With the start of our new fiscal year, we are excited to welcome four new members of our Board of Directors!
Christopher A. Hall
Jones Day
Chris is a partner at Jones Day where he focuses his practice on data privacy, class action defense, commercial disputes, trade secret and unfair competition. He is a first chair trial lawyer and also an experienced appellate advocate and has argued in multiple Circuit Courts, resulting in several published opinions. Chris has led defense efforts in multiple nationwide class actions, including claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Sherman Act. Chris has spearheaded and assisted with strategic defense efforts that successfully eliminated repeated claims by members of the consumer rights plaintiffs bar. He has also obtained favorable outcomes for clients in claims involving breach of contract, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, and Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
Chris also devotes substantial time to pro bono work including representing tenants in eviction defense cases, participating in Jones Day’s immigration work in Laredo, Texas, and representing asylum seekers elsewhere as well. He also served as an AmeriCorps Vista from 2010-2011.
Michael Kozlowski
Esbrook P.C.
Mike 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.
Mike serves on the Board of Managers for the Chicago Bar Association and will be one of their representatives on PILI’s Board of Directors. While in law school, he volunteered to provide legal help to disadvantaged women working with the University of 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.
Hope Tone-O’Keefe
Jenner & Block LLP
Hope is as an Associate at Jenner & Block with a focus on business litigation, class action, ERISA cases and aerospace and defense. She leverages her experience in all phases of litigation to help her clients achieve their goals. When global corporations face disputes, from class action complaints to government contracts proceedings to complex ERISA matters, Hope is a trusted advisor. She makes a thorough analysis of the matter and offers strategies for success, be they litigation or other tools for resolution.
Hope maintains a diligent pro bono practice, with a focus on civil rights and immigration issues. In partnership with the National Immigrant Justice Center, Hope has secured asylum for a number of clients. In 2020, NIJC named Hope a “Rising Star” for providing high-quality pro bono service to clients with complex immigration cases. She serves on the NIJC’s Associate Board and the board of Catholic Charities Legal Assistance. Hope is a “Double PILI” having served as a PILI Law Student Summer Intern at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2016 and then as a PILI Graduate Fellow at Catholic Charities sponsored by Jenner & Block.
Reid Smith
Winston & Strawn LLP
Reid is a partner at Winston & Strawn focusing his practice on complex civil litigation and has a broad range of experience in federal, state, and appellate disputes. He has extensive experience managing class action, multidistrict, and other high-stakes commercial litigation. He has represented clients in a wide variety of industries, including agribusiness, pharmaceuticals, technology services, financial services, and insurance. Reid has experience briefing critical motions at the trial court level and has also briefed disputes at every level of federal and state appellate court. He has also argued critical motions, including several successful arguments on case-dispositive motions and one argument in favor of class certification.
Reid devotes a substantial amount of his time to his pro bono practice. Before joining Winston & Strawn, Reid completed a PILI Graduate Fellowship with Ascend Justice. There, he assisted Ascend Justice in their advocacy work for families who have been wrongly threatened with losing their child in the child welfare system. Reid continues to work with Ascend Justice through Winston’s pro bono program. He is also a member of Ascend Justice’s Young Professionals Board.