Isaiah Anderson is a law clerk in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to his clerkship, Isaiah worked as an associate in the Litigation Department at Proskauer Rose LLP. As part of the firm’s Appellate, Intellectual Property Litigation, and Commercial Litigation practice groups, he represented clients in high-stakes contractual disputes in state and federal courts and arbitration. Additionally, he maintained a diverse pro bono practice ranging from amicus briefs in support of equal voting rights to appeals for indigent clients seeking government benefits. Isaiah earned his J.D. from New York University, where he was a Senior Executive Editor of the New York University Law Review and worked with the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law in advocating for racial and economic justice. He also interned for Phillips Black, a nonprofit habeas corpus law practice. At each step of his career, Isaiah has benefited from mentors offering invaluable advice and opportunities. Like the affinity groups that aided Isaiah in law school and at his prior firm, AABA provides a professional network of people invested in helping each other gain the tools and relationships they need to succeed. As part of the Honorary Board, Isaiah strives to advance the opportunities for connection, collaboration, and community between practicing and future attorneys.

Avanti Bakane

Avanti Bakane is a partner at Gordon, Rees, Scully, Mansukhani, LLP. Barred in California and Illinois, and with GRSM’s offices in all 50 states, Avanti’s consumer class action practice has a national reach.

As a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) and co-chair of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services group, Avanti leads a team across the country representing Fortune 50 and small businesses alike. Known for assertive litigation tactics, recouping their clients’ fees, and presenting a strong front against contentious opposing counsels, Avanti and her team do not shy away from high stakes litigation. 

Serving as co-chair of the firm’s South Asian Affinity Group and member of its Diversity Committee, Avanti dedicates her time outside of the office to the community. She served as a past NAPABA Advisory Board member and member of Leading India's Future Today's (LIFT) Board of Governors. Avanti is a past President of strong NAPABA affiliate SABA Chicago and volunteers with several non-profit organizations to provide opportunities for underprivileged youth, end gender violence, and find homes for rescue dogs.

Sam Chae serves as Associate General Counsel for Public Safety at the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General. He has extensive litigation experience from his previous service as an assistant state’s attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, where he handled a wide range of complex felony cases in the Felony Trial Division of the Criminal Prosecutions Bureau. He also served as Assistant General Counsel for the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education and practiced insurance and professional liability defense at Cunningham, Meyer & Vedrine. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Loyola University Chicago and his J.D. from DePaul University.

Ann Chen

Ann Chen is in-house counsel at Zip, a leading fintech company in the Buy Now, Pay Later sector, where she supports the company’s mission to expand financial inclusion for underestimated consumers. She partners closely with business leaders across a broad range of legal areas, including sales and marketing, AI and product development, human resources, intellectual property, and litigation.

Ann brings extensive senior in-house experience advising global organizations across the financial services, healthcare, and consumer goods industries. Her practice spans complex litigation, intellectual property, commercial contracting, marketing, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and labor and employment. She is a recognized inclusive leader, having previously led the DEI program for the legal department of a Fortune 100 company and having been selected as a Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD).

Ann earned her BA from Yale University and her JD from the University of Michigan Law School. She clerked for U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan of the Southern District of Florida, now a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She has been recognized by The National Law Journal as one of Chicago’s “Top 40 Under 40 Rising Stars” and is a recipient of the Asian American Bar Association’s In-House Counsel Leadership Award and the Chicago Bar Association Vanguard Award

Tron Fu

Tron Fu is a Partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton who represents clients in patent, trademark, copyright infringement, and trade secrets litigation across a wide range of industries and technologies. As a former entrepreneur who founded an internet service company and a software company, Tron uses his first-hand understanding of his clients’ business needs to develop and execute successful IP protection and litigation strategies. As an experienced trial counsel, Tron has obtained numerous high-value verdicts and favorable settlements for his clients. Tron also advises established companies and startup clients through all aspects of their patent portfolios from concept to enforcement, including patentability and landscape study, patent and trademark prosecution, freedom to operate opinions, licensing, and litigation. Tron is fluent in Chinese and has extensive experience with disputes involving Chinese companies. Tron received his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law (cum laude), his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and his B.S. in Computer Science from the Universityof Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Hon. Young B. Kim

Judge Young B. Kim is a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois and has served on the bench for the Eastern Division (Chicago) since 2010.  He was born in South Korea and his family emigrated to the United States when he was 11 years old.  He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Loyola University School of Law in Chicago.  Before taking the bench, he served as an Assistant Cook County Public Defender, lawclerk to District Judge Charles R. Norgle, Sr. of the Northern District of Illinois, an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and an Administrative Judge for the EEOC.  As a federal judge he particularly enjoys presiding over citizenship naturalization ceremonies in the ceremonial courtroom where he himself was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1986.

Samera Ludwig