Chicago law firm Grady Pilgrim Christakis Bell LLP announced today that attorneys Karen Kawashima and Jennifer Sarhaddi have joined the firm as associates. Kawashima began her career at Foley & Lardner LLP and was most recently with Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC.  Sarhaddi comes from Arnstein & Lehr LLP. "Karen and Jennifer are both experienced and energetic, and their additions support the strategic expansion of our commercial litigation capabilities," said Jeff Pilgrim, a founding partner of Grady Pilgrim. "They both bring with them considerable experience, and will be able to use that experience here as they work on sophisticated commercial matters in a new, refreshing and dynamic environment.  We are delighted to welcome them to the firm." Kawashima and Sarhaddi will work on a broad range of complex litigation matters, representing businesses across a variety of industries and ranging from small start-ups to some of the largest companies in the country. Karen Kawashima focuses her work on complex civil litigation covering a variety of practice areas and substantive issues, including the defense of individual and class action consumer financial services cases, contractual disputes, employment matters, business torts, real estate litigation, and other matters. Prior to joining the firm, Kawashima was a litigation associate at Foley & Lardner LLP and then at Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC.  Kawashima received a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law, where she was a Wigmore Scholar, and a B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame. Jennifer Sarhaddi has also handled a variety of litigation matters, including financial services litigation, contractual disputes, employment matters, products liability, trade secret misappropriation, business torts, real estate litigation, and other commercial matters.  Sarhaddi was previously a senior associate in the litigation group of Arnstein & Lehr LLP.  Sarhaddi received a J.D. from John Marshall Law School, an M.A., with honors, from Loyola University Chicago, and a B.A. from Marquette University. Please visit www.gradypilgrim.com for more information.