Awards

The First Chair Awards is an annual selection of in-house counsel who have, through their hard work and innovation, made significant contributions to the legal community. Our award program honors the top in-house counsel for their accomplishments in the past year in a wide range of categories.




2012 First Chair Award Recipients

Top General Counsel

Jeffrey Ayers, Career Education Corporation
Valeria Bailey, Rand McNally
Andrea Balogh, Meritain Health
Janice Block, Kaplan Inc.
John Blumers, Biomet
Joseph Bonaccorsi, Akorn Pharmaceuticals
Tammy Brandt, ServiceMesh
John Capps, Jarden Corporation
Matt Cimino, Welsh
Shane Clanton, BBVA Compass Bank
Paulette Dodson, PetSmart
Shannon Dwyer, St. Joseph Health System
Margee Elias, Gogo
Patricia K. Fletcher, AV Homes
Dan Follis, Compuware
Craig Gangi, Omnicom Media Group
Douglas Graham, Oil Dri
Joseph T. Green, TCF National Bank
Taylor Hammond, Lincoln Renewable Energy
Aaron Horowitz, Cosmetique
 Catherine Kilbane, American Greetings
Matthew Klein, UHS
Catherine Landman, The Pampered Chef
Fred Langtry, Banner Properties, LLC
Susan Lichtenstein, Hill-Rom
Paul Liebenson, Arcelor-Mittal
Alycia Lyons Goody, Energy Investors Funds
Brian Miller, AES Corporation
Andrea Okun, Merit Management Group
Paul Rosenberg, ValueOptions
Saleem Saab, Victaulic - International
Maria Scherer, Wrightwood Capital
Kimberlee Seah, BioScrip, Inc.
Andrew Sears, George K. Baum & Company
Rachel Seifert, Community Health Systems
Victoria Silbey, SunGard Data Systems
Fred Stein, Redbox
Tim Sullivan, Pepper Construction
Monica Weed, Navigant Consulting

Top Assistant General Counsel

Paul Brown, Underwriters Laboratories
Camille Cleveland, Papyrus - Recycled Paper Greetings
Kathleen Deane, BMO Harris Bank
Rita DeBoer, Tribune Company
Harry Dubnick, ComEd
Tom Evans, Kemper Insurance
Stephen Geisler, BBVA Compass Bank
Veronica Gomez, Exelon Corporation
Terance Gonsalves, Career Education Corporation
Stacee Hasenbalg, Harris N.A.
Kerilyn Johnson, Midas International
Karla Kambic Lammers, CNA
Angela Koenn, Dynegy
Christina Loundy, Stepan Company
David Meehan, BMO Harris Bank
Marc Michael, AES Corporation
Jack Neel, US Foods
Joe Perkins, Cummins
Jonathan D. Plotkin, Rexel
Nicie Pratt, Covenant Health System
Sean Rahilly, First American Bank
Lauren Robinson, American Bar Association
Rahsaan Sales, Navigant Consulting
John Schloerb , Cole Taylor Bank
Renee Schreiber, Mesirow Financial
Len Smith, Medicis
Eryk Spytek, Mead Johnson
Michael Strohmeier, Exelon
Audrey Waltenburg, Midas
Wade Wootan, Tulane University

Top Litigation Counsel

Cynthia Abbott, Motorola Mobility
Steven Boyd, Sprint Nextel
Shannon Clark, CBRE
Christina Conlin, McDonald's
Susan Joseph, Westcon Group North America
Robert Johnson, McDonald's
Karen Kircher, Harley-Davidson
Ken Kubes, Coventry Health Care
Tzivia Masliansky, Sears
Marc McKay, Harris Bank
Stan Orszula, FDIC
Christopher Paetsch, Kaplan Higher Education
Brian Pengra, CommScope
Lindsay Reese, BBVA Compass Bank
Alan Reifenberg, Credit Suisse Securities (USA)
PD Villarreal, GlaxoSmithKline

Rising Stars

Ali Ahmed, Fresenius Kabi USA
Leah Christoforidis, Red Chalk Group
John Curtin, Walgreen Co.
Raquel daFonseca, GE
Jeremy Gottschalk, Sittercity
Cristina Hawilo, Videojet
StevenLeslie, Grocery Manufacturers Association
Ramona Mateiu, Thoughtworks
Kimberly Quinn, BMO Financial Group
Jeremy Roe, Anheuser-Busch
Elizabeth Rosenfeld, Boeing
Michele Smolin, Cliffs Natural Resources
Angelina Tsu, Zions Bancorporation
Lynn Watkins, US Foods, Inc.
David Zucco, General Mills

Top Corporate Counsel

Sam Banayan, Redbox
Laura Cole, Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics
Tara Cowell, St. Joseph Health System
Richard Harris, Chevron Corporation
Julia Jackson, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Neal Jagtap, GroupOn
Pamela (PK) Klein-Kurland, Motorola Mobility
Tracy Kocourek, Accenture
Jean Langie, BMO Harris Bank
StephenLee, BP America
Eva Lopez-Paredes, Cisco Systems
Kevin Morris, Hyatt Corporation
Sophia Ruffolo, BMO Financial Group
Steve Sernett, Claires Stores
Irina Shelest, Accenture
Carol Sulkes, Discover Financial
Lucas Tompach, Xchanging Services
James Watson, St. Joseph Health System
Sarah Weersing, Accenture

Top Real Estate Counsel

Kathleen Barry, General Growth
Joseph Conn, PetSmart
J. Kal Gibron, Dick's Sporting Goods
Amber Graham, Wal-Mart Stores
Jason Maxwell, Hines
Brian Shally, Chevron

Top Compliance Counsel

Lisa Tamburini, RMB Capital Management, LLC

Top Intellectual Property Counsel

Steve Borsand, Trading Technologies
Michiyuki Nishimura, Densco
Bruce Schelkopf, Ingersoll Rand Company

Top Private Equity Counsel

Collin Beecroft, The Baupost Group
David Ebroon, JPMorgan Chase

Top Healthcare Counsel

Tina Allen, Blue Cross Blue Shield
John Goodman, Schroer Group

Top Employment Counsel

Stephanie Hart, Kaplan Higher Education
Keith James, Masco Corporation
Mary Smigielski, Sears Holdings Management

Top Legal Department

BBVA Compass Bank
Clear Channel
Deere & Company