ERICA BYRD

Partner

300 E. RANDOLPH, SUITE 3400 | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60601

(312) 238-9003 | EBYRD@vablawfirm.com

Experience

Erica is a Partner at VAB and leads the firm’s Real Estate and Financial Services Transactional Practice Area.  Early in her legal career, Erica served as a staff attorney in the mortgage foreclosure division of the Circuit Court of Cook County during the height of the 2008 financial crisis.  In that role, she acquired deep experience in enforcement of loan agreements and secured transactions and gained fluency in all aspects of state court practice. 

Erica harnesses her knowledge and courtroom experience in her transactional representations, serving her financial institution and government agency clients at every stage of a commercial loan relationship, from inception through work out.  When negotiated resolutions through workout agreements are not feasible, Erica assists VAB’s clients in enforcing and protecting their rights as creditors as a member of VAB’s Financial Services Litigation team.  She has participated in trials and contested hearings in state and federal court, enforcing her clients’ rights under all types of loan documents.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

  • Represents various commercial lenders in negotiating commercial loan transactions including asset-based loans, commercial real estate loans, and interest rate Swap transactions

  • Drafts loan documents for financial institutions, including origination documents, modifications, and forbearances

  • Advises on all aspects of commercial loan documentation, including use of Laser Pro forms and perfection security interests

  • Pursues collection matters on behalf of creditors, including post-judgment proceedings and litigating bankruptcy adversary proceedings

  • Prosecutes and obtains summary judgment in commercial mortgage foreclosures, breach of note and guaranty claims, and claims for replevin

  • Seeks and receives appointment of a receiver on behalf of mortgagees in commercial mortgage foreclosure actions in various state court venues across Illinois

Bar Admissions

  • State Bar of Illinois

  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Employment

  • Garfield & Merel, Ltd. - Associate (2012-2021)

  • Circuit Court of Cook County Illinois - Law Clerk

    • Staff Attorney to the Honorable Laura C. Liu (March 2011 - December 2012)

    • Staff Attorney to the Honorable Pamela H. Gillespie (March 2009 - March 2011)

Languages

  • Brazilian Portuguese

PRESENTATIONS/PUBLICATIONS

  • Boilerplate Provisions – Hidden Risks in Asset-Based Lending Agreements, Panelist

    • NAMWOLF Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, California (September 15, 2025)

  • New Article 12 of the Uniform Commercial Code – Controllable Electronic Records, Presenter

    • (November 1, 2023)

  • As the Contract Turns – What Litigators Wish Transactional Attorneys Knew, Panelist

    • NAMWOLF Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland (September 11, 2023)

  • Cook County Mortgage Foreclosure Judicial Bench Book, Contributing Author and Editor (2011)

Organizations

  • Chicago Bar Association, Member (2012-present)

    • Alliance for Women, Member (2015-present)

    • Judicial Evaluation Committee, Investigator (2015-present)

  • Diversity Scholarship Foundation, Volunteer (2012-present)

                Scholarship Committee, Co-Chair (2020-present)

  • Illinois Creditors Bar Association, Member (2023-present)

  • Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law, Member (2024-present)

  • Illinois State Bar Association, Member (2012-present)

  • American Bar Association, Member (2023-present)

  • National Association of Minority and Women-Owned Law Firms, Member (2021-present)

    • Transactional Practice Area Committee, Member (2026-present)

    • Financial Services Litigation Practice Area Committee, Member (2021-present)

  • Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, Mentor & Volunteer (2015-present)

    • Project Law Track, Organizing Co-Chair (2015-present)

    • Associate Board, Member (2023-2024)

Awards

  • Super Lawyers (2026-present)

  • Illinois Leading Lawyers (2024-present)

  • Diversity Scholarship Foundation, Advocate for Diversity (2021)

Education

University of Illinois Chicago School of Law (f/k/a The John Marshall School of Law)

  • Chicago, Illinois – Juris Doctor, 2008

  • Review of Intellectual Property Law, Candidacy Editor

  • The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

Purdue University

  • West Lafayette, Indiana – Bachelor of Science, Business Management 2005

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