Chicago Area

On Thursday, March 1, 2012, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois will host its 98th Annual Judicial Reception. The Judicial Reception, which will be held at the Hotel Allegro from 5:00pm to 7:30 p.m., brings together members of the bench and bar to  celebrate the achievements of the Illinois judiciary.

This year, the WBAI is pleased to honor two eminent jurists with the presentation of the WBAI’s Mary Heftel Hooton Award: The Honorable Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, of the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, and The Honorable Judge Debra B. Walker, of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Domestic Relations Division. Each year, the WBAI recognizes a select number of distinguished jurists who share in the WBAI’s determined commitment to promoting the success of women attorneys and advocacy for women’s interests by presenting them with this award. The award’s namesake, Judge Mary Heftel Hooton, was a First Municipal District Judge and served as President of the WBAI in 1976. In 1993, she kindly bequeathed her estate to the WBAI, enabling the WBAI to acquire and maintain its current offices in the Chicago Bar Association Building. The WBAI imparts the Mary Heftel Hooton Award in her honor.

Chicago lawyer, Adam Whiteman, has written and is now producing a musical drama celebrating the life and times of Francis O’Neill, the Chicago Chief of Police who is widely revered for his efforts to preserve and revive traditional Irish music.

Whiteman, who lives in Highland Park and maintains a Loop office, concentrates on general business law, litigation and real estate. He is an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association and is the editor of the Real Property Newsletter for the Real Estate Section Counsel. He is also a chair certified arbitrator for the Lake and Cook County mandatory arbitration program and serves as an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association with regard to commercial disputes.

In addition to his full-time law practice, Whiteman is a composer, record producer and playwright. Whiteman is the founder of Big Chicago Records (www.bigchicago.com), a label dedicated to Chicago’s diverse music scene. The label has sold well over 100,000 albums from record stores, museums, airports and gift shops all over the greater Chicago area. Albums produced by Whiteman include “A Chicago Blues Tour”, “A Chicago Jazz Tour”, “The Chicago Music Scene” and “Musica Latina Chicago.”  Whiteman was a music major at the University of Wisconsin Madison where he studied French Horn performance and composition. His compositions appear on his albums and have been used in commercial settings.

Arden Miner, who joined the legal department of Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. (ATG) in 2001, has been promoted to executive vice president and CEO at ATG LegalServe, Inc., a subsidiary of ATG.

ATG LegalServe, formed during the fall of 2009, is a process service company that has grown from two employees to 12 in less than three years. LegalServe is also a full-service litigation support provider. Miner and Operations Manager Robert Rusch have a combined 32 years of serving the legal profession.

“LegalServe is a logical service for ATG to provide because we already have a broad reach through our extensive network of lawyers,” says ATG CEO Peter Birnbaum.  “We’ve come a long way in just two years. Arden’s deep and varied experience with ATG and her wide range of skills make her the perfect fit for the top position at this subsidiary. We are confident she will provide the kind of leadership that will continue to grow this business and make it the premier process server in the Midwest.” 

Starting in 2001, Miner worked as an attorney in the ATG legal and underwriting departments;  in 2004 she was promoted to senior manager of the demanding underwriting and escrow departments. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association, a past chairperson for the CBA Real Property Law Committee, and current Vice Chair of the UPL and Multi-Disciplinary Law Committees. Miner served on the board of the Illinois Land Title Association until her switch to ATG LegalServe and has been a frequent speaker for IICLE and ATG Legal Education seminars.

Stellato & Schwartz, Ltd. is pleased to announce the addition of two new associates, who are recent admittees to the Illinois Bar: Jack J. Casciato, a graduate of the University of The District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law and Ryan H. Ouyang, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. Mr. Casciato will be working in the Chicago office and Mr. Ouyang in the firm's Schaumburg office.