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 supports 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.

7 VAB Attorneys Included on the 2025 Illinois Super Lawyers/Rising Stars Lists

A #VABulous round of applause to Susan Valentine, Aurora Austriaco, Lydia Bueschel, Sandy Morris and Erica Byrd for being included on the "Illinois Super Lawyers" list and to Reena Sikdar and Deborah Imafidon for their inclusion on the 2025 "Illinois Rising Stars" list!

5 VAB Lawyers Selected as 2025 Leading Lawyers by leadinglawyers.com

Way to go team! hashtag#VABLaw's Susan Valentine, Lydia Bueschel, Erica Byrd and Sandy Morris were all selected as 2025 Leading Lawyers by leadinglawyers.com, with Aurora Austriaco receiving the added honor of being asked to serve as an Advisory Board Member. 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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Aurora Austriaco Panelists at the Onyx Strategic Partners’ Women’s Power Luncheon

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Aurora Austriaco was invited to be one of four panelists at the Onyx Strategic Partners’ Women’s Power Luncheon. The powerful panel also included Marie Lynn Miranda Arielle Johnson, MPA and was moderated by Heather Ireland Robinson. There were a wealth of knowledge shared regarding career growth, effective leadership and believing in yourself. Audrey Boyle shared insights on the importance of self-branding in today’s marketplace. The day featured committed leaders like Sharif Walker, MAOL Chartay Robinson Darlene Oliver Hightower Pier Rogers, PhD Tamara Reed Tran Dee Atkins Hiba Anjum Angila M. Faison Susan Doig Mary Beth Johnson Barbara Deer Marty Gutierrez Vincent Price Kimberly Casey Blue Pacheco-Cornejo Cynthia Withers Turnquest Katrina Waddy Bianca Cotton Mironda Ross Maya Green MD, MPH, HIVMA, AAHIVS, FACHE Karen Calloway Melanie L. Brown Eddie Francisco Kristina Hamilton Elizabeth Fulmer Stephanie Glover-Douglas.

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Aurora Austriaco Podcast Guest on @theBar

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Go listen! On the October 24th episode of The Chicago Bar Association's podcast @theBar, our very own Aurora Austriaco got to speak with Hosts Maggie Mendenhall Casey, Deputy Corporation Counsel of the Torts Division for the City of Chicago and Tracy Brammeier, Partner at Clifford Law Offices about her experience serving as an elected delegate at the 2024 DNC. Aurora outlines the process and responsibilities involved in becoming a delegate and shares highlights and impactful moments from the convention.

@theBar is a Chicago Bar Association Podcast that can be found on the Legal Talk Network. You can listen to this episode titled, "Who Picks Your Presidential Candidate, Anyway? — A Conversation with DNC Delegate Aurora Austriaco" here: https://lnkd.in/epCzRm_x

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VAB Hosted NAMWOLF Gathering at Adler Planetarium

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You're all stars in our book! A big thanks to The Adler Planetarium for presenting at the informal gathering of Chicago-area National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) law firms and supporters that VAB hosted last night. It was a great way to see our NAMWOLF friends, celebrate all that Chicago (and the universe!) has to offer, and hear about the out-of-this-world work that the Adler is doing. Thank you Michelle B. Larson, PhD, President and CEO of the Adler Planetarium, Ryu Mizuno, Chief Revenue Officer, and Nancy Gerrie, Vice Chair of the board of Trustees.


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Aurora Austriaco Panelist at Women's Power Luncheon

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VAB Law is so proud that Aurora Austriaco will be one of four esteemed panelists for the Women's Power Luncheon presented by Onyx Strategic Partners on October 28th at the Griffen-Bourdeau Design Center.  Speaking alongside are Arrielle Johnson, CEO of Business Leadership Council, Heather Ireland Robinson, Executive Director of the Jazz Institute of Chicago and Marie Lynn Miranda, Chancellor of the University of Illinois Chicago.

Sandy L. Morris Now Serving as a NAMWOLF Trials Practice Area Committee Co-Chair

VAB Partner Sandy Morris is excited to now serve as a Co-Chair on the National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) Trials Practice Area Committee (“Trials PAC”). Sandy has been an active member of the committee for years and with more than 20 years of experience litigating complex business disputes she is a perfect fit to serve alongside fellow NAMWOLF member Christine I. Gannon of Walsh Pizzi O'Reilly Falanga LLP.

The Trials PAC consists of attorneys and law firms with significant, demonstrated trial experience. Members of the Trials PAC have experience trying a wide range of cases. The PAC seeks to showcase the talents of experienced NAMWOLF trial attorneys, provide a resource for in-house counsel looking to work with experienced NAMWOLF trial attorneys on legal matters heading to trial, and improve the skill level of emerging minority and women trial attorneys.

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VAB Sponsors Reception and Reena Sikdar Panelist at NAMWOLF 2024 Annual Meeting

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We are so excited to continue our support of National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) and its events as an In-House Cocktail Reception Sponsor for the 2024 Annual Meeting. Our own Reena Sikdar was on an Ethics CLE panel discussing "When the Government Gets Involved" with esteemed co-panelists John Amberg, Executive Vice President, Global Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer at Northern Trust, Nekia Hackworth Jones, Regional Director for the Atlanta Regional Office for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Aaron Moore, Regional Counsel for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Alison Donahue Kehner Partner at DTO Law.