special emphasis on complex civil trial and appellate cases brought in federal and state courts and arbitration tribunals throughout the United States. Mr. Sciaccotta represents publicly and privately held domestic and foreign business entities, business owners, lenders, professional service providers, employers, municipalities, government bodies and individuals in transactional matters and litigation disputes. He has substantial experience representing lawyers, law firms, real estate owners/developers, businesses and business owners, lenders and entities in a wide array of industries, professional service organizations, partnerships, limited liability companies, manufacturing, construction, technology, professional sales companies, municipalities, hedge funds and broker/dealers, governmental bodies and lending institutions. In addition, Mr. Sciaccotta has been appointed as a Neutral Arbitrator and Professional Mediator for many years to resolve and arbitrate business related disputes. He serves on the Commercial Panel of the American Arbitration Association’s National Roster of Arbitrators.
 
Mr. Sciaccotta is active in firm leadership and bar and professional organizations. He serves on his firm’s Executive Management Committee, chair of the Recruitment Committee, and is the founder and co-chair of the firm’s Business Divorce practice group, the chair of the Commercial Litigation marketing group, a founding member of the firm’s DEI Committee, and co-chair of the firm’s Marketing Committee.
 
At The Chicago Bar Association, he has served in several leadership (CBA President 2024-2025) and board positions as well as co-founding and chairing the Business Divorce and Complex Ownership Disputes Committee since 2018. He is also a current or past member(including a Chair) of the following CBA committees: Civics (Founder), Executive, Membership, Finance, ADR, CLE, JEC, Bench and Bar, Domestic Violence, Legal History(Co-Founder), CBA Chicago Museum of Law(Co-Founder), Golf Outing, CBAY Awards and YLS Moot Court Competition Judge. In addition to the CBA, Mr. Sciaccotta is active in many bar and community organizations including the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, American Arbitration Association, the Justinian Society of Lawyers, and has served on the boards and in leadership positions of many community and philanthropic organizations, including The DuSable Museum of African American History, WINGS (Domestic Violence) Program, Inc., The Chicago Bar Foundation, Jesse White Tumbling Team, Inc. & Foundation, The Chicago Bar Foundation, The DePaul University College of Law Dean’s Advisory Council, Chicagoland Prostate Cancer Foundation, The Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago, the Lawyers’ Committee for The Retention of Cook County Judges, Fenwick High School Board of Trustees (Life Trustee), Fenwick High School Bar Association (Co-Founder), Barrington High School Baseball Booster Club and many others.
 
Mr. Sciaccotta earned his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law and his undergraduate degree from Creighton University. He also has attended and successfully completed the highly prestigious Harvard Law School Executive Education Program on Negotiation & Leadership.
Board of Managers:

Daniel J. Berkowitz

Daniel Berkowitz is a Partner at Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston & Zimet, LLP. He focuses his practice on representing insurers in complex insurance coverage litigation arising under general liability, director and officer, and professional liability policies. He also handles matters involving claims of bad faith and provides strategic counseling to clients regarding potential liability and strategies for handling underlying liability matters.

Previously, Mr. Berkowitz spent more than two years with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office where he was an Assistant Attorney General in the General Law Bureau. In that role, he represented state agencies and state employees in State and Federal court, handling all manners of complex litigation work from initial case analysis through trial. Cases handled included a variety of work from the constitutionality of COVID-era executive orders to police-involved shootings. He also litigated administrative actions involving state agencies and state employees, including the Illinois Department of Corrections, Illinois Department of Transportation, and Illinois State Police.

Mr. Berkowitz appears regularly in state and federal court, representing clients in all matters of litigation, including pre-suit counseling and advice, motion practice, discovery, and alternative dispute resolution. He is active in the Chicago Bar Association, where he has previously served as the Chair of the Young Lawyers Section, and on various committees, including the CBA 150th Anniversary Committee, the CBA Record Editorial Board, and the CBA Strategic Planning Committee. Dan received his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Boston College and received his juris doctor, magna cum laude, from Michigan State University College of Law.

James V. Campbell

James V. Campbell serves as a proud advocate for cancer victims in asbestos cases. A graduate of Washington University School of Law, Mr. Campbell is licensed to practice law in Illinois, Missouri, and Louisiana, and has represented clients in many other states on a temporary basis. Since graduating from law school in 2012, Mr. Campbell has successfully challenged some of the largest corporations on behalf of his clients. He has been recognized by Forbes as one of the “Best Mesothelioma Lawyers” in Chicago for his work on behalf of clients affected by mesothelioma. 

Outside of the courtroom, Mr. Campbell is active in the legal community. He currently serves on the Chicago Bar Association’s Judicial Evaluation Committee and as Chair of the Trial Practice Committee. Mr. Campbell also serves as a member of the Assembly for the Illinois State Bar Association, and as a frequent mentor to law students and early career attorneys.  

Born and raised in Chicago, Mr. Campbell also serves as President and Director for Payton Alumni Community and Endowment, a nonprofit organization that provides financial, educational, and networking support to current and former students at Walter Payton College Prep. Payton is a public high school in Chicago founded in 2000. Inspired by its namesake, "Sweetness," Payton encourages curiosity, character, courage, and compassion in its students.

Mr. Campbell is deeply committed to strengthening the Illinois legal community through service, mentorship, and professional leadership. 

Elizabeth Carpenter

Elizabeth Carpenter is an associate at DiCello Levitt LLP, where her practice is focused on protecting human health and the environment. Combining her commitment to environmental law with her knowledge of public policy, she provides clients with a deeper understanding of the evolving environmental issues that shape their cases. 

Prior to joining DiCello Levitt, Ms. Carpenter was the sole judicial law clerk for the Acting Presiding Judge of Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, where she assisted on more than 200 written opinions, and served as the Motion Section Pool Clerk Coordinator. While studying at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, she worked as a research assistant to professors James Thuo Gathii and Carmen Gonzalez and as the head law clerk for a nationally recognized, Chicago-based plaintiffs’ law firm. 

Ms. Carpenter is a member of the discovery committee in In re Bio-Lab Class Actions, a case in which DiCello Levitt was appointed Co-Lead Counsel on behalf of more than 90,000 residents and business owners in Conyers, Georgia, and the surrounding area who have been affected by a catastrophic chemical fire. She is part of the DiCello Levitt team working with several states in investigating and addressing poly- and perfluoroalkyl substance (“PFAS”) contamination. She also represents public clients in litigation seeking to hold the world’s largest fossil fuel companies accountable for decades of deception concerning climate change and the costs and other consequences that climate change is imposing on those governments. 

Ms. Carpenter’s passion for environmental issues continues outside of her work. Elizabeth is co-chair of the Environmental Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association where she coordinates and teaches CLE for Chicago attorneys seeking greater expertise on emerging environmental law issues. She also serves as a member of the board of directors for the League of Women Voters of Illinois where she focuses on environmental policy programming and participates in the Environmental Action Committee for the Chicago League of Women Voters. Her involvement in community organizations to bring environmental issues to the forefront is driven by her deep belief in public service. 

Steven R. Decker

Steven R. Decker received his B.A. from the University of Illinois and his J.D. from De Paul Law School in 1977. Immediately thereafter he began a private law practice with a focus almost exclusively on criminal law in Cook County. During his 48 years of active practice in both state and federal courts, he has tried thousands of cases, five capital murder cases, and served a multitude of clients. Recognizing his obligation for professional involvement, at various times, he has served as both the chair and the co-committee chair for both the CBA ‘s Criminal Law and the In-Court Referral Committee. The In-Court Lawyer program approves qualified experienced attorneys for assignments on cases in the Circuit Court of Cook County. He is also a member of the judicial evaluation committee of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers. His community involvement is performed in his role as chair of the Northbrook Zoning Board of Appeals, which he has held for 17 years.

Nishá N. Dotson

Nishá N. Dotson is a licensed attorney in the State of Illinois from Houston, Texas. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, Louisiana where she double majored in Pre-Law and Political Science with a minor in Biology and received the Political Science Scholar Award and the honor of Dean’s List Scholar. She received her Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio where she received Dean’s Honor List recognition, the Martin Luther King Jr. Award, the Leadership Award, the CALI Excellence for the Future Award and the Paul J. Hergenröeder Award for Trial Tactics.  

Ms. Dotson began her legal career by starting her own law firm, Dotson & Associates, representing clients in the areas of family law, employment law, criminal law, personal injury law, wills, and trusts law. Now, she is an Assistant Public Defender with the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender. She is a Felony Trial Attorney in the Felony Trial Division and litigates major criminal felony cases. During her career, she has litigated over 100 bench and jury trials to verdict. She is also a law professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she teaches trial practice and advocacy and coaches the Chicago Cup Competition and Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Teams.  

Ms. Dotson was on the panel for the CBA’s “Nuanced Injustice: Collateral Immigration Consequences from Convictions”, examining commonly problematic nuances of criminal dispositions that can derail an immigration proceeding, and for Loyola University Chicago School of Law’s “Race & Law Symposium”, a panel discussion on the issue of mass incarceration. 

Ms. Dotson serves on the Executive Board of the Board of Directors for Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association (LAGBAC), and she is the Chair of the LGBTQ Section for the Cook County Bar Association (CCBA), where she was named a 2025 recipient of the Presidential Award. She is featured in the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism article, “How to Be an Ally to LGBTQ+ Lawyers” for her perspective on how legal professionals can be better allies to members of the LGBTQ+ community.

John C. Ellis

John C. Ellis has over a decade of legal experience and has litigated civil matters of all ranges of size and complexity in both state and federal court as well as through arbitration proceedings. He is admitted to practice in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. Mr. Ellis helps businesses and individuals bring or defend lawsuits related to breach of contract, personal injury, premises liability, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, trademark infringement, and other statutory and common law actions. Additionally, he advises clients in the role of hourly general counsel in a manner focused on anticipating and avoiding potential litigation.  

Mr. Ellis founded Ellis Legal P.C. in 2015 after ten years of practice at an established eight-lawyer firm in Chicago where he gained experience in a wide array of practice types. At Ellis Legal, he continues to emphasize a client-centered approach endeavoring to provide cost-effective solutions to clients' legal issues. He has managed every phase of various types of civil litigation and his clients have particularly benefited from his specialized abilities in trial and trial preparation.

Kevin Gerow

Kevin Gerow has been practicing law for over fifteen years and has extensive experience representing members of the alcohol beverage industry, including in complex litigation matters and regulatory compliance. He is a litigator who also regularly represents hospitals in managed care litigation and other businesses in a wide variety of matters. He has successfully tried numerous cases and obtained multimillion-dollar verdicts and arbitration awards for his clients. In addition to appearing in court, he regularly appears before the Illinois Liquor Control Commission, the Chicago License Appeal Commission, the City of Chicago Local Liquor Control Commission, and several suburban Liquor Commissions.
 
Clients turn to Mr. Gerow for his knowledge and consultation related to aspects of the Illinois Liquor Control Act, the Illinois Beer Industry Fair Dealing Act, the Federal Alcohol Administration Act, federal and state regulations, liquor licensing matters, the Chicago Municipal Code and other statutes pertaining to the beverage alcohol industry.  

Mr. Gerow has represented clients in various corporate settings ranging from publicly traded companies to family-owned businesses. He serves on the Chicago Bar Association’s Board of Managers and serves as Secretary of a local not-for-profit organization.

Martin D. Gould

Martin D. Gould is a Founding Partner at Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley (SGGH), where he leads some of the firm’s most complex litigations while also Co-Chairing the firm’s Sexual Abuse Practice Group. He has litigated in over 25 jurisdictions in both state and federal court. Throughout his career, Mr. Gould has played a key role in securing hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts on behalf of individuals and classes of victims and their families in cases involving catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, and institutional sexual abuse. At the heart of his practice is a fierce commitment to helping survivors of sexual abuse, sexual assault, and trafficking find justice, financial compensation, and closure through the legal system.  

Mr. Gould has helped secure over $450 million in global abuse settlements and has been a driving force behind institutional reforms that have strengthened safety protections nationwide. His results include some of the largest individual recoveries in the country, helping survivors reclaim their voices and hold powerful institutions accountable. In just the past 18 months, he has helped clergy abuse survivors recover more than $50 million. He also represents survivors of catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death and has played a key role in securing numerous record recoveries and verdicts. Those include a $44.7 million jury verdict against the City of Chicago in a police misconduct case, a $21.3 million verdict for a family after a fatal municipal vehicle crash, and numerous eight-figure settlements in product liability, workplace, and medical malpractice cases.  

Mr. Gould earned his J.D. cum laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he was a published member of the LAW REVIEW. He serves on the Board of Managers of the Chicago Bar Association and holds leadership roles with the National Crime Victims Bar Association and Child USA — organizations dedicated to assisting survivors of abuse. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, where he was a four-year member of the Northwestern Varsity Wrestling Team.

Noah J. Graf

Noah J. Graf is an attorney in general private practice, primarily engaged in complex corporate litigation matters. Earlier in his legal career, he served as Assistant Counsel to the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives in Springfield. At the Chicago Bar Association, Mr. Graf is a past Chair of the Legislative Committee (2021-2025) and of the Civil Rights and Constitutional Law Committee (2014-2015). He has a dedicated commitment to public interest practice, particularly legislative advocacy.

Outside of the legal sphere, Mr. Graf is a skilled independent genealogist. He is a Board Member and Secretary of the Italian Parish Records organization, a volunteer advocacy group dedicated to preserving and facilitating open access to historic genealogical and archival resources in Italy. 
 
Mr. Graf is a graduate of Loyola University School of Law (J.D.) and of Northwestern University (B.A. - History).  He is also a proud alumnus of St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago.

Judge Kenya A. Jenkins-Wright

Judge Kenya A. Jenkins-Wright is an Associate Judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Previously, she served as the general counsel of the Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission (GAC). Prior to joining GAC, Ms. Jenkins-Wright spent 12 years as a litigator, with the law firms of Hinshaw & Culbertson and Greene and Letts (n/k/a Zuber, Lawler & Del Duca), handling product liability, medical malpractice, and Section 1983 civil rights actions.

Ms. Jenkins-Wright’s bar association and community involvement has been recognized over the years, including: Illinois Bar Foundation’s inaugural 2020 Changemaker Award; National Bar Association 40 Under 40; Law Bulletin Media’s 40 Under Forty Illinois Attorneys to Watch; American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division’s Star of the Year Award; Illinois Super Lawyer; Northern Illinois University College of Law’s Excellence in Service and Leadership Award; Cook County Bar Association’s Junior Counselor Award; and Cook County Bar Association President’s Award.

Michael Kozlowski

Michael Kozlowski is a Partner at Esbrook P.C. who counsels individuals and entities on a variety of complex litigation matters including commercial litigation, insurance litigation, class actions, data privacy litigation, environmental litigation including CERCLA, RCRA, and OPA, breach of fiduciary duty, disputes arising out of corporate transactions, and business law. He has successfully served as trial counsel for clients in high-stakes litigation and has experience in both state and federal courts. He leverages his complex litigation experience and serves as outside general counsel to several businesses in a variety of industries.

While in law school, he volunteered to provide legal help to disadvantaged women working with the Illinois College of Law’s Domestic Violence Legal Clinic. In addition to serving as a teaching and research assistant throughout law school, he is a graduate of the Mirza Trial Academy.

Francine D. Lynch

Francine D. Lynch, J.D. D.BE is the senior manager of Ethics and Judicial Affairs at the American Dental Association (“ADA”) and serves as staff to the ADA’s Council on Ethics, Bylaws and Judicial Affairs.  Ms. Lynch has served as an adjunct professor in the Externship program at Loyola Law School, Chicago and served as moderator, for the Loyola University School of Law Professionalism Workshop: “Entering an Inclusive Workplace in the Pandemic Era,” April 2022.

Prior to joining the ADA, Ms. Lynch was a partner at the firm of Neal & Leroy LLC, with a practice concentrating in Eminent Doman and Land Use providing land acquisition services to governmental entities including the Chicago Transit Authority, The Regional Transportation Authority, The Public Building Commission of Chicago, The City of Chicago and the City of Des Plaines. Her practice also included commercial real estate transaction and development. 

Ms. Lynch received her J.D. from John Marshall Law School, Chicago and earned a LLM in health law from Loyola University School of Law. She received a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy, and a Doctorate in Bioethics from Loyola University, Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics. Ms. Lynch was a 2020-2021 University of Chicago, MacLean fellow in Clinical Medical Ethics. 

Ms. Lynch is a member of the America Society for Bioethics and Humanities and served as vice president of the advisory board, Children Hospital, University of Illinois, and was a member of Friends of the UIC Pediatric. She served as director and secretary for the Global Foundation of the Institute of Cancer Research from 2009-2013 and was named a Crain’s 2018, Chicago Notable Minority. Ms. Lynch was also named a 2022 Leading Lawyer.


Sari Montgomery

Sari Montgomery is a former Litigation and Senior Litigation Counsel with the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC). As a partner with Robinson, Stewart, Montgomery & Doppke LLC in Chicago since 2010, Ms. Montgomery defends lawyers and judges facing disciplinary and sanctions proceedings and represents bar applicants in the Character and Fitness process. She also advises lawyers, law firms, government agencies and law-related businesses regarding ethics and risk management issues and assists in clarifying their ethical obligations. Ms. Montgomery also serves as an expert witness in legal malpractice, disqualification, and fee litigation.

In addition to her work with the Chicago Bar Association, Ms. Montgomery currently serves as a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Professional Responsibility, as Chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Professional Regulation, and as the Secretary of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL). For more than fifteen years, she has served on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Conduct (Past Chair), which is responsible for issuing advisory ethics opinions for Illinois lawyers, and is appointed to the ISBA Committee on Artificial Intelligence and the Practice of Law. Ms. Montgomery is an active member of the Chicago Council of Lawyers Access to Justice Committee, the Lake County Bar Association, and the Association of Women Attorneys of Lake County. She is an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law teaching Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and frequently presents international, national, state, and local CLE programs. She is an accomplished author on numerous legal ethics issues and serves as a Subject Matter Expert and Drafting Committee member for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) on behalf of the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Ms. Montgomery earned her undergraduate degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago and her law degree from Loyola University of Chicago.

Judge Thomas Morrissey

Judge Morrissey serves in the Circuit Court of Cook County where he hears jury trials. He received his B.A. degree from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, cum laude, and his J.D. degree from DePaul University College of Law. He served as an Assistant Attorney General, General Law Division from 1985-1990. He served in private practice from 1990 to 2021. 

Judge Morrissey was elected as an Associate Judge in 2021. He first served in the Traffic Division and then served in Room 1401, handling post judgment proceedings in the First Municipal District before his assignment to a jury trial courtroom. Judge Morrissey presently also serves as the Chair of The Municipal and Law Division Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. 

Ryan M. Nolan

Ryan M. Nolan is an attorney at Nolan Law Group who represents clients in complex personal injury and wrongful death cases. His area of practice includes aviation accidents, brain injuries, carbon monoxide exposure, and transportation-related incidents. He began working with the firm in 2011 and continued working there throughout his time at DePaul University College of Law. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics and history from Vanderbilt University. He currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Aviation Committee and previously served as a Special Project Coordinator and Director for the Chicago Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section. 

Brandon E. Peck

Brandon E. Peck is a Partner with Peck Ritchey, LLC. He represents individuals, families, financial and medical institutions. Mr. Peck advises fiduciaries charged with the administration of estates and trusts as well as guiding them through the probate process. He vigorously represents all parties in contested guardianships including minors and disabled adults. 

For the past five years, Mr. Peck has been selected by his peers in multiple statewide surveys of Illinois attorneys as a “Super Lawyer,” an attorney to whom other attorneys would refer their family. From 2015-Present he has also been selected by Leading Lawyers Magazine as a top emerging lawyer in Elder Law, Trust, Will and Estate Planning. He also was a contributor to the book Alzheimer’s and the Law, which was published by the American Bar Association in 2013. 

Mr. Peck was an active member of the Chicago Bar Association’s Young Lawyer’s Section for which he served as the Chair of the Section from 2018-2019. Brandon lectures frequently in the areas of trust and estate litigation, guardianships, special needs and estate planning before his colleagues and other professionals, including at The Chicago Bar Association, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, as well as numerous hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and community organizations. He is authorized to practice law in Illinois and in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 

 

Justice Rena Marie Van Tine

Justice Rena Marie Van Tine serves on the Illinois Appellate Court. She decides appeals on issues that are raised from various circuit court and agency proceedings. She was previously the Presiding Judge of the County Division in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Before becoming a presiding judge, she was assigned to the Law Division’s Jury Trial assignment call at the Daley Center. She was also previously assigned to Juvenile and Traffic Court. She became a judge 24 years ago through the associate judge process.  

Justice Van Tine is a past President of the Asian American Judges Association of Illinois (2023 -2024) and a past President of the Asian American Bar Association (1999-2000). She has served on the boards of the Illinois Judges Association and the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. She is a co-founder of the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago and has remained on its advisory board since inception. She currently serves on the Illinois Supreme Court’s Illinois Judicial Conference and its Data Governance Task Force. She is also a Supreme Court appointee to its Committee for Civil IPI jury instructions.  

In May 2020, she was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court’s Court Operation During COVID-19 Task Force, and she co-chaired its committee on Remote Proceedings in Civil Cases through the pandemic. She was also an Illinois Supreme Court appointee to the Oversight of Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee for 9 years. She has also served as an adjunct faculty and instructor for several Judicial Education Conferences for all the state court judges in Illinois. She was a cohort leader and mentor for the state-wide Illinois Supreme Court’s New Judge Orientation program. She has taught courses to judges at the state-wide judicial education conference as well as the Appellate Court Conference 

Justice Van Tine was an adjunct professor for Trial Advocacy at the Chicago-Kent College of Law and has presided at numerous local and national moot court competitions. She is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. Justice Van Tine received her undergraduate degree from Oakland University and her J.D. from New York Law School. 

Judge Andrea R. Wood

The Honorable Andrea R. Wood has served as a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois since 2013. Before her appointment, Judge Wood was Senior Trial Counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Enforcement, in Chicago, where she began working as a senior attorney in 2004 before being promoted to senior trial counsel in 2007. Judge Wood also worked as a litigation attorney at the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP for five years. She began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Diane P. Wood of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Judge Wood earned her B.A. from the University of Chicago and her J.D. from Yale Law School. Away from the bench, Judge Wood is active in bar associations, her alumni associations, and a variety of civic and community activities.





View a list of Chicago Bar Association Presidents and Executive Directors