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VAB Supports Black Futures

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This month VAB Law is proud to highlight the work our team members are doing in the community to support Black women embarking on bright futures:

Our very own Deborah Imafidon is a dedicated member of the BLACK WOMEN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP FUND Board and recently co-chaired their gala, which provides vital financial support to aspiring Black women law students.

We also want to celebrate LaWanda May, MSHR’s commitment to Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., where she is a member (pictured here with her daughter, Nia, who is a youth affiliate of the Sorority). LaWanda has been dedicated to their mission of enhancing the quality of life within the community through service and education for 26 years!

Happy Black History Month and here's to Black Futures!

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VAB Sponsors the 2026 Diversity Scholarship Foundation NFP's Unity Gala and Award Ceremony

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VAB Law was honored to sponsor the 2026 Diversity Scholarship Foundation, NFP’s Unity Gala and Award Ceremony. The DSF's mission is to promote the goal of advancing diversity within the legal community. To fulfill its mission, DSF seeks to financially assist underprivileged and under-represented minorities in attending law school by offering them scholarships. DSF’s reach goes outside of the Chicago area helping aspiring students in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Iowa. We are especially proud of VAB Partner, Erica Byrd's work as Co-Chair of the Scholarship Committee! VAB Shareholder, Aurora Austriaco also helps to support the cause by serving on the Board of DFS. We were excited to bring as our guests Sarah Vehlow of Wintrust Bank Chicago and Suhana Patel, an aspiring law student. In addition to Erica and Aurora and our wonderful guests, VAB team members Susan Valentine, Reena Sikdar, Jennifer Novoselsky, Lance Willoughby-Hudson, Jack Casey and LaWanda May, MSHR were there to support this worthy cause and celebrate the recipients. Congratulations to all of the 2026 recipients of the DFS scholarships!

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Congratulations to Team Members Named as 2025 Leading Lawyers!

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Way to go team! VABLaw's Susan Valentine, Lydia Bueschel, Erica Byrd, Sandy Morris, Reena Sikdar and Jennifer Novoselsky were all selected this year Leading Lawyers for the year 2025 by leadinglawyers.com. Leading Lawyers are recommended by their peers to be among the TOP LAWYERS in a given practice area. Less than 5% of all lawyers licensed in each state have received this distinction. Learn more at: https://lnkd.in/eKnfWErM

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VAB Celebrates Our 2026 Super Lawyers

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A VABulous round of applause to Susan Valentine, Aurora Austriaco, Lydia Bueschel, Sandy Morris, Erica Byrd and Jennifer Novoselsky for being included on the "Illinois Super Lawyers" list and to Reena Sikdar, Deborah Imafidon and Preslav Mantchev for their inclusion on the "Illinois Rising Stars" list!

Aurora Austriaco Receives the 2025 National Filipino American Lawyer Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

#VABLaw congratulates Shareholder @Aurora Austriaco on receiving the 2025 National Filipino American Lawyer Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

This award is given to distinguished Filipino American attorneys whose lifelong contributions have significantly shaped the legal profession and the Filipino American community.

Aurora exemplifies this distinction perfectly. We couldn't be prouder.

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Aurora Austriaco Appointed by Governor JB Pritzker to the Newly Established Illinois Accountability Commission (IAC)

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Please join #VABLaw in congratulating @Aurora Austriaco on her appointment to the newly established Illinois Accountability Commission (IAC)!

Appointed by Governor JB Pritzker, the IAC is an independent board tasked with documenting the conduct of federal law enforcement agents and recommending actions to hold the federal government accountable as they conduct military-style operations in Chicago, collar counties, and throughout the state.

Thank you for your commitment to the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, Aurora! Your VAB team is so proud of you!

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VAB Partners Erica Byrd & Jen Novoselsky CLE Panelists at the NAMWOLF Annual Meeting in Los Angeles

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#VABLaw is excited to sponsor, attend, and present at the National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. Two of our hashtag#VABulous Partners will serve on CLE panels during the conference. Erica Byrd's session, "Boilerplate Provisions & Hidden Risks in Asset-Based Lending Agreements," will provide an in-depth examination of key contractual clauses, common pitfalls, and best practices for structuring ABL agreements that minimize lender exposure. Jennifer Novoselsky's session entitled "Hot Topics in Antitrust Law" will discuss significant recent changes in the practice area. We look forward to seeing you in L.A.!

VAB Sends Thanks and Best Wishes to Summer Intern Noah Jackson

A big thank you to Noah Jackson for serving as our summer intern in 2025! Noah wrapped up his work with VAB on Friday and returns this week to Howard University for his Senior year, majoring in journalism with a minor in economics. Noah performed wonderful work for VAB on a number of substantive research and writing assignments, firm presentations, and administrative projects. We wish you the best this year and beyond, Noah – any law school would be lucky to have you enter as a first year student in fall 2026!

Aurora Austriaco Panelist Following the The Chicago Bar Association MCLE "50 Marketing Tips in 60 Minutes"

#VABLaw Shareholder Aurora Austriaco was excited to serve as a panelist following The Chicago Bar Association MCLE "50 Marketing Tips in 60 Minutes" presented by Ross Fishman, JD, CEO of Fishman Marketing. Joining Aurora on the panel discussion will be Ray Koenig, Member at Clark Hill Law and Moderator John C. Sciaccotta, Member of Aronberg Goldgehn. The four will discuss personal branding, LinkedIn, AI for lawyers, and more.


Aurora Austriaco Co-Hosts 2nd Annual Asian Women's Summit

We would like to congratulate Aurora Austriaco, Susan Patel & Michelle Lura White on hosting the 2nd Annual Asian Women's Summit last month!

The attendance was remarkable, with participants from both within Illinois and out of state! The speakers were amazing and spoke on topics ranging from Doing Business with the Government, Challenges and Opportunities in the Food and Restaurant industry, Understanding the Next Gen, Business and Serial Entrepreneurs, Navigating Corporate America, Quantum Computing and a keynote discussion on Board Readiness.

VAB Sponsors the BEDS Plus Inc. 2025 Soup & Bread Benefit

We were honored to sponsor and attend this year's SOUP & BREAD event benefiting BEDS Plus Inc. last weekend! Their mission is to help vulnerable individuals stabilize their lives through housing and supportive services. hashtag#VABLaw's Susan Valentine continues to serve as their Board Vice President and greatly appreciates everyone who attended and supported this fundraiser.

Learn more about Beds Plus Care at: https://beds-plus.org/

Welcome Partner Jennifer Novoselsky

We are thrilled to announce that this powerhouse will be joining our team! Jennifer Novoselsky joins VABLaw as a Partner. Jen is an experienced litigator who handles commercial, financial, and securities litigation and arbitrations.

Jen defends financial institutions and public and private corporations in a variety of commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts, including claims for securities fraud, defamation, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair competition, business torts, and violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act. Jen also has extensive experience representing broker-dealer firms in FINRA arbitrations, serving as lead counsel in more than 50 proceedings in the past 5 years. She handles industry and customer disputes, including those involving claims for fraud, unsuitability, churning, unauthorized trading, breach of fiduciary duty, negligent supervision, and Form U-5 expungements with claims for defamation and/or tortious interference.

 
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