The law firm of Laraia & Laraia, P.C. recently welcomed its newest member, attorney Kiley M. Whitty, who joined as principal and partner with James J. Laraia, forming the new partnership of Laraia & Whitty, P.C.
Joseph M. Laraia will be of counsel, a role in which he will contribute his vast knowledge and experience. The new legal team of Laraia & Whitty, P.C. looks forward to continuing to provide existing and new clients with excellent service.
Faegre Baker Daniels continues to bolster its product liability practice with the addition of five lateral hires across four offices.
FaegreBD’s product liability practice has now grown to over 125 professionals in nine offices. Through high-stakes trials and multidistrict litigation across the country, the practice has grown steadily over the last six years serving as national trial counsel for companies in the medical device, pharmaceutical, food, agricultural, consumer products, vehicular, and aquatics industries. The following lateral lawyer was added to its roster in the Chicago office:
Michael Best has announced that partner Marshall Schmitt has been elected as the 116th President of the Rotary Club of Chicago, also known as Rotary/One. An installation ceremony will take place on July 2 at the Union League Club.
Schmitt and Mark Maloney, President of Rotary International, the international body that oversees the over 34,000 Rotarians worldwide, will also host an open house on July 1 at the home of Rotary/One’s founder, Paul Harris, which the club is helping to restore.
Freeborn & Peters LLP is pleased to announce that the firm has elevated several attorneys to equity partner, effective June 25.
The firm’s new equity partners include Shelly A. DeRousse and Steven D. Pearson. The attorneys previously were partners.
Courtesy the American Bar Endowment
Lawyers have tremendous power to change people's lives through legal representation and systemic advocacy. At the Community Activism Law Alliance (CALA) in Chicago founded by Lam Ho in 2014, a group of lawyers and activists are changing how lawyers and communities work together. The CALA model of “community activism lawyering” shifts the practice of law from a transactional relationship focused on an individual client/case crisis to a transformative proactive partnership for systemic change. Lawyers serve individual clients; yet, with the promise of preventing future crisis, better systems are put in place to address critical community needs.
The ISBA Springfield and Chicago offices will be closed for the holiday beginning Thursday, July 4. They will reopen on Monday, July 8. During this time, members can expect the following:
All business and e-newsletter distribution will resume as usual on Monday, July 8.
Hon. James F. McCluskey, the Illinois State Bar Association’s immediate past president, will be honored at a reception hosted by the Illinois State Bar Association and Illinois Bar Foundation at Maggiano’s Little Italy, 240 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook on Thursday, July 18 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online.
Before becoming an associate judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Judge McCluskey was a founding member of Momkus McCluskey, LLC. There he handled 60 jury trials as a commercial litigator. In addition to serving as the 2018-2019 ISBA president, Judge McCluskey served as president of the DuPage County Bar Association, and is a member of the Kane County Bar Association and West Suburban Bar Association. He is a Gold Fellow of the IBF. He received a bachelor’s degree from Elmhurst College, a J.D. from Northern Illinois University College of Law, and an L.L.M. from the John Marshall Law School.
The Illinois Department of Central Management Services is seeking an assistant labor counsel in Chicago.
Responsibilities of the position include performing technical and legal work in the areas of labor agreements and arbitration; representing the state in arbitration hearings and before the Illinois Labor Relations Board; reviewing resolutions and disciplinary actions; recommending administrative action on labor relations issues; and carrying out public speaking assignments at off-site locations.
ISBA Second Vice President Anna Krolikowksa was among those who attended the Alliance of Illinois Judges’ Installation of Officers and Annual Meeting on June 26 in Chicago. She is pictured with Alliance of Illinois Judges President Hon. Mary Cay Marubio.
Art Hubacher and Matthew Ames are pleased to announce the formation of Hubacher Ames & Taylor, PLLC with the addition of J. Kirk Taylor as a name member of the firm.
With the addition of Taylor, the firm will also add a Chicago office to the firm's base in Fairfax, Virginia.