LAGBAC BOARD MEMBERS

Jeremy Gottschalk - President
jgottschalk@lagbac.org

Jeremy H. Gottschalk is an attorney at the firm K&L Gates LLP in the firm's Intellectual Property Department, where he focuses his practice in licensing, trademark, copyright, and trade secret matters. He holds a B.A. from Marquette University where he graduated magna cum laude. He received his J.D. from Loyola University College of Law in 2001. 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; the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago and the LAGBAC Foundation.

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.

Nicole Bashor - Board Member
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.

Tracy Braun - Board Member
tbraun@lagbac.org

Tracy Braun is a 2004 graduate of Boston University School of Law and specializes in the area of intellectual property law. From 2004 to 2008, Tracy worked as an associate in the intellectual property litigation group of a large Chicago law firm. Tracy is currently earning a graduate degree from the University of Illinois and provides part-time law library reference assistance at Northwestern University's law library. Her research interests include the copyright issues faced by academic libraries and information policy in general, and she plans to work in higher education after she completes her degree. 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.

Toby Eveland - Board Member
teveland@lagbac.org

Toby Eveland is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and is presently an attorney with the law firm of Arnstein & Lehr LLP. His practice area focuses on complex insurance coverage and contractual disputes, products liability defense and commercial litigation. Toby also counsels a number of not-for-profit organizations in the city. He serves as Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Committee on Legal Rights for Lesbians and Gay Men, and was appointed to the Illinois State Bar Association's Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Toby is also a member of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago's Board of Directors, and was the Founding President of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago's Junior Board, a group of forty young professionals committed to increasing awareness and advocacy for HIV/AIDS related issues. Additionally, he serves on the Gala Committee for Equality Illinois, and is also an instructor for Loyola University's Moot Court program. In 2007, Toby 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. Toby has supported a number of LAGBAC events, causes and initiatives, including recently speaking at LAGBAC's summer associate reception.

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.

William H. Hall, IV - Board Member
whall@lagbac.org

William is an Assistant State's Attorney, and has been a LAGBAC Board member for 3 years. He has been partnered for 11 years and married for 9 to Kevin Tindell, an activist in the Chicago GLBT community. William and Kevin have a busy household. They have 2 children, Carter and Charles, 4 "pound puppies", Czar, Sheba, Sarabi & Moses, and a turtle, Samantha. William is also a member of the Chicago Bar Association and 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.

John Litchfield - Board Member
jlitchfield@lagbac.org

John Litchfield, a May 2009 graduate of Loyola University Chicago, is a Chicagoland native. After graduating from Miami University in Ohio with a B.A. in Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs in 2004, John left the country for Scotland to pursue a degree in International and European Politics (M.Sc.). While at the University of Edinburgh, he studied European and American relations, the development of the European Neighborhood Policy, and was an avid member of the Edinburgh Whiskey Appreciation Society. Upon his return to the U.S., John worked both as a substitute teacher at Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor, IL, and as a communications and press intern for Senator Dick Durbin. 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. He also externed for the office of the Illinois State Treasurer. John currently works as a law clerk for Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, but will be joining Foley & Lardner LLP in February 2010. John currently serves on the Mentorship Committee of LAGBAC, and has taken an active role in promoting the organization's mentorship program. John is very excited to start his second term on the LAGBAC Board, and is looking forward to a productive year.

Randall Ortman - Board Member
rortman@lagbac.org

Randall J. Ortman is a second-year student at Northwestern University School of Law. At Northwestern, Randall serves as community outreach and social affairs chairperson for OUTLaw, as well as Northwestern's representative to the OUTLaw Coalition of Chicago. Randall is a member of the editorial board of Northwestern's Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. During the summer after his first year of law school, Randall 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 healthcare 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.

Clay Rehrig - Board Member
crehrig@lagbac.org

Originally from Houston, Texas, Clay completed his undergraduate at Syracuse University. Now a student at Loyola Chicago School of Law, Clay intends to graduate in May 2010. While at Loyola, Clay has been involved in numerous student organizations. He was Loyola's student representative to the OUTlaw Coalition Chicago during his first year, and last year was the Co-president of Loyola's OUTlaw group. This year, Clay will be the Publicity Director for the Loyola's Moot Court program as well as an oralist for the American Bar Association team. Additionally, he was named to this year's Windy City Times list of 30 Under 30 LGBT activists in Chicago.

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 a "Rising Star" in the 2009 edition 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.

Mr. Richards is admitted to practice in Illinois and the District of Columbia.

Adam Sorkin - Board Member
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.

Shaun Sperling - Board Member
ssperling@lagbac.org

Shaun Sperling is in his last semester at The John Marshall Law School and he is a Law Clerk at The AzulaySeiden Law Group, focusing on immigration law and civil litigation. Shaun 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), Lesbian and Gay Law Association of Chicago (LAGBAC), and the American Constitution Society (ACS). Mr. Sullivan serves as LGBT Bar's National Representative to the ABA Young Lawyers Division (YLD); Assistant Diversity Director for the ABA YLD Diversity Team; Committee member of the YLD ABA National Conferences Team; Vice-president, Board Member, and Chair of the Program Committee for the LAGBAC. Mr. Sullivan graduated from the Illinois State University in 2000 and obtained his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School in 2005.

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

Gregory M. Zinkl serves as corporate counsel for Chromatin, Inc, and is also a registered patent attorney. Millikin University awarded Greg a BA in Biology, French and Music ('90). Greg studied cell biology at Harvard, wanting to experience cooler summers by the ocean (Ph.D., '97), but then he came to the world's greatest city for post-doc studies at the University of Chicago ('97-'00). In 2001, the US Patent and Trademark Office decided he did okay on the patent bar ('01) and then Chicago-Kent awarded him a J.D. ('06). Greg lives in mid-century modern condo in Lakeview with his partner of 11 years, Thomas Braham, AIA, an architect with Gensler, and his son Justin, 13, who would like you to know that he's in the jazz band as a keyboard artist. A cat, Figaro, completes the household. Greg continues to pay membership dues for the American Society for Cell Biology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He also serves as senior co-chair for the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra, principally consisting of attorneys and legal professionals. He is also a viola section member in the Classical Symphony Orchestra. He has greatly enjoyed participating in LAGBAC's mentoring program. Tom and Greg are active members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church , a welcoming congregation, where Tom is council president.