About William Wagner
William Wagner is an award-winning writer and editor who’s been at it for thirty-plus years. He has written for everything from Sports Illustrated to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and also is the author of a book about the Chicago Cubs titled Wrigley Blues. Wagner has contributed to Super Lawyers since 2005 and has thoroughly enjoyed interviewing and profiling an array of fascinating attorneys.
Articles written by William Wagner
What Can Be Done About Ransomware Attacks?
Michigan attorneys’ advice when you’re virtually shut downIn November 2022, a ransomware attack shut down schools in two Michigan counties for multiple days. From classroom technologies to the heating, the schools’ critical operating systems were rendered nonfunctional. James J. Giszczak, co-president and co-chair of the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group at McDonald Hopkins in Bloomfield Hills, sees business operations incapacitated virtually every day. “We probably get three to five ransomware calls per day from clients that need …
Cultural Resolution
Linda Mealey-Lohmann’s longtime passion for ChinaIn the mid-’70s, Linda Mealey-Lohmann was a voice major at the University of Minnesota when the trajectory of her life changed. “I love languages, and as a voice major you have to sing in all different languages,” she recalls. “I was making my Chinese friends teach me Cantonese. At one point, they said, ‘You should take a Chinese class since you love language so much.’” She connected with it so well that she changed her major to East Asian studies—and that was just the …
Repping P.R. in D.C.
How Ivelisse Bonilla got the chance to help her home islandIvelisse Bonilla has always wanted to contribute to the greater good—particularly for her home, Puerto Rico. “I’ve always been passionate about politics and public service,” she says. She got her chance in 1999 when she was a young employment attorney at McConnell Valdés, the island’s largest law firm. A colleague of Bonilla’s had just been appointed head of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration in Washington, D.C.—the agency that represents the Puerto Rican government …
The Reasons Why Mediation is Preferred for Business Disputes
It's fast, cheap and in your controlMediation is a type of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). It’s a relatively simple and straightforward process for resolving business disputes—and that’s precisely the point. More often than not, according to attorneys who practice this type of law, it’s the best option. What Makes Mediation Work “A successful mediation process is one where the parties select a mediator, the parties follow the mediation rules, the counsels show up and do their part, and the representatives of the …
In-Laws in Law
Dan O’Connell and Lindsey O’Connell bridge the generational divideFor two of the lawyers at Maplewood-based Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O’Connell, family law is literal. When Lindsey O’Connell joined the firm in 2015, she went into practice with her father-in-law, family law mainstay Dan O’Connell. “I am married to Dan’s youngest son, Kevin,” Lindsey says. “He and I went to UMD together. The very first time I met Dan, they came up to visit us in Duluth. I got to go out to dinner with Dan and Lynne. I had known I wanted to go to law school, and I …
How to Fight Discrimination or Retaliation
What you need for a lawsuit, according to Illinois employment attorneysThere are many laws designed to protect employees from discrimination and retaliation, ranging from the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967) to state laws such as the Illinois Human Rights Act (1979). Together, they serve a valuable purpose. “A discrimination- and harassment-free working environment is one of the key features of our country. It’s a fundamental civil right that all Americans enjoy,” says Randall B. Gold, an employment attorney with Fox & Fox S.C. in …
Starting a Nonprofit Isn't as Simple As It May Seem
Getting into the legal details of a nonprofit startup in IllinoisIllinois nonprofit fundraising comes in all shapes and sizes—from raffles to membership dues—but there are certain practices that apply across the board. For starters, as Park Ridge attorney Jessica M. Wojtowicz Heston succinctly puts it: “Call an attorney.” It’s better to make that call sooner rather than later, she says. As for why, look no further than the Illinois General Not For Profit Corporation Act. It is filled with potential pitfalls for the uninitiated. “It has all sorts …
Cutting Through the Darkness
How education attorney Darcy Kriha helped a blind immigrant gain citizenshipDarcy Kriha didn’t choose the law as much as she was called to it—literally, by Jean Dolores Schmidt. Basketball fans in Chicago and beyond know “Sister Jean” as the much-loved chaplain of the Loyola University men’s team. Kriha, however, knew her long before that—as her academic adviser at Mundelein College (which later merged with Loyola) in the late 1980s, who provided hands-on guidance. “Sister Jean knew I needed a little help because I was the first generation in my family to …
The Simple Story of Raj Shah
The litigator masters the facts, then focuses on the critical issueRaj Shah’s story doesn’t begin anywhere near the plush Chicago offices of global firm DLA Piper, where Shah, 46, is a partner and chair of the Chicago litigation group. To get to square one, you have to travel five-plus decades back in time and nearly 8,000 miles to the city of Rajkot in Western India to find Raj’s father, Niranjan M. Shah. It is, Niranjan says, “a simple story.” In 1964, with little money in his pocket, Niranjan embarked on the long, uncertain journey to America, …
Keeping Pace
The IP litigator’s engine always runs at full speedGood luck trying to keep up with Olivia Luk Bedi. She rises while it’s still dark and goes for a run through her Bucktown neighborhood. Not a casual jog—it’s training. The 41-year-old Bedi competed in the Chicago Marathon in 2018. That warmup is followed by the routine of a working mom: waking up her two kids (ages 3 and 7), dressing and feeding them, and getting them out the door and to school. Then she dashes off to the Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg offices in the Loop or maybe to the …
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