Honorary Board
Jessica represents and counsels corporate management in a variety of industry sectors in all aspects of labor and employment law, including representation before administrative agencies and litigation in state and federal court. Her keen appreciation of business dynamics and the legal implications of various organizational decisions helps clients achieve results that advance key objectives. Jessica is experienced defending employers in matters arising under various constitutional provisions, federal and state employment discrimination statutes, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (race, religion, sex, and national origin claims), sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims, the ADA, the ADEA, FMLA, whistleblower claims, and retaliation claims. She has significant experience defending single-plaintiff litigation and has obtained several victories both at the motion to dismiss and summary judgement stage. In addition to her litigation practice, Jessica also helps employers mitigate risk and prevent or resolve employee issues before they escalate into legal disputes, including by developing workplace policies nad procedures and by providing practical advice on specific workplace issues. Whether litigating disputes, advising during investigations, or counseling on employee issues, Jessica advises clients on their most difficult workforce related matters. |
Ann Chen is Assistant General Counsel at TransUnion, managing legal matters in litigation, employment, intellectual property, real estate, and tax. She has significant in-house experience advising global businesses, including in the financial services, healthcare, and consumer goods industries. She is a leader in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion, including previously leading the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion program for the in-house legal department of a Fortune 100 company and as a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow. Ann received her BA from Yale University and her JD from the University of Michigan Law School. She clerked for U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan in the Southern District of Florida (now on the 11th Circuit). The National Law Journal previously named Ann a "Top 40 Under 40 - Chicago's Rising Stars." |
Vikas Didwania is a federal prosecutor at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. He recently was on leave from the US Attorney’s Office until January 2025 to serve as the Senior Policy Advisor for Criminal Justice at the White House. As a prosecutor, Vikas has investigated and prosecuted a wide range of federal criminal cases concerning national security and terrorism, complex fraud, violent crime, and narcotics trafficking. Before joining the US Attorney’s Office in Chicago, Vikas worked as a litigation associate and partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago, and as a law clerk for Judge Pamela A. Rymer of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.Vikas graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago Law School.
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Jane Funk is a Vice President at Consilio, a global leader in Legal Consulting & Legal Services. Jane is a former practicing litigation attorney. For the past 15 years, Jane has successfully worked with global corporate in-house legal departments and law firms to design and implement legally defensible and cost-effective processes for collection, processing, managed review, and production of electronically stored information (ESI) utilizing AI technology. Additionally, Jane assists her clients with non-litigious legal data initiatives, including M&A Due Diligence, Data Privacy, Cyber Security, Government and Internal Investigations, Bankruptcy, and Contracts Review. At Consilio, Jane leads the Pharmaceutical, Life Sciences, & Healthcare Vertical. She is responsible for managing relationships, with a portfolio of strategic accounts spanning numerous highly regulated industries. Jane draws upon her litigation experience and her years of industry experience put her clients’ needs first. |
In January 2025, Kristy recently made the jump to into the biomedical pharmaceutical industry by accepting a position with the Legal Global Compensation and Benefits team at Merck. Prior to Merck, Kristy served as Director & Corporate Counsel to Lowe’s, providing advice and counsel on all things ERISA and employee benefits related for the home improvement giant. Kristy’s tie to Chicago started with her role with Allstate Insurance Company where she not only advised on compensation and benefits matters but began with overseeing Allstate’s legal defense strategies involving extra-contractual liability, potential excess verdicts, and coverage issues within several states (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Vermont). Kristy is a 2021 Fellow to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. Kristy is also a former AABA Chicago President and former President of the National Filipino American Lawyers Association. She held both leadership positions concurrently in 2021-2022.
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Samera Syeda Ludwig is a partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP where she focuses her practice on labor and employment. For more than 20 years, she has represented employers in both state and federal courts and in administrative proceedings throughout the country. As an experienced litigator, Samera counsels and represents businesses on matters involving employee discipline, employee claims of discrimination, and harassment and retaliation and conducts internal investigations. Samera has an active pro bono practice partnering with the National Immigrant Justice Center assisting individuals in obtaining asylum, U visas and other relief. Samera also sits on the Board of the Chicago High School For The Arts. Samera received her B.A. with Honors from Wesleyan University and her J.D. from Columbia Law School.
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Amol Parikh concentrates his practice on intellectual property litigation, counseling and procurement. He draws on his trial and litigation experience in combination with his engineering training to quickly identify intellectual property issues and develop creative strategies to address them. Amol’s work on behalf of clients has earned him recognition in many industry publications. Most recently, Amol was recognized with the International Law Office’s “Client Choice Award” for Intellectual Property in Illinois. The award recognizes “excellent client care” and the “ability to add real value to clients’ business above and beyond the other players in the market,” and winners may only be nominated by corporate counsel. Amol has represented high-tech companies in complex patent litigations in various United States district courts, the International Trade Commission (ITC) and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in a variety of technologies, including Internet technologies, wireless communications, semiconductor chip packaging, medical devices, power tools, high-resolution liquid crystal display projectors, computer and networking systems, mechanical devices and business methods. In addition to his litigation experience, Amol is a registered patent attorney and manages preparation and prosecution of patent applications in the field of electronic and computer technologies, including digital and analog circuits, telecommunications systems, computer software and hardware, handwriting recognition-based software, wireless power devices, voice recognition and recordation software, semiconductor devices, artificial intelligence, medical devices, business methods and financial products. He conducts inter partes review and ex parte reexamination proceedings before the US Patent and Trademark Office. Amol also handles intellectual property asset management. He performs due diligence investigations, providing counseling and rendering opinions in connection with the sale or acquisition of businesses or targeted business assets involving various technologies, including digital entertainment solutions, wireless communications, video conferencing, renewable energy sources, and medical devices. During law school, Amol served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Amy J. St. Eve, District Judge of the Northern District of Illinois, and worked full-time as a technical specialist for a intellectual property law firm in Chicago. He was also a member of the DePaul Law Review. Prior to law school, he held various positions working in the design and development of telecommunication systems with Hughes Network Systems. Amol earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. |
Binal is a partner and past president of Banner Witcoff. He has a range of experience in intellectual property matters including procurement, litigation, and counseling. He represents clients in various industries including financial services, insurance, automotive and heavy equipment technologies. Outside the firm, Binal is a leader in the Chicago legal community. In 2000, he co-founded the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago (SABA-Chicago) and, in 2002, he co-founded the South Asian Bar Association of North America (SABANA). Over the years, he served on the boards and executive committees of both groups and currently serves on the Advisory Council for SABA-Chicago. More recently, he formed the North Shore Corporate IP Roundtable, a forum for in-house corporate counsel to interact, engage, and share best practices. Since its forming, several other Roundtable groups have formed both in the western suburbs of Chicago as well as in the D.C. area. Binal is currently a board member of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms, an organization seeking racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession. He is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and an adjunct professor at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, teaching “Intellectual Property Litigation: Pre-trial Skills." |
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Sonni Choi Williams was recently appointed by Supreme Court Justice Mary Kay O’Brien as a Circuit Judge of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court, Will County, effective February 10, 2025. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she served as an in-house City Attorney for the City of Lockport, Will County, Illinois from June 12, 2017 to February 7, 2025. Prior to Lockport, Ms. Williams worked as an in-house municipal attorney for the City of Peoria for nearly 18 years. She has over 26 years of experience in municipal law and civil litigation including appeals before the state and federal appellate courts and the Illinois Supreme Court. On May 29, 2024, she was sworn in as the 148th President of the Illinois State Bar Association, becoming the first woman lawyer of color and the first lawyer of Asian/Korean descent to lead the state-wide association of lawyers. Ms. Williams has been admitted to the practice before the Central and Northern Districts of the U.S. District Courts, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She received her J.D. from the Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1999 and her B.A. in history from the University of Iowa. Ms. Williams has served by appointment on the Illinois Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism from 2005 to 2016 and the Commission’s precursor, the Supreme Court Committee on Civility. By Illinois Supreme Court appointment, she served as a Chair panel member on the Hearing Board for the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC). She is a past Board member of the Illinois Local Government Lawyers Association (ILGL) and a member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA); Will County Women’s Bar Association; Black Bar Association (BBA) of Will County; and DuPage County Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Decalogue Society of Lawyers, Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, and many others. Ms. Williams served two terms on the ISBA Assembly and two terms as an ISBA Board of Governor and chaired several ISBA committees and section councils. She currently serves on the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association and as a board member of the Korean-American Bar Association of Chicago (KABA); Asian-American Bar Association Chicago (AABA)(honorary), Prairie State Legal Services, and Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE). She is the immediate Past-Chair of the Northern Illinois University College of Law Board of Visitors. Awards include the 2025 Advocate for Diversity Award from Diversity Scholarship Foundation, 2020 NIU College of Law Alumna of the Year Award, 2014-2015 ISBA Diversity Leadership Award, 2010 ISBA Board of Governors Award, 2008 ILGL Annual Achievement Award, and 2006 Northern Illinois University College of Law Young Alumnus of the Year Award. Ms. Williams resides in Lockport, Illinois with her husband and they have two adult sons. |
Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago 321 S Plymouth Court |
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