PILI’s Board of Directors elected Sarah Bernstein of Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP for a two-year term as Board President started on September 1, 2018. Sarah leads the transactional practice of the Firm’s Motor Vehicle Group and practices in the areas of business planning, general corporate matters and secured lending. She has served on PILI’s board since 2009 and has been serving as Board Vice President for the last two years.
Additionally, the board elected John Bourke, Attorney at Law to the position of Vice President, Daniel Lange of Vedder Price to the position of Secretary, and Kyle Petersen of Seyfarth Shaw to the position of Treasurer. Brad Lane of Brinks Gilson & Lione will serve as Immediate Past President.
The board has also elected Kathryn Shelton of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and Patrick Spangler of Vedder Price, as well as two representatives from the Chicago Bar Association Board of Managers, Nina Fain of Janet Sugarman Schirn Family Trust and Federico Rodriguez of Rodriguez Legal Group.
Kathryn Shelton is the Associate Director of the Public Interest Center at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. There, she provides public interest career counseling to students and alumni as well as administers financial support programs for students and graduates working in the public sector. Prior to her role at Northwestern Law, Katie was a poverty lawyer at LAF for eight years. Katie received her Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Patrick is a Shareholder in the firm’s Labor and Employment practice area. His litigation practice focuses on complex claims arising from the employment relationship. He also provides traditional labor, employment and benefits advice to employers on day-to-day compliance and workforce change events. He has been recognized by the Legal 500 United States, Super Lawyers and Chicago Magazine, and Leading Lawyers. Patrick received his Juris Doctor from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law and was a PILI Graduate Fellow at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. He also received his Bachelor of Arts from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Federico M Rodriguez is the principal of Rodriguez Legal Group where he focuses on criminal law and personal injury. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law and his Bachelor of Science from DePaul University. Federico received the Latino Lawyer of the Year Award and the President’s Award from the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois. He was also the inaugural recipient of the University of Illinois College of Law Latino/a Law Student Association Legacy Award in 2015 for his work funding a $100,000 scholarship endowment. He serves on many boards and commissions, more recently on the Chicago Bar Association’s Board of Managers and the American Bar Association’s Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities.
Nina Fain is an attorney at Janet Sugarman Schirn Family Trust. She is a member of the Chicago, Illinois State and National Bar Associations. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law and both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Northern Illinois University.
View a list of current board members »