Brianne Straka

Hariklia (Carrie) Karis is a Kirkland trial lawyer who has extensive lead trial experience in jury and bench trials and arbitration involving personal injury in a broad range of high profile personal injury, product liability and other commercial cases throughout the country. Hariklia was recently recognized by various legal publications as a first class trial lawyer in mass tort and commercial litigation. She was awarded Law360 MVP for Trials in 2022. The American Lawyer named Hariklia &ldqu...

David J. Rashid joined Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. in 2023, focusing on catastrophic personal injury, medical negligence, and wrongful death cases. He has expertise in medical malpractice cases involving misdiagnosis, surgical errors, birth injuries, emergency room errors, and strokes. In his first trial with the firm, he secured a $32.7 million jury verdict for a man who underwent a foot amputation due to a delayed blood clot diagnosis, the largest Illinois verdict for such a loss. ...

Jeffrey L. Rudd is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management. Jeffrey L., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jeffrey L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Joseph T. Murphy, partner at Clifford Law Offices, comes with a great deal of experience in the law since he was sworn in Illinois in 2012. He formerly was a Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney and served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he prosecuted misdemeanor and felony offenses in federal court. He also previously served as chief of federal litigation for the 101 st Airborne Division while serving as an attorney...

With more than 30 years of experience, Eric Berg focuses his practice on litigation and transactional construction law. As a litigator, Eric has represented owners, contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, and lenders in trials, arbitrations, and mediations. Eric’s transactional work includes drafting and negotiating contracts for the design, construction, rehabilitation and construction management of hotels, hospitals, office buildings, apartment buildings, casinos, transit ...

Andrew is a trial and appellate lawyer in the firm’s Litigation and Insurance Policyholder Practice Groups. Andrew has earned a reputation as a shrewd and versatile litigator capable of tackling the most vexing legal problems. Andrew has an active commercial litigation practice spanning multiple industries with experience successfully prosecuting and defending a wide variety of litigation and arbitration matters from inception through trial and appeals. Andrew’s dynamic skill set ...

Ziemowit T. Smulkowski is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Tax Law. Ziemowit T., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ziemowit T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Thomas Y. Mandler is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Labor Law - Management. Thomas Y., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Thomas Y. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

With a background in social work and the influence of a grandfather and uncle who were passionate lawyers, Gina Arquilla DeBoni naturally gravitated towards a career in law where she could put her strong people skills and passion for helping others to good use. After law school, Gina established a successful personal injury law firm with another partner. She left the practice after six years to join the prominent firm of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC in June 2010 as its managing attorney. In F...

Mark D. Pollack is a partner in the Litigation practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Chicago office. He also serves as the Firm’s General Counsel. Mr. Pollack concentrates his practice in the areas of white-collar criminal defense, complex commercial litigation, internal corporate investigations, and compliance counseling. He has extensive experience in counseling and defending corporations, boards of directors, and executive officers in relation to a broad range of...