Bradley Skafish has been practicing law, specifically in the realm of personal injury and civil litigation, since 2002. He is admitted to practice in Illinois (2002), the Northern District of Illinois (2002), Indiana (2004), the Northern District of Indiana (2004), the Southern District of Indiana (2004), the Southern District of Illinois (2012), and the Central District of Illinois (2014). Brad became a partner at Deutschman & Skafish in January 2019. He was admitted to the seventh circuit court of appeals in 2018. Brad is also a member of the Federal Trial Bar. Prior to joining Deutschman & Skafish, Brad operated the Law Offices of Bradley A. Skafish from 2003-2007, focusing primarily on personal injury litigation. Brad has tried more than 50 jury trials. He received his law degree (J.D.) as well as a B.S. in Marketing from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and remains an avid Indiana Hoosiers fan. Brad is married with two daughters, and devotes much of his free time to attending his girls’ activities, including gymnastics and dance. Brad is also the author of the Bad Cats children’s book series. Additionally, Brad sings, writes music, and plays guitar for local rock band, the Figbeats. Author: “Smut on the Small Screen: The Future of Cable-Based Adult Entertainment Following United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group,” 54 Federal Communications Law Journal 319, 2002.

* Inappropriately salaried employees violations * Meal break violations * Pre- and post-shift work violations * Minimum wage violations * Recovering back pay and compensation for undocumented workers * Independent contractor exemption violations

Rachel Rojas is an attorney at TorHoerman Law who specializes in product liability and pharmaceutical litigation. A Corpus Christi, TX native, Rachal moved cross-country to attend Columbia University in New York City and completed a bachelor’s degree in political science. Before law school and after graduating from Columbia, she worked on both sides of civil litigation as a paralegal for a plaintiff’s asbestos law firm and a corporate defense firm.

William Newell Siebert, P.C. was founded in 1969 by William Siebert. Since its inception, the firm has been dedicated to representing the interests of temporary visitors and prospective immigrants alike. William Newell Siebert has been practicing immigration law exclusively since 1969. he has dedicated his career to the representation of non-immigrants and immigrants to the United States. William Siebert has lectured and published widely about the ever-evolving filed of immigration law. William Siebert is a member of the American Immigration Lawyer's Association, the Illinois State Bar Association (Chicago & Miami Chapters), the Chicago Bar Association, and is also admitted to the state bar of Florida.

For over 20 years, Bill has been engaged in the successful placement of partners, practice groups, in-house counsel and associates as well as consultation with respect to law firm mergers. Bill works with prominent international, regional and local law firms and corporations in the Midwest and nationwide. He has a particular emphasis in Chicago as well as New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas. Prior to founding Astor Professional Search, Bill had extensive legal and business development experience, including a business development executive role with Thompson Financial (now Thomson Reuters), working as corporate in-house counsel with Aon Corporation, and practicing law with a prominent national litigation boutique. Bill’s transactional, litigation and business development background, combined with his extensive attorney relationships and experience in a variety of professional environments, has given Astor distinct advantages in the legal recruiting marketplace nationwide. After spending nearly two years as a Principal with another legal search firm, Bill founded Astor Professional Search. Bill’s prime motivation for the genesis of Astor, and the cornerstone of its strategic philosophy, is one concept: The highest degree of personalized attention. While it may sound simple, this personalized approach, which inherently embraces a consultative, interactive and comprehensive strategy, has fueled a significantly higher level of consistently successful legal placements year after year. It also remains one of the key factors separating Astor from the vast majority of “numbers-focused” legal search firms in the marketplace. Bill lives in the northern suburbs of Chicago with his wife, Nicole, and their two children. In his spare time, Bill enjoys live music, tennis, international travel and Chicago’s world-class restaurants. Additionally, he spends considerable time at Wrigley Field as a life-long (and tortured) Cubs fan, with such suffering lifted in 2016, courtesy of a 1st World Series championship in 108 years.

Elizabeth A. Kaveny is a Chicago trial attorney who has achieved great success in plaintiff’s personal injury and medical malpractice for the past 
25 years. She is well-known and respected in the legal community for her hard work and the outstanding recoveries she obtains for her clients, both in settlements and jury verdicts. Elizabeth was a principal in the law firms of Propes & Kaveny and Burke, Wise, Morrissey & Kaveny. Taking the best from great mentors and trial attorneys that came before her, Elizabeth established the law firm of Kaveny Sarmas in 2019, where she continues her high-quality representation of victims of medical negligence, motor vehicle and trucking accidents, workplace injuries, and general personal injury. Elizabeth is proud to have been recognized as one of the 10 Best Personal Injury Attorneys in Illinois in 2020 and one of the top 5 Women Attorneys in her field for each of the past 5 years. Elizabeth has been accepted into one of the country’s most prestigious national organizations, the American 
College of Trial Lawyers, and last year became a barrister with the International Society of Barristers. In 2019, Elizabeth was named to the MOVE OVER
Task Force by John J. Cullerton, Senate President for the State of Illinois. In 2021, the Illinois State Bar Association appointed Elizabeth to serve as a member of the ISBA Tort Law Section Council. Elizabeth is an often-requested teacher and lecturer on trial advocacy, having taught at Northwestern University’s School of Law, Loyola University School of Law, the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, and lectured for numerous bar associations and organizations in their continuing legal education programs throughout the country. Elizabeth is now serving as Chicago’s Ambassador to The Patient Safety Movement. The Patient Safety Movement is an organization of hospitals, physicians, and other professionals who share the mission of focusing on eliminating preventable harm and death in healthcare across the world by creating a sense of urgency and unifying humanity.

Ava Gehringer is a trial attorney at Kaveny Sarmas Injury Lawyers who represents individuals and families devastated by medical negligence and catastrophic injury. She practices in all areas of personal injury, with a particular focus on complex medical malpractice, wrongful death, and serious injury cases. Ava works relentlessly to uncover critical failures in care, expose systemic breakdowns, and secure meaningful justice for her clients. Ava earned her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she received three CALI Excellence for the Future Awards for legal writing and litigation. A Chicago-area native, Ava grew up in Evanston and spent her young adult years traveling the globe as a rhythmic gymnast, representing the United States. She retired as a National Champion and member of the U.S. World Team, later serving as an athlete representative to the USA National Team, where she acted as a liaison between youth athletes and national leadership. “Serving as a voice between young athletes and those in positions of authority taught me the importance of speaking up when others cannot,” Ava says. “That experience ignited my passion for advocacy and ultimately led me to the law.” Ava prepares every case as though it will be tried before a jury. Her background as a former elite athlete shapes her approach to litigation—disciplined, strategic, and unyielding in high-pressure environments—and her background as an athlete representative shapes her commitment to consistent and open communication with her clients at every step. She understands that behind every case is a family whose life has been permanently changed, and she treats that responsibility with the seriousness it demands.

Lema Khorshid is one of the founding partners at Fuksa Khorshid, LLC. Lema handles a wide range of corporate legal and real estate matters for small- to mid-sized, closely held businesses in Chicago and New York. For the past several years, she has also been lead legal counsel on matters that have taken her business clients all over the globe. Lema’s transactional practice also encompasses a variety of commercial real estate matters across a comprehensive array of asset classes, including office, industrial, multi-family, and hospitality/retail. She represents private equity funds and real estate developers in the acquisition and development of real estate and has serviced the leasing, acquisition and development deals for many of her clients. Lema also handles zoning changes and liquor licensing matters for her local restaurant and hospitality clients. She has advised clients on debt/equity structures for real estate acquisition and mergers. She has extensive experience advising on and negotiating commercial deals. Lema is frequently invited to guest speak at Small Business Centers all over Chicago, where she teaches workshops to entrepreneurs on how to be proactive about a myriad of legal and business issues that may affect their businesses. For the last few years, she has taught a workshop called Something Negotiated™ whereby she teaches business owners key negotiation techniques that help them succeed in business and in life. In 2009, Lema was honored by the Business Ledger for being one of the twenty-two influential women in business in Chicago. In 2013, she earned a feature article in Chicago Social Magazine for her dedication and support to helping women entrepreneurs succeed. In 2018, she was featured for as a notable lawyer in Crain’s Chicago Business. Lema sits on the Advisory Board for the Women’s Business Development Center. She recently joined the Women’s Board of Partners in Health, which delivers health care to the world’s impoverished and supports women in underprivileged communities have access to quality healthcare. She has chaired several large-scale fundraisers to support arts and cultural initiatives in underprivileged communities; brought awareness to Chicago’s fashion and arts scene; and, raised thousands of dollars to support educational initiatives for entrepreneurs. Since 2006, she founded and chaired BizOver™, a large-scale marketing and networking platform for women business owners that has been sponsored by Neiman Marcus. Prior to being a partner at Fuksa Khorshid, LLC, Lema spent over six years consulting several prominent retail, hospitality and entertainment clients on their branding and public relations strategies in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Lema received two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in Finance and Marketing, with a concentration in International Business and Italian (2000). She received her Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law in Chicago (2004). She is proficient in Arabic, French, and Italian. In her time away from the office, Lema loves international travel, is a self-proclaimed foodie, and has a penchant for fashion and film.

Andrew L. Spivack has represented hundreds of clients in divorce, custody, spousal support, child support, arrearages and retro support, visitation, paternity and other family law cases. Mr. Spivack believes every person should have an experienced and knowledgeable attorney to help advise and guide them through the difficult and important decisions that they face with the goal of achieving the best outcome possible. Your satisfaction with the ultimate outcome of the family-related concern you face demands both experience and an aggressive advocate.

Sean’s career is characterized by his dedication to legal excellence, his strategic acumen in criminal defense, and his commitment and loyalty to both his clients and his community. Sean O’Brien is an accomplished attorney with a robust background in criminal defense and extensive trial experience. His strategic approach involves an aggressive and meticulous analysis of discovery, thorough legal research, and the development of comprehensive strategies to mitigate client risks and secure favorable outcomes. Sean is adept at negotiating with prosecutors and leveraging his reputation and extensive courtroom experience to highlight weaknesses in prosecutions, often achieving beneficial settlements. He also focuses on 4th Amendment litigation, where he has developed a reputation for his aggressive motion practice and consistent litigation success, achieving acquittals in cases ranging from large drug cases, weapons charges, to attempt murder. Prior to going into private practice, Sean served as an Assistant State’s Attorney for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. In addition to his practical legal experience, Sean has contributed to legal education as a Trial Advocacy Professor and Trial Team Coach at The John Marshall Law School. Sean has taught courses in trial advocacy and evidence and coached several trial teams to success in competitive rounds. His academic contributions demonstrate his commitment to fostering the next generation of legal professionals. Sean holds a Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School, where he graduated with honors. He was actively involved in the Trial Advocacy and Dispute Resolution Honors Board, serving as Vice Barrister and Chief Barrister. He was also selected as class representative for the Chicago Inn of Court honor and made the trial team every semester of eligibility. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a minor in Public Relations, from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he was a Dean’s List student and recipient of the UW-W Student Involvement Award. In his spare time, Sean can be found spending time with his wife and two children, and is an avid cinephile, music lover, sports obsessive, and barbecue enthusiast.