LAGBAC BOARD MEMBERS

John Litchfield - President
jlitchfield@lagbac.org

John Litchfield is an attorney at Foley & Lardner LLP and is a member of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice, and serves on the firm's LGBT Affinity Group Recruiting sub-committee. John holds a B.A. in Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs from Miami University (Ohio), and an M.Sc. in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. While at the University of Edinburgh, he studied European and American relations, and the development of the European Neighborhood Policy. John received his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago, where he graduated cum laude in 2009. At Loyola, John was a two-term co-president of Loyola's OUTLaw student organization, a senior editor of the International Law Review, and a student member of the Loyola Alumni Diversity Initiative. In the fall of 2008, he was an extern for the Honorable Judge Guzman in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. John was also a law clerk for the office of the Illinois State Treasurer, Alexi Giannoulias. Outside of the legal community, John is involved in many community and civic groups, including service as an Elder at Flossmoor Community Church in Flossmoor, and is a member and frequent volunteer of Equality Illinois.

Nicole Bashor - First Vice President
nbashor@lagbac.org

Nicole Bashor is an associate at McCracken & Frank LLP who specializes in client counseling related to all areas of intellectual property. Specifically, Nicole's practice is focused on patent prosecution and due diligence in a variety of areas including chemical, mechanical, and software arts. Her experience further includes trademarks, copyright, and domain name dispute resolution. Nicole received her J.D. from the John Marshall Law School in May of 2007. She also holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to law school, Nicole worked as the Director of Training and Installations for Computerworks of Chicago, Inc., where she implemented software, hardware, website, and networking packages onsite for clients and provided database management support. Additionally, Nicole conducted workshops and gave presentations on software, hardware, networking, and financial applications at national and international meetings and tradeshows. In law school, Nicole published an article in the Review of Intellectual Property law and was also a staff editor. She competed in the 2007 UCLA sexual orientation moot court competition, where her team made it to the quarter-final round and received the second place brief award.

Adam Sorkin - Second Vice President
asorkin@lagbac.org

Adam R. Sorkin is currently an Assistant Regional Counsel at the Office of the General Counsel of the Social Security Administration. He spent the first two years of his career as an associate at the law firm of Schiff Hardin LLP where he concentrated his practice in product liability defense and commercial litigation, and served as the co-chair of the firm's LGBT Diversity Task Force. Adam earned his B.A., with honors, in economics from Oberlin College, and holds a J.D from Harvard Law School, where he graduated cum laude. While at Harvard, he was active with HLS Lambda, the law school's GLBT organization, serving as Treasurer his 2L year, and President his 3L year. As President, he raised money for, and organized, a two day conference focusing on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" that brought scholars, practitioners, and students from around the country. In addition, while in law school Adam spent a semester interning at GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders) and did research for William Rubenstein's Third Edition of his case book Sexual Orientation and the Law. Thanks to the 2005 Harvard Law School GLBT Alumni Committee Public Interest Fellowship, Adam was able to spend his 1L summer researching issues related to GLBT law and healthcare at the JRI Health Law Institute in Boston.

Will Thomas - Treasurer
wthomas@lagbac.org

William W. Thomas is an attorney at the firm of Futterman, Howard, Watkins, Wylie & Ashley, Chartered. He concentrates his practice on consumer and securities class actions, qui tam/whistleblower representation, and civil rights law. He holds a BA from the University of Michigan and an MA from the University of Maryland, both in American History. He received his JD (with honors) from Chicago Kent College of Law in 2001 and his LLM in taxation (with honors) from Kent in 2006. Before becoming an attorney, Mr. Thomas worked as an administrator for the UIC HIV/AIDS Project, managing primary care clinics across the city of Chicago. His work with LAGBAC began when he joined the Judicial Evaluation Committee in his second year of law school. He has served on the Board of Directors since 2004, and became Treasurer in 2005. He also is LAGBAC's newsletter Editor in Chief.

Gregory M. Zinkl, Ph.D. - Secretary
gzinkl@lagbac.org

Gregory M. Zinkl serves as corporate and patent counsel for Chromatin, Inc., an agricultural biotech and seed production company. Greg started his professional career at Millikin University (BA in Biology, French, and Music '90) and then studied cell biology at Harvard (Ph.D., '97), after which he was appointed a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago ('97-'00). In 2000, Greg left the ivory towers to pursue a career in law, first as a scientific advisor, then patent agent ('01), and finally as an attorney after graduating from Chicago-Kent College of Law ('06). As a patent agent, Greg practiced with Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. As a patent attorney, he practiced with Dykema Gossett. Greg served as co-chair for the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra ('06-'09), an orchestra of musicians who are legal professionals by day. A violist since 2004 with the Classical Symphony Orchestra, a training orchestra, Greg joined that organization's board of directors in 2009, committed to its mission to provide excellence in orchestral training to high school (Protégé Philharmonic) and college/graduate student (Classical) musicians. Greg enjoys serving the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community by participating in LAGBAC's mentoring program for law students. Greg lives in mid-century modern condo in Lakeview with his partner of 12 years, Tom Braham, an architect with Gensler, and his son Justin, 14. A perpetually hungry and noisy cat, Figaro, fills out the household. Tom and Greg are active members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, a welcoming congregation.

David Amen - Board Member
damen@lagbac.org

David Amen recently joined the firm Cascino Vaughn, where his practice focuses on asbestos litigation. David moved to Chicago in September 2009 to join his partner, a resident at Rush University Medical Center. David holds a B.A. from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and got his J.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 2006. In law school, he was one of the founding members of the Alliance for Tolerance and Diversity, his school's first gay organization. In St. Louis, David was a member of Lawyers for Equality, St. Louis' first LGBT bar association. Since moving to Chicago, David has joined LAGBAC and is currently vice chair of the CBA's LGBT committee. David has been a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters. He is a member of the associate board of Literacy Chicago, an organization that advances the literacy of Chicago-area adults. David is also an accomplished trumpet player and plays with the Big Barristers Band, an all lawyer jazz ensemble.

Tracy Braun - Board Member
tbraun@lagbac.org

Tracy Braun is a 2004 graduate of Boston University School of Law. From 2004 to 2008, Tracy worked as an associate in the intellectual property litigation group of a large Chicago law firm. Tracy currently provides part-time legal reference assistance at Northwestern University's law library. Her research interests focus on issues involving intellectual property and information policy. She holds a B.A. from Cornell University where she graduated with distinction and is a member of the American Bar Association and the Chicago Association of Law Librarians. Tracy believes in LAGBAC's educational mission and is excited to take on a more active role in the organization.

Scott Fehlan - Board Member
sfehlan@lagbac.org

Scott D. Fehlan practices law at the City of Chicago, specializing in tax increment finance agreements, affordable housing developments, bond issuances and grant awards. He received his B.A. with high honors from Oberlin College. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1991. Scott has organized a committee to address issues affecting the City's LGBT employees. In addition, he serves on the Associate Board of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and on the board of directors of Eighth Blackbird Performing Arts Association.

Nick Furtwengler - Board Member
nfurtwengler@lagbac.org

Nick Furtwengler is a third-year student at Chicago-Kent College of Law. At Chicago-Kent, Nick serves as a Student Advocate by introducing potential students to the law school and its benefits. He is also a member of the Corporate Law Society. Nick is a student member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Nick serves as the National Student Liaison to the American Bar Association's Section of Taxation. In his undergraduate studies, Nick earned a BBA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Cincinnati. During college and before law school, he worked in corporate state tax consulting at Deloitte & Touche. After his first year of law school, Nick served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Alexander P. White in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Nick currently works for Kraft Foods, Inc. as the Tax Intern for the company's Legal Counsel and Senior Tax Counsel. Upon graduation, he plans to practice corporate tax law.

Jeremy Gottschalk - Board Member
jgottschalk@lagbac.org

Jeremy H. Gottschalk is Vice President of Corporate Strategy and General Counsel at Sittercity Incorporated, the nation's first and largest online care provider network. Prior to going in house, Jeremy could be found billing hours in one of two large law firms, where he focused his practice on intellectual property. Specifically, Jeremy spent nearly ten years practicing corporate intellectual property, including software and technology development and licensing, internet and e-commerce, trademark prosecution and litigation, copyright application and litigation, and trade secret matters. He holds a B.A. from Marquette University where he graduated magna cum laude in 2001. He received his J.D. from Loyola University College of Law in 2004. In addition to practicing law, Mr. Gottschalk is involved with many civic and community organizations. He is the President of the Boards of Directors of Equality Illinois and the immediate past President of Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago and the LAGBAC Foundation, a role he made famous for over five years.

William Hall - Board Member
whall@lagbac.org

William is an Assistant State's Attorney, and has been a LAGBAC Board member for 6 years. He has been partnered for 14 years to Kevin Tindell, an activist in the Chicago GLBT community. William and Kevin were legally married on July 4, 2010 on a float during the Toronto Pride Parade. William and Kevin have a busy household. They have 3 sons, Carter, Christian and Camran, 4 "pound puppies", Czar, Sarabi, Moses and Kimba, a fish named Larry and a turtle named Samantha. William is also a board member of Equality Illinois and a member of the National Black Prosecutors Association.

Malcolm "Skip" Harsch - Board Member
mharsch@lagbac.org

Malcolm "Skip" Harsch is a recent graduate of DePaul University College of Law and a newly sworn in member of the Illinois Bar. He was one of the first recipients of the LAGBAC Foundation Summer Intern Scholarships in 2007. He worked at Lambda Legal that summer. Malcolm supported LAGBAC throughout his law school tenure, so while he is a new board member, he is by no means a new face.

Stephen Komonytsky - Board Member
skomonytsky@lagbac.org

Stephen Komonytsky earned his JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2005, and he focuses his legal practice on corporate and real estate transactions, commercial lending and banking. While in law school, Stephen was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society, and he continues his moot court involvement by regularly volunteering as a coach and competition judge. Prior to attending law school, he worked in San Francisco as a project manager for a global elevator manufacturer, where he developed an affinity for cold summers and warm winters. Stephen graduated from Washington & Lee University with a double-major in political science and German.

William Lopez - Board Member
wlopez@lagbac.org

Will Lopez, who graduated from the University of Miami (Florida), is currently a thrid-year law student at Chicago-Kent College of Law. He is the President of the Chicago-Kent Lambdas and has served on the executive board of the Lambdas for the past two years as Publicity Chair and Events Coordinator. After his first year of law school, Will worked at Lambda Legal's Chicago Office as a legal intern. He was awarded the LAGBAC Foundation Scholarship for his work with Lambda Legal and was also a PILI Scholar that summer. Will's law review article, which discusses the presumption of parenthood in lesbian marriages, is scheduled for publication this Spring. Will is currently a Summer Associate with Hinshaw & Culbertson. This is his second term on the Board as a student member.

Tom Mikrut - Board Member
tmikrut@lagbac.org

Tom Mikrut is an attorney at Foley & Lardner LLP in the firm's litigation department, where he focuses his practice in, among other things, consumer financial services litigation. He has a B.A. from the University of Illinois in English and his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law where he graduated summa cum laude. In addition to serving on the Board of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago, Tom also serves on the Board of the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago.

James Nawrocki - Board Member
jnawrocki@lagbac.org

James Nawrocki is a partner at Goldberg, Weisman & Cairo where he specializes in Illinois Workers' Compensation law. He holds a degree in Modern European History from DePaul University (1981) and graduated from the John Marshall Law School in 1985. James joined the U.S. Navy's JAG Corps in 1984. He did primarily criminal defense of accused sailors and marines while serving in Europe, the Persian Gulf, and in Norfolk, Virginia.

James has been partnered with Todd Hungerford for 18 years, and they enjoy being good uncles to their nieces and nephews. He is also very much looking forward to working with this new LAGBAC Board of directors, and membership.

Randall Ortman - Board Member
rortmon@lagbac.org

Randall Ortman is a third-year student at Northwestern University School of Law. He is currently Criminology Editor for Northwestern's Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology and has also served as community outreach and social affairs chairperson for OUTLaw and representative to the OUTLaw Coalition of Chicago. During the summer after his second year of law school, Randall worked with the Health Law department at McDermott Will & Emery's Chicago office counseling hospital, health system, industry and physician clients on a range of transactional and regulatory matters. During the previous summer, he was awarded a Len Rubinowitz Public Interest Grant in conjunction with his work with in-house counsel at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Prior to law school, Randall worked for several years in the health care industry, most recently as the Marketing Services Coordinator for Mercy Health Partners in Ohio. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University, graduating magna cum laude. In addition to LAGBAC, Randall is also a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys.

John R. Richards - Board Member
jrichards@lagbac.org

John R. Richards is an associate in Morgan Lewis' Labor and Employment Practice. Mr. Richards represents and counsels management in a wide range of labor and employment issues, with a particular emphasis in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) litigation and employment discrimination. Mr. Richards is listed as one of the "Best LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) Attorneys Under 40" by the National LGBT Bar Association and a "Rising Star" in the 2009 & 2010 editions of Illinois Super Lawyers. Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Mr. Richards clerked for Judge Gregory L. Frost of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. He also served as an intern for the Office of Political Affairs of the White House, the Ohio Attorney General's Office, and Legal Aid of Tennessee. Mr. Richards earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2006. While in law school, he participated in the LGBT clinic, serving for two years as an extern for Equality Advocates Pennsylvania. Mr. Richards worked on LGBT client matters, including name changes for transgender individuals, asylum and Special Immigrant Juvenile cases, custody modifications, and employment discrimination. Mr. Richards earned his B.S., summa cum laude, in political science, with a minor in sociology, from Vanderbilt University in 2003. Mr. Richards is actively involved in Lambda Legal, is the Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Committee on LGBT Rights. He has authored or co-authored numerous articles addressing issues arising under ERISA litigation, labor and employment law, and federal tort and product liability law. He has spoken on various LGBT issues, most recently at a panel on Gay Marriage in America at the John Marshall Law School.

Shaun Sperling - Board Member
ssperling@lagbac.org

Shaun graduated from The John Marshall Law School in Jaunuary 2010. Shaun is an Associate Attorney at the AzulaySeiden Law Group in the commercial litigation and criminal law practice groups. Shaun acted as a law student board member during the 2009-2010 term and was a recipient of the LAGBAC Foundation Summer Intern Scholarships in 2008 and worked for the National Immigrant Justice Center's National Asylum Partnership on Sexual Orientation. While attending John Marshall, Shaun acted as co-president of John Marshall's LGBT student organization during the 2007-2008 school year and he was a semifinalist at the Williams Institute Moot Court Competition on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law at UCLA in 2009. Shaun graduating from Bradley University with a B.A. in theatre and French. Prior to Law school Shaun worked as the Associate Program Director for the AIDS Marathon Training Program in Chicago and San Francisco and he remains involved in HIV/AIDS organizations and fundraisers. He is a member of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago Jr. Board where he has acted as an executive board member and chair of the social and planning committee. Shaun has run eight marathons while raising money for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and in 2008, Shaun participated in the AIDS Life Cycle, a 550 mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise funds for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. In 2006, Shaun was recognized by the Windy City Times as a recipient of its 30 Under 30 Award for his professional and civic contributions to the Chicago LGBT community.

Mario Sullivan - Board Member
msullivan@lagbac.org

Mario A. Sullivan is an associate at the Law Offices of Peter Anthony Johnson, P.C. He counsels clients on a wide range of issues relating to real estate, landlord/tenant, creditor bankruptcy, employment, contract law, business formation, and estate planning. Mr. Sullivan is a member of the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), the Illinois State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association (ABA). In addition, he is a member of the National LGBT Bar Association (LGBT Bar) and Lesbian and Gay Law Association of Chicago (LAGBAC).

Mr. Sullivan serves as 2010-2011 Conference, Program, & Products for the ABA Young Lawyers Division (YLD); Board Member and Chair of the Program Committee for the LAGBAC; and Board Member to the LGBT Bar.

Mr. Sullivan has previously served as Vice-president of LAGBAC; on the Planning Committee- Fundraising for Equality Illinois 2005 Gala; 2009-2010 Diversity Director for the ABA YLD; Committee member to the ABA YLD Diversity Team and Resolutions Team; National Representative for the LGBT Bar to the ABA YLD; Chair of the local host committee for the LGBT BarÕs Lavender Law Š 2007; Chair and vice-Chair of the CBA Committee on the Legal Rights of Lesbians and Gay Men; and Board Member of the ACS Chicago Lawyer Chapter.

Mr. Sullivan graduated from the Illinois State University in 2000 and obtained his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School in 2005.