Officers
Marcelo Halpern President Latham & Watkins LLP	Marcelo Halpern is a partner in the Chicago office of Latham & Watkins LLP and is Global Co-Chair of its Technology Transactions Practice Group. His practice focuses on transactional, strategic and corporate representation of global "Fortune 100" companies, start-up and emerging growth companies, as well as domestic and foreign governments and non-profits. Marcelo is a frequent speaker on technology and intellectual property legal issues and serves on the Board of Editors for The Internet Newsletter and for The E-Commerce Law Report.
Liisa Thomas Vice-President Winston & Strawn LLP	Liisa Thomas is an intellectual property partner in the Chicago office of Winston & Strawn LLP. She provides privacy law counseling to major consumer brands, advertising agencies, and consumer research companies. She is vice-chair of the ABA Intellectual Property Law Section’s Annual Report Editorial Board and is active in the International Trademark Association. Liisa also serves as an adjunct professor in The John Marshall Law School’s Information Technology LLM program; counsel to the Women’s Foodservice Forum; and a governing member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Gerald Richardson Treasurer The Claro Group	Jerry Richardson is a Certified Public Accountant (licensed in Illinois) with more than twenty years of experience advising clients with regards to forensic investigations, litigation matters and preparing and negotiating insurance claim settlements. Since 1991, he has been devoted exclusively to assisting clients in forensic investigation, litigation and insurance claims matters. Jerry graduated with Honors from University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign in 1986, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy.
Murray M. Coffey Secretary Jenner & Block LLP	Murray M. Coffey is Jenner & Block's Chief Marketing Officer. He was the second full-time marketing professional hired in the firm's nearly 100 year history and has served Jenner & Block for almost nine years. Murray is an attorney with nearly 20 years of experience in a diversity of industries and disciplines. He is married, has two children and lives in one of Chicago's ring suburbs.
Directors
Rob Acton Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA)	Rob Acton has been Executive Director of Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA) since March 2004. He came to Chicago from New York City, where he served youths from Harlem and Brooklyn for six years with Legal Outreach, Inc. Rob also served as a staff attorney with The Legal Aid Society's Juvenile Rights Division in Brooklyn. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of The Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management and has taught nonprofit management as an adjunct faculty member at the School of Business and Nonprofit Management at North Park University.
The Honorable Joseph J. Bruce Associate Circuit Judge, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit	Joseph J. Bruce was appointed as an Associate Circuit Judge in 2006. He is currently assigned to the Domestic Relations division of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Early in his career he served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in DeKalb and Winnebago counties. He practiced in the law firm of Vella, Sparkman & Bruce from 1981 to 1989 and was a sole practitioner from 1989 to 2006. Judge Bruce is a past president of the Winnebago County Bar Foundation and a former member of the Winnebago County Crime and Public Safety Commission.
Michelle Burke McDermott Will & Emery LLP	Michelle C. Burke is counsel in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP. She is a member of the Firm’s Intellectual Property, Media & Technology Department and has practiced for over 25 years in the area of trademark, copyright and unfair competition counseling and litigation, including the protection of intellectual property in cyberspace. Michelle received a B. A. (with honors) in history from Lake Forest College in 1980, and a J.D. (cum laude) from Harvard Law School in 1983.
John Cashman Major Lindsey & Africa	John A. Cashman is a partner and regional practice manager for the western region of Major, Lindsey & Africa. His practice focuses on representing individual partners in the lateral marketplace, practice group acquisitions, and law firm mergers. Previously he was a corporate partner in the Chicago office of Winston & Strawn. Before recieving his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, John was a vice president at City National Bank in Beverly Hills, California.
Susan Curry The University of Chicago Law School	Susan Curry is the Director of Public Interest Law and Policy at The University of Chicago Law School. Admitted to the bars of both Illinois and Minnesota, she has served as the Executive Director of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI), AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, Minnesota Justice Foundation and P-Fund Foundation. She began her legal career in Chicago as an associate with the law firm of Gardner, Carton & Douglas, then served as a staff counsel for the Better Government Association and, later, for the Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission’s Legal Advocacy Service.
Todd Flaming Schopf & Weiss	Todd Flaming is a partner with Schopf & Weiss, LLP in Chicago, where he concentrates primarily on intellectual property and technology litigation. He also serves on the Advisory Board for the John Marshall Law School Center for Information Technology and Privacy Law, and is a member of its Adjunct Faculty. Todd has previously served as Chair of the Illinois Bar Association's Standing Committee on Legal Technology and as Co-Chair of the American Bar Association Litigation Section's Technology for the Litigator Committee.
Véronica Gómez Exelon Corporation	Verónica Gomez is Associate General Counsel at Exelon Corp. She has been practicing commercial litigation since 1994, when she graduated from the University of Chicago Law School. Previously Verónica was a partner at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg and Schopf & Weiss. She received an A.B. in Political Science and Economics, with departmental honors, from Stanford University. She lives in Chicago's Lake View neighborhood with her husband and three children, and their two dogs.
Catherine Mathews Graf Attorney At Law	Cathy Mathews Graf has nearly 15 years of in-house and large law firm experience. Prior to launching her own practice, she was a partner with Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon LLP, where she advised corporate clients. She also served as in-house counsel for Orbitz and Arthur Andersen, and began her career with McDermott, Will & Emery. Cathy and her husband have two daughters and live in Palos Park, Illinois.
Thomas "Joe" Harris Shawnee Library System	Joe Harris recently retired from his post as Executive Director of Shawnee Library System. He worked in the Illinois library systems as an administrator, consultant and trainer for nearly 40 years. He has served on the Illinois Library Association's Executive Board, OCLC Members Council, and the Illinois State Library Advisory Committee. Joe is as a mentor in the Illinois State Library Synergy Leadership Initiative and active in the Illinois Library System Directors Organization.
Hope Ross iCrossing	Bio coming soon!
Stacey Tutt Prairie State Legal Services, Inc.	Stacey Tutt is the Managing Attorney for Prairie State Legal Services Inc.'s Bloomington office. She represents low income families in Livingston, McLean and East Woodford counties. Previously Stacey served as the Associate Director of Career Services at the University of Illinois College of Law, her alma mater. She has received both the Illinois Women's Bar Association Public Service Scholarship and the Rickert Award for Excellence in Public Service, and served as the president of the Public Interest Law Foundation.

Last update: 08/02/2010