Posted by The CBA’s Alliance for Women is presenting their annual awards that recognize outstanding women lawyers who have significantly contributed to the advancement of women in the legal profession or other areas, and whose careers exemplify the highest level of professional achievement, ethics, and excellence.
The Founder’s Award, given to women who have demonstrated a sustained, active commitment to the advancement of women throughout their careers, will be awarded to Terri Mascherin of Jenner & Block LLP. The Alta May Hulett Award, named for the first woman lawyer in Illinois and awarded to a woman who meets the Founder’s Award criteria but has been qualified to practice law for fifteen years or less, will be awarded to Alexis Crawford Douglas, K & L Gates.
Terri Mascherin’s impact on the Chicago legal industry extends far beyond her role as a partner and Litigation Department Co-Chair at Jenner & Block. She served as President of the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (and former chair of the State Committee), and an active member of The Chicago Network. Throughout her career, Terri has worked assiduously to empower women through mentorship and to wield the influence she had earned to elevate the next generation of women lawyers and changemakers. Terri’s mentees have gone on to make partner at Jenner, to accede to influential leadership roles in the firm, become global heads of compliance elsewhere, and take on other influential roles. Through the CBA, she has mentored women who have gone on to take prominent positions, including CBA President.
For 10 years, Terri co-chaired Jenner’s Professional Responsibility practice, which represents lawyers and law firms that are sued for malpractice. Members of the broader legal community have relied on her guidance, and she has spoken on legal ethics and given presentations to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, multiple in-house legal departments, the CBA, and the American Bar Association. Most importantly, Terri has embodied professional responsibility through her pro bono service, which focuses on securing justice for those wrongfully accused and convicted. Her work has included successfully challenging sentences of two men on Illinois’ death row and defending former Illinois Governor George Ryan’s clemency orders clearing death row for 167 prisoners.
Alexis Crawford Douglas concentrates her practice at K&L Gates in the area of intellectual property, and handles a range of counseling, transactional, and litigation matters related to trademarks, domain names, social media, and copyrights. Alexis provides strategic management of global trademark portfolios for clients ranging from multi-national to start-up companies in a variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and medical devices, consumer products, marketing and advertising, energy, apparel, food and beverage, finance, and technology. Alexis advises clients in trademark and copyright disputes, including representing clients in litigation matters in various federal courts and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. She counsels clients in dealing with cybersquatting and online infringement matters, including domain name disputes pursuant to the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) and the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), and website and social media takedowns involving the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Alexis also counsels clients on intellectual property issues in complex commercial transactions, and provides strategic advice on licensing, assignment, and consent agreements related to intellectual property.
Outside of the firm Alexis focuses on work in service to the legal profession, serving the Chicago Bar Association on its 150th Anniversary Celebration committee, and as past co-chair of its Women’s History Month programming and member of the Board of Managers, along with several positions in the Young Lawyers Section. Alexis is also active in the Richard Linn Inn of Court and the International Trademark Association.
The awards celebration will take place on Thursday, April 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the Chicago Bar Association, 321 S. Plymouth Court. The event is sponsored by Aronberg Goldgehn, Barnes & Thornburg LLP, LexisNexis, and Nijman Franzetti LLP. Registration is complimentary. Sign up here: https://ow.ly/GLKu50R8CiE
About the Alliance for Women
The Alliance for Women works within the CBA to advance interests of women in the legal profession and the larger community. Through speaker forums, debates, meetings, networking events and direct community service, the Alliance tackles issues including career advancement, balancing work with outside interests, cultural diversity, ending violence against women, community service, and equality in education.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Ann Glynn: 312-554-2012 or aglynn@chicagobar.org