Tag Archives: Featured Speaker

Joel Bertocchi is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on by Faith Pincus
Bertocchi
26 Apr

Our latest Featured Speaker is Joel Bertocchi from Hinshaw & Culbertson!

We are excited to have Joel on the faculty panel at our Appellate Practice 101 seminar in Chicago on May 10, 2018! Joel is an experienced criminal and appellate litigator, and we know our attendees will benefit greatly from the knowledge he’ll share at the seminar.

Joel Bertocchi’s background includes tours with both federal and state government, and he has litigated in courts ranging from the trial level to the United States Supreme Court. He briefs and argues civil and criminal appeals, as well as complex motions (class certification, dismissal, summary judgment, etc.) in trial courts.

Mr. Bertocchi has briefed and argued two cases in the United States Supreme Court and more than two dozen in the U.S. Court of Appeals and state supreme and appellate courts. In addition to his private practice, he has been a federal prosecutor as well as the top appellate lawyer for the State of Illinois. Before joining Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, Mr. Bertocchi was a partner at what is now Mayer Brown LLP, where he handled civil and criminal appeals, drafted and argued complex motions in civil and criminal cases, worked extensively with expert witnesses and provided strategic legal analysis on regulatory, fraud and RICO issues.

From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Bertocchi served as the Solicitor General of the State of Illinois, where he was the chief appellate lawyer for the State and managed a staff of 40 lawyers handling civil and criminal appeals on behalf of the State, its agencies and officials. While Solicitor General, Mr. Bertocchi also served as Vice Chair of the Illinois Criminal Code Rewrite and Reform Commission.

Before serving as Solicitor General, Mr. Bertocchi was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office in Chicago. In that position he handled numerous complex appeals on behalf of the government, as well as jury trials and the supervision of federal grand jury investigations involving racketeering, private and government-related fraud, environmental crimes, public corruption and tax crimes.

Mr. Bertocchi also served as a Staff Attorney for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and as law clerk to the Honorable Aaron E. Goodstein, United States Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

In March 2007, Mr. Bertocchi received the Diversity Helping Hand Award from the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, in recognition of his assistance to the Association in filing amicus curiae briefs in the United States Supreme Court in cases dealing with affirmative action in education. Mr. Bertocchi has also received the U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance, as well as the “Supreme Court Best Brief Award” from the National Association of Attorneys General.

Mr. Bertocchi is actively involved in a variety of professional organizations. He served on the Committee on Federal Criminal Jury Instructions of the Seventh Circuit from 1996 to 1999 and is now the Reporter for that committee. In addition, he was a member of the Committee on Federal Civil Jury Instructions of the Seventh Circuit and its Patent Subcommittee from 2002 to 2008. Mr. Bertocchi is a member of the Seventh Circuit Bar Association, a Master of the Bench of the Chicago Inn of Court and a member of the Illinois Appellate Lawyers’ Association. He is also a member of Hinshaw’s Diversity Committee. He has taught appellate practice for the U.S. Department of Justice and the National District Attorneys’ Association.

Since 2008, Mr. Bertocchi has been selected for inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America®” in the area of Appellate Law. He is also a member of the Leading Lawyers Network, where he was selected by his peers as a Leading Lawyer in Civil Appellate Law. In 2008 and 2009 Mr. Bertocchi was named to the Super Lawyer list in the area of general litigation, by Illinois Super Lawyers magazine. In 2010, he was named in the area of appellate law.

Mr. Bertocchi is the primary author of the chapter on “The Record on Appeal and the Appendix,” in the treatise Federal Appellate Practice (BNA 2008). His presentations include “Investigating Employee Misconduct,” at a seminar for the Community Bankers Association of Illinois, Naperville, Illinois, June 2008.

Marketa Lindt is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on by Faith Pincus
Marketa
24 Apr

Our latest Featured Speaker is Marketa Lindt from Sidley Austin!

We are proud to have Marketa on the faculty panel at our Immigration 101: Family, Business and Citizenship In-Depth seminar in Chicago on May 11, 2018! Marketa’s immigration law expertise will greatly benefit our seminar attendees, and we are excited to have her speak.

Marketa Lindt works with U.S. and multinational corporations to implement efficient business immigration visa programs to best attract and retain foreign national talent. Marketa also leads Sidley’s I-9 compliance practice, where she counsels and defends companies regarding their hiring practices of foreign national employees and compliance with the government’s I-9 verification requirements. Her I-9 compliance practice includes providing proactive counseling on I-9 hiring practices and the E-Verify process, defending employers in civil and criminal workplace enforcement actions, conducting immigration-related internal investigations, and conducting due diligence and analysis of I-9 issues in mergers, acquisitions and other corporate transactions.

In addition to representing U.S. companies with their business immigration and I-9 compliance needs, Marketa is actively engaged in national and regional advocacy efforts to change our laws and regulations so that they better serve U.S. employers, foster economic growth and promote fairness and justice in the immigration system. She currently serves as elected National First Vice President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and as a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce immigration policy committee.

Marketa is recognized as a leading corporate immigration attorney in the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyersand in Who’s Who Legal: Illinois.

Marketa regularly speaks at national and regional conferences regarding business immigration law and I-9 compliance. She is a primary author of the immigration law and practice treatise Business Immigration Law. Marketa has also authored articles for a number of leading immigration texts, including AILA’s Guide to Worksite Enforcement and Compliance, the Guide to PERM Labor Certification, and numerous annual editions of the Immigration & Nationality Law Handbook.  She serves as an editor of Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook. She has appeared a number of times on television, radio and print regarding developments in immigration law.

Marketa is committed to providing access to counsel for underserved immigrants. She serves in an advisory capacity to several Chicago-area cultural institutions and organizations that provide assistance to underserved immigrant communities. For a number of years, Marketa has served as a member of the Leadership Board of the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago. At Sidley, she provides pro bono representation to refugees and asylees.

Mercedes Badia-Tavas is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on by Faith Pincus
mercedes
19 Apr

Our latest Featured Speaker is Mercedes Badia-Tavas from Barnes & Thornburg!

We are thrilled to have Mercedes on the faculty panel at our Immigration 101: Family, Business and Citizenship In-Depth seminar in Chicago on May 11, 2018! Mercedes specializes on immigration and naturalization law, focusing on immigration matters for Fortune 500 companies and small businesses.

M. Mercedes Badia-Tavas is a partner in the Chicago office of Barnes & Thornburg, where she is a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Law Department and the Immigration and Global Mobility Services Practice Group. Ms. Badia-Tavas regularly counsels clients on the employment of foreign nationals, the permanent residency process, and immigration compliance issues.

Prior to joining Barnes & Thornburg, Ms. Badia-Tavas owned her own legal practice, Badia-Tavas Law Group, Ltd. As the founding partner of Badia-Tavas Law Group, Ms. Badia-Tavas represented U.S. corporations and foreign individuals throughout the U.S. with employment visas and in the permanent residency process.

Ms. Badia-Tavas is on the Executive Board of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Chicago Chapter, and a member of AILA’s Congressional Advocacy and several government Liaison Committees. In addition, she is a member of the American Bar Association-International Section, the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and the UNO Metropolitan Leadership Institute of Chicago.

Since 2017, Ms. Badia-Tavas was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for her work in immigration law.

Her published works include “Observations on Argentine Arbitration” , American Review of International Arbitration, Parker School of Comparative and International Law, Columbia University as well as a contributing author to several articles in various volumes of AILA’s Immigration & Nationality Law Handbooks, including articles on “Employer Sanctions” , “Visa Options for Trainees” and “Proper Uses of the B-1 Visa.”

Ms. Badia-Tavas earned her J.D. from Tulane Law School in 1993, and in 1986 earned her B.A. from Agnes Scott College, where she was an economics and Spanish major. She is fluent in Spanish and conversational in French, and has traveled and lived throughout Latin America.

Ms. Badia-Tavas is admitted to practice in Illinois.

Amy Furness is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on by Faith Pincus
amy furness
17 Apr

Our latest Featured Speaker is Amy Furness from Carlton Fields!

We are excited to have Amy on the faculty panel at our Personal Injury Law seminar in Florida on April 20, 2018! Amy is a trial lawyer who has dedicated her career to defending diverse clients, including both domestic and foreign corporations, in complex civil litigation, particularly product liability and commercial litigation.

Ms. Furness defends product manufacturers in all forms of cases in the pharmaceutical, aviation, chemical, tobacco, and consumer products industries. In addition to her extensive pharmaceutical and medical device litigation defense experience, she has defended manufacturers of cigarettes, yacht engines, automobile and aircraft engines, and propane tanks.

Amy has served as national coordinating counsel on numerous mass tort matters, including a significant litigation for a pharmaceutical company involving nearly 14,000 plaintiffs, with over 10,000 cases pending in federal courts and nearly 4,000 cases pending in state courts. She also has served as regional counsel on a variety of complex civil matters.

Prior to joining Carlton Fields, Ms. Furness served as in-house counsel with the environmental claims division of a national insurance company. That experience offered her unique insight into the corporate demands of an in-house legal department, and she remains mindful of the needs and pressures clients face daily.

Before entering law school, Ms. Furness was a research engineer. That scientific education and technical experience informs her law practice today.

Ms. Furness is a frequent lecturer on product liability and professional liability matters. She serves as the Miami office co-managing shareholder.

Jonathan Amarilio is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on by Faith Pincus
amarilio
12 Apr

Our latest Featured Speaker is Jonathan Amarilio from Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP!

Jonathan is on the faculty panel for our upcoming Appellate Practice Boot Camp in Chicago on May 10, 2018. Jonathan is highly skilled in civil appellate litigation and critical motion practice, and we are pleased to have him speak!

Jonathan Amarilio regularly represents individuals, small businesses, state and local governments, and Fortune 500 companies before state and federal appellate courts, primarily the Illinois Appellate Court, the Illinois Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Jonathan has also served as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois and as a Special Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago in a number of matters.

Jonathan has been honored as an Emerging Lawyer in 2015 – 2016 by the Leading Lawyers Network, and as a Rising Star by Illinois Super Lawyers in 2014 – 2017.

Before joining Taft Stettinius & Hollister, Jonathan clerked for Justice James R. Epstein on the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, and for Justice James R. Epstein and Justice Michael B. Hyman in the General Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Jonathan received his B.A., cum laude, from American University and earned his J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law. During law school, he was captain of the school’s National Trial Advocacy Team and was the recipient of the International Academy for Trial Lawyers Award for Distinction in Trial Advocacy Skills.

Jonathan is a contributor to the Illinois Appellate Lawyer Association’s blog “The Brief” on topics such as recent rule changes, developments in appellate law and other issues of interest to appellate practitioners.

Kelly O’Keefe is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on by Faith Pincus
Kelly O'keefe
09 Apr

Our latest Featured Speaker is Kelly O’Keefe from Stearns Weaver!

We are excited to have Kelly speak for us at our upcoming Probate Litigation 101: The Nuts and Bolts seminar in Fort Lauderdale on April 13, 2018! Kelly brings with her a wealth of knowledge, and we know our attendees will benefit greatly from the information she’ll share.

Kelly is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and represents persons and entities involved in business disputes and trust and estate matters.

She has represented both trustees in defending and beneficiaries in pursuing various breach of fiduciary duty claims, including challenges to investment management decisions, challenges to discretionary decisions, claims of self-dealing and conflict of interest, removal claims and claims for accounting. Kelly has litigated over the scope of creditor protection that certain trusts afford beneficiaries and she has experience in often emotionally-charged will contests and will construction matters, including determination of heirs, undue influence and lack of capacity matters.

A large portion of her practice involves litigating real estate matters, including commercial foreclosures, which involve guaranty, deficiency, lender liability and fraudulent transfer issues. In addition, she arbitrated one of the first cases against Bear Sterns, challenging its process for valuing collateralized mortgage obligations. She also litigates condominium and community association disputes, commercial landlord/tenant disputes, real estate purchase-related disputes, and disputes among business partners.

Kelly has also served as counsel to an array of Florida businesses, appearing before the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings to challenge government decisions, including licensure and permitting decisions, as well as the award of state contracts.

She has experience handling these matters in Florida’s probate, civil and federal courts at the trial level, and throughout appellate review. When cases require creative solutions that cannot be achieved in court Kelly has experience handling the matters via negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and the legislative process.

Noelle Brennan is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on by Faith Pincus
noelle brennan
05 Apr

Our latest Featured Speaker is Noelle Brennan from Noelle Brennan & Associates!

We are excited to have Noelle speak for us at our upcoming Federal Court and Litigation Boot Camp in Chicago on April 6, 2018! Noelle has been a pleasure to work with while planning the program and we are excited to have her speak.

Called a “bulldog fighter for civil rights and fairness in the workplace” by The Chicago Tribune, Noelle Brennan is a veteran employment attorney and litigator with a long track record of success.

A 1995 graduate of DePaul University College of Law, Noelle spent seven years as a trial and supervisory attorney at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where she litigated major class actions including EEOC v. Dial Corporation and EEOC v. Misubishi, the latter being the largest sexual harassment settlement ever reached by the EEOC. Noelle also served as co-counsel in a race discrimination case against Nike Retail Services, Inc. that eventually settled for $7.6 million dollars and in a disability and age discrimination case that resulted in one of the highest jury verdicts in an individual disability discrimination case in Illinois history.

In 2005, Noelle Brennan was selected by a federal judge to monitor the city of Chicago’s compliance with the Shakman Decree.  In that role she works with the city to identify, address and prevent employment discrimination on the bases of political affiliation.

Noelle was recognized in Crain’s Chicago Business’ annual top “40 under 40” in 2005.  This honor is bestowed each year upon 40 individuals who are “rising stars” in Chicago and under 40 years old.

Jeremy Leathe is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on by Faith Pincus
jeremy leathe
29 Mar

Our latest Featured Speaker is Jeremy Leathe from Dunwody White & Landon, P.A.!

We are excited to have Jeremy speak for us at our upcoming Probate Litigation 101: The Nuts and Bolts seminar in Fort Lauderdale on April 13, 2018! Jeremy has been heavily involved in planning the program and is terrific to work with.

Jeremy P. Leathe is an attorney in the Coral Gables, Florida, office of Dunwody White & Landon, P.A. Mr. Leathe specializes exclusively in the areas of Wills, Trusts, Estates, and Guardianships. His practice is divided equally among estate planning, probate and trust administration, and probate and trust litigation matters.

Mr. Leathe was born and raised in Miami. He graduated from DartmouthCollegewith an A.B. in History (cum laude), and received his J.D. (magna cum laude) and LL.M. in Estate Planning from the University of Miami School of Law. While in law school, Mr. Leathe served as Articles and Comments Editor for the University of Miami Law Review, received the American Jurisprudence Book Award (highest grade in the class) in Property I, was elected to the Order of the Coif (top 10% of the graduating class), and was inducted into the Phi Delta Phi legal honor society. Upon graduation, Mr. Leathe served for two years as Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Lenore C. Nesbitt, U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Florida.

Mr. Leathe has significant experience in drafting wills and trusts, including revocable, irrevocable, and charitable trusts. He also appears regularly in probate court with regard to probate administration, trust administration, and guardianship proceedings.

In addition to his experience as an estate planning lawyer, Mr. Leathe has extensive litigation experience. After his federal clerkship, he was an associate in the litigation department at Greenberg Traurig PA, and a shareholder in the litigation department at Akerman Senterfitt, P.A. Mr. Leathe also spent six years litigating complex civil matters in state and federal courts as an Assistant County Attorney forMiami-DadeCounty. He has tried numerous jury and non-jury cases in both the state and federal courts, and has argued appellate cases before the Third District Court of Appeals (state) and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (federal). As a trusts and estates lawyer, he has had considerable experience with will contests, trusts contests, and breach of fiduciary duty cases.

Mr. Leathe is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Greater Miami, the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar, and the Probate and Guardianship Committee of the Dade County Bar Association. He speaks frequently on topics related to Wills, Trusts, and Estates, such as homestead law, will and trust contests, and estate and trust administration.

Mr. Leathe is also active in his community, serving on the Board of Directors for Temple Beth Am, one of the largest Reform congregations in the southeast United States. In addition, he serves as a member of the Professional Advisors Council of the Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. A continued supporter of his alma mater, Mr. Leathe works as an interviewer for candidates applying to Dartmouth College.

Mr. Leathe lives in Pinecrest with his wife and three children.

Michael Delrahim is our latest Featured Speaker!

Posted on by Faith Pincus
michael delrahim
22 Mar

Our newest Featured Speaker is Michael Delrahim from Brown, Udell, Pomerantz & Delrahim, Ltd!

Michael will be speaking at our Introduction to Commercial Real Estate Seminar in Chicago on September 14, 2018. He previously spoke for us at our Marijuana Law seminar held in Chicago in 2017. Seminar attendees appreciated Michael’s practical and well-informed presentation.

Michael J. Delrahim is the Managing Partner of the law firm of Brown, Udell, Pomerantz & Delrahim Ltd. He has an expansive practice counseling institutions, opportunity funds, sponsors and investment managers with respect to partnerships, debt and equity placement, and real estate and leasing transactions. He also serves in-house as counsel to nationally operating real estate companies.

Complementing his transactional practice, as a member of the federal trial bar, he brings a unique perspective to representing clients in real estate acquisition, development and management, debt and equity source documentation, troubled asset workouts, and partnerships. Michael’s representation of managers, sponsors, partners and lenders is comprehensive.

Michael is a member of the Chicago Advisory Board of BBVA Compass. In recognition of his accomplishments, Michael was inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Mortgage Attorneys (ACMA) and is a member of their Diversity Committee.

He is the founder of the Chicago Real Estate Professionals, a monthly networking group that brings together nearly 1000 of the most seasoned real estate professionals to attend a facilitated panel discussion on thought-provoking topics of interest to real estate professionals. An adjunct professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law – IIT, he teaches Real Estate Fundamentals and Syndication and lectures extensively before business and legal forums on real estate and related topics.  He is a frequent lecturer, writer and commentator on real estate topics for the local and National media.

He is licensed to practice in Illinois and the District of Columbia. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law – IIT and a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

James Robinson is our Latest Featured Speaker!

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james robinson
21 Mar

Our latest Featured Speaker is James Robinson of White & Case LLP!

Jim will be speaking at our 7th Annual Circuit Court Boot Camp in Fort Lauderdale on June 1, 2018.

In past years, Jim was on the faculty panels for our Expert Witnesses, Mastering the Deposition, and Persuasive Brief Writing seminars in Florida. Attendees raved about his clear, articulate delivery, and engaging demeanor.

Drawing on his significant experience in state and federal courts handling virtually every type of civil case, Jim’s practice is primarily focused on commercial trial work. He works to limit his clients’ exposure and to protect their interests.

Jim has particular experience of representing regional and national law firms in legal malpractice lawsuits. In such cases he takes a thorough, hands-on approach, managing all aspects of the lawsuits.

Many of Jim’s recent commercial cases include representation of clients connected to the banking industry. Such cases include representation of financial technology (fintech) companies involved with merchant services and credit card processing in both domestic and international disputes. In addition, Jim has represented a series of banks against multimillion-dollar lender liability lawsuits, most of which were resolved with summary judgment in Jim’s clients’ favor. For banking clients, Jim also brings his experience of prosecuting dozens of commercial foreclosure lawsuits on loans totaling over US $ 1.5 billion. Jim represents foreign and domestic corporations in contract disputes, regulatory and compliance matters, and consumer class actions at various stages, including appeals. He has successfully defended numerous director and officer liability actions, and has successfully represented real estate developers and contractors in real estate disputes throughout the United States.

Jim is an active member of a number of professional associations, including the Federal Bar Association, the Trial Lawyers Section of The Florida Bar, the International Law Section of The Florida Bar, the Miami-Dade County Bar Association and the J. Reuben Clark Law Society.

He has taken lead roles in a significant number of professional committees, including as the Chair of the International Litigation and Arbitration Committee (2008), the Chair of the International Litigation and Arbitration Committee Conference (2007), a Steering Committee Member on the International Litigation Update (2005–2006), and as a Chair of the FGCU Alumni Association Board of Directors (2009–2011). He has also served on the Law Alumni Council, University of Florida Levin College of Law.