We were excited to attend and sponsor Chicago United's Bridge Awards celebration on November 16th!
This event recognizes outstanding leaders and organizations that are committed to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Chicago business community. We are honored to have VAB's Aurora Austriaco serving on the Board of Chicago United and contributing to this important work.
Through the Bridge Awards, we celebrate the individuals and organizations who actively bridge divides and drive change, creating a more inclusive and equitable business landscape for all. We applaud their relentless dedication to advancing diversity and ensuring equal opportunities for everyone.
Together, we can bridge divides and build a brighter future.
Aurora Austriaco Moderated 2 Panels at Business Smart Week
Aurora Austriaco, Partner at VAB Law moderated two panels on the topic of “Facing Frontal Divides: Challenges and Opportunities for Minority Businesses” and “Managing Frontal Divides: Solutions to Minority Business Challenges” at the 2023 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Business Smart Week. The theme this year was “Business Equity: Inclusion-The Pathway Forward.”
Sandy Morris Presents at the DRI Employment and Labor Law Seminar in New Orleans
VAB employment pro Sandy Morris presented at the DRI Employment and Labor Law Seminar in New Orleans on May 4th. Her session "Don’t Save Damages for Last" discussed the ins and outs of employment case damage calculations and was co-presented with Dr. Abby Turner of Charles River Associates. Sandy was joined at the #DRI seminar by fellow Chicago lawyer Stacey Austin of Wang Austin, who did some tax issue spotting for employment lawyers in her session "Tax Primer for Employment Attorneys."
Lydia Bueschel honored by Women Employed
Congratulations to VAB Shareholder Lydia Bueschel, who was honored today for her years of Board service and advocacy on behalf of working women at Women Employed ‘s annual gala the Working Lunch!
Aurora Austriaco Panelist at ABA Tort TIPS Annual Section Conference
VAB Law Shareholder and American Bar Association, IL, State Delegate Aurora Austriaco was honored to participate as a panelist during the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) Annual Section Conference last week. Aurora's session was entitled, "Moving the Needle – What Corporations Are Doing in Real Time to Affect Diversity in Their Legal Spending and Why It Matters to Your Firm." Among the topics discussed were how companies reprioritize relationship when law firms fail to use diverse talent and how organizations like National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) make hiring diverse firms a breeze.
Aurora Austriaco Panelist at Pennsylvania Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession, International Women's Day Program
VAB Law Shareholder, Past President of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, and Past President of The Chicago Bar Association, Aurora Austriaco spoke on a panel at the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession, International Women's Day Program via Zoom.
Aurora Austriaco is White House Virtual Eviction Prevention Summit Facilitator
VAB shareholder Aurora Austriaco, through her role as the President of the National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP), recently served as a facilitator in the first-of-its-kind White House Virtual Eviction Prevention Summit. This summit was held to develop community-specific solutions to provide vulnerable families access to counsel, divert evictions, and connect renters and landlords to available resources.
For more information on this summit visit: https://lnkd.in/dGVKSKn
Sandy Morris Participated in a Roundtable at the May DRI Employment and Labor Law Seminar Where They Discussed, "When do we get back to the New Normal? And What is the New Normal anyway?T
VAB Of Counsel Sandy Morris participated in a roundtable at the May DRI Employment and Labor Law Seminar. Sandy co-led the discussion, "When do we get back to the New Normal? And What is the New Normal anyway?" during which she and colleagues Harvey Cooper and David Renner discussed the latest news for employers as we recover from COVID.
As the DRI Cares chair, Sandy was delighted to be the inspiration to support the Pipeline to Practice Foundation, Inc. for this year's fundraiser. This organization seeks to diversify the legal profession by cultivating exceptional legal talent. Collectively, the attendees contributed $2,500 exceeding their original goal of $2,000. If you would like to donate to the vital mission of P2P you can do so via their GoFundMe or PayPal. Literally, every dollar you contribute is invested into their students.
P2P GoFundMe: https://lnkd.in/dW2Ai9G
P2P Paypal: https://lnkd.in/dv25WSb
A special thank you to Seminar Chair Stacy Moon and Vice-Chair Eric Kinder, who led the seminar planning!
Lydia Bueschel Panelist at Diverse Talent Career Fair
VAB shareholder Lydia Bueschel spoke on a panel with fellow #namwolflawfirmmembers Amanda Alexander Taylor and Sekou Campbell on a session moderated by National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) CEO Leslie Davis on Trends in the Legal Industry at the Diverse Talent Career Fair on April 29, 2021.
Susan Valentine Panelist on NAMWOLF Trials PAC CLE Discussing Witness Prep Dos and Dont's
VAB shareholder Susan Valentine and fellow litigation experts, Barry Parsons, Howard Rosenblum, Lisa Messner and Rovin Rozario walked participants through how to identify the right expert witness, when the process should start, how to prepare an expert, and how to challenge the other side’s expert. This webinar was hosted by the National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) and organized by the Trials Practice Area Committee.
Aurora Austriaco Panelist on UCAN's Women's Leadership Forum
Aurora Austriaco was honored to participate in this reflective conversation with amazing trailblazing women Kenya Key, Psy.D., CCHP-MH Tanya Menon Alex Cleveland Lourdes Gonzalez Kimberly Casey on March 19. And thank you Uhlich Childrens Advantage Network for hosting this!
Aurora Austriaco Moderator of the 1st Ever NAAAP Leadership Series on Building Allyship
VAB shareholder and National Board of Directors Member of NAAAP (National Association of Asian American Professionals) Aurora Austriaco moderated the first event of the Inaugural Inclusive Leadership Series that will focused on "Building Allyship." Aurora and panelists Lauren Garces, Samson Lee, Junann Lopez and Christie Sithiphone will discussed how they build community partnerships with other professional affinity groups of color. They shared best practices, significance and benefits of these partnerships.
Aurora Austriaco Participant on All-Star Panel of CBA Women Presidents
VAB shareholder, past President of The Chicago Bar Association, and current President of the NCBP Aurora Austriaco was honored to be included on an "All Star Panel of CBA Women Presidents." This webcast was focused on important issues facing women in the law and on celebrating achievements in recognition of #WomensHistoryMonth.
Lydia Bueschel Moderator of NAMWOLF Fireside Chat with the CEO, Incoming CEO and Board Chair
VAB shareholder Lydia Bueschel was honored to moderate today's fireside chat with #NAMWOLF's Incoming CEO Leslie Davis, current CEO Joel Stern, and Board Chair John M. Murdock discussing their future vision for the National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF). VAB is excited for NAMWOLF's future and looking forward to seeing all of you in-person as soon as possible.
Susan Valentine Co-Presenter on Panel Discussing Persuasive Brief Writing on the topic of "Style"
Susan Valentine co-presenting part II of the Financial Poise and West LegalEdcenter™ “Persuasive Brief Writing” webinar series, entitled "Style." This webinar explored best practices for structuring and organizing briefs, including how to most effectively frame arguments, use authority and find a winning theme. It also took a fresh look at an old law school war horse -- : I(ssue) R(ule) (A)nalysis C(onclusion) – one of the few rules in life from which there’s virtually never cause to deviate.
Aurora Austriaco in Her Role as the NCBP President Introduces the 2021 Fellows Award Winner at the Midyear Meeting
VAB Shareholder and National Conference of Bar Presidents (“NCPB”) Aurora Austriaco will introduce the 2021 Fellows Award Winner at the NABE & NCBP Virtual Midyear Meeting on February 3, 2021 at 1:00 PM ET.
About the Meeting
The National Association of Bar Executives (NABE) and the NCBP are coming together again to provide bar association officers and professional staff another virtual, educational experience. Please join us for the 2021 NABE & NCBP Virtual Midyear Meeting - Facing the Future Together! This exciting opportunity is scheduled for February 1-4, 2021. Together, NABE and NCBP are enhancing programming and networking in an online space that will allow you to connect with your peers. The meeting will include a variety of plenaries, breakout sessions and even more time to socialize with attendees, speakers and sponsors. Let's come together to learn and create a brighter future for our bar associations! #NABEFutureTogether #NCBPFutureTogether
About the Award
Award Purpose
The National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP) established the NCBP Fellows Award at its 2005 annual meeting to honor an outstanding past president of a bar association.
Criteria
To qualify for a nomination, an individual must meet the following criteria:
Must be a past president of a bar association
Must have demonstrated a continuing commitment to leadership, service, the work of the organized bar and the purpose of the NCBP
Must have demonstrated a lifetime of achievement or exceptional service to lawyers or the public
An individual need not be a dues paying member of the NCBP for consideration
Current members of the NCBP Executive Council are not eligible
Aurora Austriaco Speaker at the 2021 NAAAP National Leadership Academy
On January 29, 2021 VAB Shareholder Aurora Austriaco was honored to serve as the Day 1 National Board Chat speaker during the 2021 National Association of Asian American Professionals (“NAAAP”) National Leadership Academy.
About the NAAAP
At NAAAP, our leaders are built through professional networking and educational events, trainings, community service programs, and celebrations of Asian American excellence. For 38 years we have inspired, developed, and connected thousands of leaders across 30 chapters internationally with a reach of more than 25,000+ professionals.
About the National Leadership Academy
Our National Leadership Academy is an advanced skills-building boot camp for new and returning NAAAP national and chapter leaders. The interactive program provides workshops designed to reinvigorate, educate, and guide, with opportunities to network and collaborate with current and upcoming leaders as well as National Board members.
Susan Valentine Panelist on Financial Poise Webinar Entitled, "Persuasive Brief Writing 2021"
VAB shareholder Susan Valentine was be one of the five panelists who presented on the subject of persuasive brief writing on Thursday at 1:00 PM CST.
Other panelists included Robert Michaels (Environmental Law & Policy Center); Stephen Brodsky (Kaufman Dolowich Voluck LLP); and Gerald Meyer (MoloLamken LLP).
The Financial Poise Webinar was described as:
“Unclear and unpersuasive legal writing often comes from undeveloped analysis and undisciplined organization. This webinar explores best practices for structuring and organizing briefs, including how to most effectively frame and sequence arguments, use authority, and find a winning theme. It also takes a fresh look at an old law school war horse: I(ssue) R(ule) (A)nalysis C(onclusion) – one of the few rules in life from which there’s virtually never cause to deviate.”
Aurora Austriaco Speaker on NCBP 21st Century Lawyer Virtual webinar panel, "A Conversation with Women Bar Leaders"
Valentine Austriaco & Bueschel, P.C. Shareholder Aurora Austriaco will be speaking on the NCBP 21st Century Lawyer Virtual webinar panel, "A Conversation with Women Bar Leaders." Fellow bar leaders and panelists include: Elia Diaz-Yaeger, CK HOFFLER, Karen Morris, Thomasina Real Bird, Patricia Lee Refo, Bonnie Lee Wolf, and moderator Johanna Schiavoni. Join them on December 3rd from noon to 1:30 p.m. Central for a 90 minute conversation where women leaders of seven bar associations will share their personal journeys to leadership, discuss strategies for developing a pipeline of diverse leaders coming up behind them, and provide their perspective on the biggest challenge or opportunity coming in the next six months along with their ideas to meet those challenges and opportunities. We also will provide an opportunity for our bar leader audience to ask questions of these amazing leaders. To register and for other information visit: https://lnkd.in/dTCjCQV
Sandy Morris Co-Hosts DRI Cares Event During Employment & Labor Law Virtual Seminar
VAB attorney, Sandy Morris co-hosted the DRI Cares networking event at this year’s DRI Employment & Labor Law Virtual Seminar. During this event, Sandy and co-host, Fred Mitchell, VP of Development at UNCF, spoke about how the nation’s largest minority education organization fulfills its mission to build a robust and nationally-recognized pipeline of under-represented students and ensure that its network of member institutions is a respected model of best practice in moving students to and through college. Seminar attendees raised more than $2,700 to advance UNCF's important mission.
