Michael Bergmann

Chicago, IL

Michael Bergmann is the full-time director of the Pro Bono Initiative, which is dedicated to promoting and enhancing pro bono services throughout Illinois. Mr. Bergmann was nominated by both the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section and the Illinois State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Mr. Bergmann is a highly respected public interest attorney, community servant and bar leader.

Prior to becoming Director of the Pro Bono Initiative, Mr. Bergmann was employed at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services as the Guardian Ad Litem Program Director. In this position Mr. Bergmann handled a large caseload of difficult cases and supervised a large number of volunteer attorneys.

Mr. Bergmann’s nominators describe him as a “forward thinker” who “continually anticipates problems and designs solutions.” He is “both detail-oriented, and able to see the bigger picture.” A Cook County judge says that Mr. Bergmann “embodies the soul of our profession—dedicating himself to the disadvantaged and the vulnerable by taking on projects and programs that are the essence ‘doing good.’”

Mr. Bergmann is an active volunteer in the ABA and the ABA YLD. For the past two years he has served as the YLD Liaison to the Standing Committee on Public Education and Chair of the YLD’s Public Education Committee. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the YLD Public Service and Conference Team. He was also appointed by the ABA President to the Presidential Advisory Council on Diversity in the Profession.

In addition, Mr. Bergmann is a dedicated volunteer and bar leader on the state and local level. Mr. Bergmann serves as Vice-Chair of the Child Law Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association, as well as serving in the ISBA’s Assembly and on the ISBA’s Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services. Mr. Bergmann is also active in the Chicago Bar Association where he serves on the Legal Aid, Judicial Evaluation, Pro Bono Week Planning and Membership Committees. He is also a Project Officer for the CBA’s Young Lawyers Section where he is responsible for the oversight and implementation of over fifty public service projects.

Mr. Bergmann’s service has been recognized with numerous awards, including the ISBA Young Lawyer of the Year Award, the Anderson Public Interest Law Fellowship, the ABA YLD Star of the Quarter Award (two times), and the Chicago Bar YLS’s Rising Star Award.

In addition to his exemplary pro bono, public service and bar leadership work, Mr. Bergmann is the Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors for Chicago-based Factory Theater, is the past president of the Chicago alumni chapter of The Catholic University of America, and sits on the Alumni Association’s Board of Governors. Mr. Bergmann also serves on the Advisory Board of the Branch Family Institute; an agency that provides supervised visitation services in contested and problematic child custody

cases. Mr. Bergmann was also recently elected to the Edgewater Community Council’s Board of Directors and the EPIC Block Club’s Executive Committee.

Tasha C. Blakney

Eldridge & Blakney, P.C. The Cherokee Building, Suite 101 400 West Church Avenue Knoxville, TN 37902

A shareholder at the law firm of Eldridge & Blakney, P.C., Tasha C. Blakney focuses her practice on general civil litigation and criminal defense. Nominated by the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Ms. Blakney is a dedicated bar leader, community volunteer, and outstanding attorney.

Ms. Blakney has been recognized for her service to the community and bar, including two Tennessee Bar Association Star of the Quarter awards, the Knoxville Bar Association Barristers President’s Award for Service to the Community and Bar, the Knoxville Bar Association President’s Award, and the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division President’s Distinguished Service Award.

Ms. Blakney currently represents Tennessee in the ABA House of Delegates, serves on the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section’s Long Range Planning Committee, and serves as Vice-Chair of TIPS Solo and Small Firm Practitioners Committee. In addition, Ms. Blakney has served as a Delegate to the Tennessee Bar Association’s House of Delegates and as the East Tennessee Governor to the Tennessee Bar Association YLD since 2005. Ms. Blakney was the Inaugural Chair of the TBA YLD’s Children’s Issue Committee in 2005 and chaired its Law Week Committee for two years. Ms. Blakney has also been involved in her local bar where she has chaired the Knoxville Bar Association’s Pro Bono Committee since 2004 and the Hunger and Poverty Relief Committee. Ms. Blakney has also served on the Board of Governors for the Tennessee Association for Justice since 2001.

Ms. Blakney is just as active in the community. She is a member of the Board of Directors and a former Board President of CASA of East Tennessee, Community Involvement & Education Chair of Nucleus Knoxville, a member of the Advisory Committee of the Legal Aid of East Tennessee Pro Bono Project, and a volunteer for the Knoxville Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. Ms. Blakney is routinely sought out by both the Knoxville and Tennessee bars to handle difficult pro bono cases.

Ms. Blakney’s nominators describe her as being a “true professional of substance.” A Tennessee Supreme Court Justice wrote that Ms. Blakney displays “courtesy, competence, and professionalism” and that “she has distinguished herself as a lawyer— not only committed to her clients but to the betterment of the profession.” According to another nominator, Ms. Blakney is a “respected civil trial lawyer who frequently lectures to fellow lawyers across the state in the areas of personal injury, defective product, medical malpractice, workers’ compensation, and business litigation.”

Stephanie R. Bolton

Carlton Fields 4221 W. Boy Scout Blvd., Suite 1000 Tampa, FL 3607

Ms. Bolton is an associate in Carlton Fields’ Construction Practice Group. Nominated by the Clearwater Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Ms. Bolton is a respected community and bar leader who is known for her professional excellence.

Ms. Bolton was President of the Clearwater Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and has been elected to the Board of Directors for The Clearwater Bar. In addition, Ms. Bolton has served on several committees of The Florida Bar and has chaired The Clearwater Bar’s Law Week committee and its YLD’s Holidays in January, Judicial Reception and Connected by 25 committees. Ms. Bolton has also initiated several bar projects, including the YLD’s Hurricane Preparedness Project and The Legal Eagle’s Homework Help and Backpack Project.

Ms. Bolton is also active in The Junior League and has served as an Economics for Success Facilitator for Junior Achievement and a Company Captain for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the American Heart Association. She has also served as a volunteer attorney and guardian ad litem for the Adoption Permanency Project and Bay Area Legal Services, Inc.’s Family Form Clinic and serves on the Board of Directors for the Florida Transplant Foundation, Inc.

Ms. Bolton was the 2006 Recipient of the Barney Masterson Inns of Court’s Judge Thomas Pennick, Jr. Service to the Community Award. She has been a speaker on professionalism and construction law topics within Florida. Ms. Bolton’s professional excellence is best summed up by one of her clients who wrote that Ms. Bolton’s “expertise in construction law has been invaluable” to their business and that she is “highly skilled, intelligent and professional.” She is also described as “compassionate, responsible, respectful and honest.” In addition, one of Ms. Bolton’s peers described her as “a perfect example of the type of attorney the Bar seeks to produce. Stephanie’s dedication to the profession does not cease at the end of the work day, but rather it is a constant drive to uphold the Bar’s ideals and standards.”

Roxanna M. Chacon

Mesilla Park, NM

Roxanna M. Chacon is a Staff Attorney for the Third Judicial District Court in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Nominated by the State Bar of New Mexico Young Lawyers Division, Ms. Chacon is a highly respected bar leader on the state and national level, a dedicated community volunteer and an exceptional attorney.

Ms. Chacon is an active bar leader in numerous bar associations and young lawyer organizations. She is a former Chair of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of New Mexico, an active team member and chair of numerous ABA YLD committees and

teams, and an officer and member of the Board of Directors of the State Bar of New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association. In addition, Ms. Chacon is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Doña Ana County Bar Association and a member of the American Inns of Court. Ms. Chacon’s outstanding service to the New Mexico bar was recognized in 2003 when she was awarded the State Bar’s Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year Award.

Ms. Chacon is also an accomplished attorney. The Chief Judge of the Third Judicial District Court in Las Cruces, who Ms. Chacon has practiced in front of as an attorney and who she has worked for as a staff attorney, describes her as being an “intelligent, hard working, articulate and personable” attorney whose work is “well-respected.”

Ms. Chacon volunteers at the Third Judicial District Court’s Pro Se Clinic by assisting members of the community with their legal questions on a walk-in basis. She has also served as a court-appointed guardian ad litem representing the interest of children and assisting parents in protecting their children’s interests in settlement funds. Ms. Chacon also serves on the Alumni Board for the University of New Mexico School of Law.

Hal D. Coffey

Grogan Graffam, P.C. Four Gateway Center, 12th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Hal D. Coffey is an associate at Grogan Graffam, P.C. His practice focuses on real estate, business and corporate law, and public finance issues. Nominated by the Allegheny County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Mr. Coffey was described by his nominator as “the young lawyer that we all wish we could be.” Mr. Coffey is a tireless bar leader, community servant, and talented attorney.

A former journalist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Mr. Coffey has experience as a solo practitioner and as an attorney in a large firm. He currently represents parties in the acquisition, development, sale and financing of affordable housing developments, commercial, office and residential properties, as well as serving as counsel to underwriters and bond issuers in public finance bond offerings. The President of Grogan Graffam describes Mr. Coffey as an attorney hired to expand the firm’s Business Transaction Practice Group whose skills have greatly contributed to the Group’s success. Mr. Coffey is an active participant in his firm’s Quality of Life Committee. He was named a Rising Star in 2007 by Law & Politics and Philadelphia Magazine.

In 2006-07 Mr. Coffey led the Allegheny County Bar Association YLD as its Chair after serving on its Council the previous three years. Mr. Coffey currently serves as the Assistant Secretary-Treasurer for the Allegheny County Bar Association Board of Governors and served from 2003-06 as a Delegate to the Pennsylvania Bar Association House of Delegates. Currently Mr. Coffey also serves on the Board of Directors of the Allegheny County Bar Association Services, Inc. and is the ACBA’s liaison to the Hispanic Attorneys Committee. Mr. Coffey also leads the ACBA YLD’s Bar Leadership Initiative Class. Mr. Coffey was also active in the ABA YLD, including serving as an

editor on the ABA YLD’s The Young Lawyer publication, and was awarded a Star of the Quarter Award in 2006.

Charles Eppolito, III

White and Williams LLP 1800 One Liberty Place Philadelphia, PA 19103

Charles Eppolito is an associate in the Healthcare Law Group of White and Williams and focuses on medical malpractice defense. Nominated by the Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Mr. Eppolito is a respected attorney with exceptional bar leadership experience, and a dedication to public service.

Mr. Eppolito currently serves as the Secretary and a member of the Board of Governors for the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He has formerly served as Chair of the PBA Young Lawyers Division and as President of the Centre County Bar Association Young Lawyer Committee. In addition, Mr. Eppolito has served on the ABA YLD Council and has represented Pennsylvania in the ABA House of Delegates. These are just a few of Mr. Eppolito’s numerous positions in national, state and local bar associations.

In addition to be an outstanding bar leader, Mr. Eppolito is also an exceptional attorney. In August 2007 he was recognized as a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” by the Pennsylvania Law Weekly, the Legal Intellingencer and a distinguished panel of judges throughout Pennsylvania. He has also been named a “Rising Star” within the profession in 2005, 2006, and 2007 by Law & Politics. Mr. Eppolito has been a speaker or panelist on a number of professional programs, including effective trial advocacy, trial strategy and tips, alternative dispute resolution, and computerized legal research.

In addition to being an outstanding attorney, Mr. Eppolito has dedicated himself to public service and community service. Mr. Eppolito has served indigent clients by providing pro bono representation and by volunteering to provide assistance through legal hotlines. He also serves as a member of the Variety Club for the Children’s Charity of Greater Philadelphia and was a volunteer for the Harrisburg Boys and Girls Club.

In June 2007 Mr. Eppolito received the Pennsylvania Bar Association Michael K. Smith Excellence in Service Award, which is given to a Pennsylvania young lawyer who, through his or exemplary personal and professional conduct, reminds lawyers of their professional and community responsibilities.

M. Nalani Fujimori

Honolulu, HI

Nominated by the Hawaii Women Lawyers, Ms. Fujimori is a dedicated public servant, a respected attorney and an exceptional legislative advocate.

Ms. Fujimori has devoted her professional career to public interest matters. Since 2004 she has served as the Deputy Director for the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii where she helps run a legal aid program with 42 attorneys in 9 offices and where she serves as the agency’s primary lobbyist. Ms. Fujimori also heads the Supervisory Team for the Access to Justice Hui, a coalition that includes the judiciary, Hawaii Justice Foundation, the Hawaii State Bar Association, the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii and a number of other legal service providers, in its efforts to document the legal needs and barriers to access to justice for the low-income community. In these roles Ms. Fujimori advises the Hawaii Department of Human Services on public assistance issues, leads a team in conducting legal needs assessments for Hawaii, testifies on issues affecting social justice for the low-income population, and supervises and provides guidance on complex litigation. Her nominators describe Ms. Fujimori as being “a powerful voice for women, minorities, and others who would be forgotten, disenfranchised and powerless.” One state legislator describes Ms. Fujimori as a “trusted advisor” on “legislation that impacts the poverty population.”

Previously Ms. Fujimori served as Managing Attorney for Maui County Offices (2001­2004) where she mentored and coached new attorneys, directed a federally funded Fair Housing Education and Outreach Project, created a leadership capacity development project on Lana’i, represented parents and children in CPS cases, and provided the county with leadership on elder law issues. Prior to that Ms. Fujimore worked as a staff attorney on Moloka’i where she represented clients in areas of family, consumer, public benefits, housing, child welfare, elder law and many other areas. She also served as a Death Penalty Fellow with the Southern Center for Human Rights.

Ms. Fujimori is an integral part of the Hawaii Women Lawyers’ Board. She has served for several years as Chair of the HWL Legislative Committee, which is one of the most challenging positions in HWL. Under Ms. Fujimori’s leadership, the Legislative Committee has been instrumental in working on legislation to improve the lives of women and children in Hawaii and challenging legislation that would negatively affect their rights. Ms. Fujimori also served on the Maui County Bar Association Board of Directors from 2002-2004.

Ms. Fujimori is also a dedicated community volunteer. She is active in the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Hawaii State Advisory Committee on the United States Civil Rights Commission, and the Litigation Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union. She devotes a considerable amount of volunteer time to Envision Hawaii, a network of over 500 young public servants in Hawaii. She also plays a central role in the annual fundraising for an organic farm dedicated to providing leadership

training for youth in a poor, rural community, and volunteers in clean up and recovery efforts on an island formerly used by the military as a bombing target.

Timothy Gardner, Jr.

Lansing, Michigan

Timothy Gardner is an Assistant Attorney General in the Labor Division of the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. Nominated by the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section, Mr. Gardner is a proven bar leader and accomplished attorney.

Mr. Gardner is the current President of the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association, whose mission is to increase minority representation in the legal profession. Mr. Gardner has also served on the State Bar of Michigan YLS Executive Council since 2005. The current Chair of the Michigan YLS describes Mr. Gardner as a “go to” person who has “consistently stepped up to the plate generating ideas for new programs, executing on those ideas and improving the quality of our existing programs.” Mr. Gardner has spent the past two years creating awareness of the Character and Fitness aspects of the bar admissions process.

Mr. Gardner serves as the Vice-Chairperson of the Sickle Cell Disease Association’s Detroit Chapter. Mr. Gardner also serves as Chairperson for the Feed the Homeless program at Grace Centers of Hope.

Christina D. Hardman

Lomurro, Davison, Eastman & Munoz, P.A. 100 Willowbrook Rd., Bldg. 1 Freehold, NJ 07728

Christina D. Hardman works as an Associate in the Wills, Trust and Estates Department of Lomurro, Davison, Eastman & Munoz where she practices in all areas of estate planning, administration, litigation, and taxation matters. Nominated by the New Jersey State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Ms. Hardman exhibits outstanding bar leadership, community leadership and service, and professional excellence.

Ms. Hardman currently chairs the New Jersey State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. She previously served as the organization’s Treasurer and as a representative to its Executive Committee. Ms. Hardman founded the NJSBA YLD’s Nonprofit Board Match Event, which partners various non-profit organizations with each other and with young lawyers to facilitate legal representation for non-profit organizations. Ms.

Hardman has also implemented ABA YLD programs such as Junior Judges and We the Jury. Ms. Hardman also chaired the Young Lawyers Committee of the Monmouth County Bar Association.

Ms. Hardman is very active in her community where she is President and a former Treasurer of the Woman’s Club of Red Bank and a board member of the Community YMCA Count Basie Achievement Center in Red Bank, NJ. In addition, Ms. Hardman is a member of Red Bank Initiative’s Legal and Financial Committee and a fundraising volunteer for the Monmouth County Association of Retarded Citizens. Since 2002 Ms. Hardman has also volunteered as an attorney to represent indigent clients through the Red Bank Chapter of the Saint Vincent DePaul Society.

As a practicing attorney, Ms. Hardman has developed an expertise in elder law, where she is faced daily with critical decisions concerning her client’s well-being and future. A partner in Ms. Hardman’s firm describes her as someone “families have learned that they can turn to when others might not have both the professional competence and personal commitment that she exhibits.” Ms. Hardman is described as someone who deals with clients that are struggling with their loss of quality of life and humanity and gives them the strength to work through those situations.

Tina Nicole Herbert

McAngus Goudelock and Courie, LLC 700 Gervais Street, Suite 300 Columbia, SC 29211

Tina Nicole Herbert is a Senior Associate at McAngus Goudelock & Courie where she focuses on workers compensation defense. Nominated by the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division, Ms. Herbert is a dedicated community and pro bono volunteer who was named the South Carolina Young Lawyer of the Year in 2007. In addition, Ms. Herbert was named a Rising Star by Columbia Business Journal in 2007.

Prior to joining her current firm, Ms. Herbert worked for the Benjamin Law Firm where she spearheaded the firm’s pro bono project, Wills for Seniors, which received the 2006 Pro Bono Firm Award from the South Carolina Bar.

Ms. Herbert is very active in her church and serves as Chair of the W.G. Sanders School Improvement Council, as a member of the Midland Fatherhood Coalition Foundation Board, and as Co-Chair of the Education Committee of Women in Philanthropy. She also chairs the SC YLD Law Week Committee and the Minority Prelaw Conference, which is an event designed to promote diversity in the South Carolina Bar by preparing minority students for law school.

Katja H. Hill

LeClair Ryan Riverfront Plaza, East Tower 951 East Byrd Street, 8th Floor

Richmond , VA 23219

Katja H. Hill is a partner at LeClair Ryan, PC with a focus on commercial real estate acquisitions, sales, leasing, financing and development throughout Virginia and the U.S. Nominated by the Virginia Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Ms. Hill exemplifies professional excellence and dedication to service to the bar and the community.

A partner of Ms. Hill describes her as a “well-respected real estate lawyer within the Richmond legal community” and as “one of the leaders in [their] real estate group.” Ms. Hill “brings a dedication and attention to detail in her professional legal work that clients look for and that has made her a go to real estate attorney within the firm.” Ms. Hill serves on her firm’s Associates Committee. Ms. Hill was named a 2007 Super Lawyer Rising Star in Virginia.

As for Ms. Hill’s bar involvement, the Chair of the Virginia Bar Association Young Lawyers Division calls her a true “bar legend.” Since 2003 Ms. Hill has served on the VBA YLD’s fourteen-member Executive Committee. Over the past eight years, Ms. Hill has single-handedly made many VBA YLD programs permanent features of the VBA YLD. In 2006 Ms. Hill led the VBA YLD’s First Annual Legal Food Frenzy. By the end of the two-week food drive, the VBA YLD helped to raise a staggering 679,000 pounds of food.

Ms. Hill serves as a volunteer attorney for the Legal Information Network for Cancer, as Chair for her firm’s American Heart Association Heartwalk, and as a member on the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Metropolitan Richmond Women’s Bar Association.

Christy E. Kiely

Hunton & Williams LLP Riverfront Plaza, East Tower 951 East Byrd Street Richmond, VA 23219

Christy Kiely is an associate in Hunton & Williams’ Labor & Employment Practice Group. Nominated by the Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Conference, Ms. Kiely is a recognized outstanding young lawyer with a dedication to public service and service to the bar.

Ms. Kiely has been awarded the 2007 American Inns of Court Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Professional Service, which is given each year to one female attorney nationwide in recognition of exemplary service to the bar and the community. Ms. Kiely has also been recognized in 2007 as a Virginia Rising Star in Employment and Labor Law and as the 2006 Virginia State Bar Young Lawyer of the Year. Ms Kiely has also received the YLC’s Service Award in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Ms. Kiely is dedicated to pro bono and public service. In additional to chairing the YLC’s Domestic Violence Safety Project and “Student’s Day at the Capitol” and serving as a mentor for the Richmond Bar Association’s Mentoring Program, Ms. Kiely provides pro bono representation to domestic violence victims through Central Virginia Legal Aid and to other individuals. Ms. Kiely has received her firm’s E. Randolph Williams Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service, which is given to attorneys that provide more than 100 hours of direct pro bono service, for each of the past four years.

At the request of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Kiely co-authored the Model Employee Policies and Forms for Virginia Employers and How to Use Them (Virginia Legal Reference Series 2006). Ms. Kiely’s excellence as an attorney is best summed up by a comment by a partner in Ms. Kiely’s firm wherein she is described as being “one of the finest and most extraordinary young lawyers I have known in over forty years of practice.”

Latosha T. Lewis

Gardere Wynne Sewell 1000 Louisiana, Suite 3400 Houston, TX 77002

Latosha T. Lewis is an associate at Gardere Wynne Sewell where she focuses her practice on environmental, insurance coverage and products liability issues. Nominated by the Houston Young Lawyers Association, Ms. Lewis is a respected community and bar leader, as well as an exceptional attorney.

Ms. Lewis is President of the Houston Lawyers Association, which strives to represent the interests of over 1,400 African American attorneys in Houston. As President of HLA, Ms. Lewis set the organizational theme of the year as “Building Links to Our Legacy: The Year of the Mentor.” Under her leadership, HLA established several new projects, including the Houston Diversity Report Card, the Legacy Fellows Program, a Second Tuesday Criminal Law CLE, a Brown Bag Lunch Series for New and Young Lawyers, and implemented the State Bar of Texas’ pipeline program at a local elementary school. Ms. Lewis also led HLA’s decision and efforts to prepare an amicus brief in a local lawsuit opposing the exclusion of African-Americans from a jury panel when they exhibited strong reactions to the use of the “N” word. Not only did Ms. Lewis generate the appropriate arguments to make in the brief, she personally edited and re-drafted all sections of the brief.

Ms. Lewis has also been very active in the Houston Young Lawyers Association where she has served as a middle school mentor for HYLA’s Mentoring Committee, chaired and volunteered for the Crossing the Line Committee, volunteered for HYLA Special Olympics Committee and served on its Nonprofit Law Committee. Ms. Lewis is also an appointed member to the State Bar of Texas’ Legal Services for the Poor in Civil Matters Committee. In 2006-07 she received the Woodrow B. Seals Outstanding Young Lawyer of Houston Award.

Ms. Lewis also believes in serving the community. When she began her legal career, she personally dedicated herself to work at least 100 pro bono hours a year. She has met this goal almost every year for the past seven years. She has volunteered as an attorney with the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program, Justice for Children and Texas C-Bar. Her pro bono service has included the representation of foster parents in a high profile parental termination and adoption case involving the abuse of seven children. Ms. Lewis also volunteers for Communities in Schools Houston, Inc. where she has mentored a young girl for three years. She is also a member of the Girls Incorporated of Great Houston Guild and is a member of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston.

Maralee MacDonald

Boutin Dentino Gibson Di Giusto Hodell Inc. 555 Capitol Mall, Suite 1500 Sacramento, CA 95814

As a shareholder at Boutin Dentino Gibson Di Giusto Hodell Inc., Maralee MacDonald devotes much of her practice to intellectual property, real estate, officer and director liability and corporate disputes. Nominated by the California Young Lawyers Association, Ms. MacDonald has unsurpassed bar leadership experience, a dedication to pro bono service, and a superb professional reputation.

Ms. MacDonald is a respected attorney with substantial experience in cases involving software and technology, trade secret misappropriation, shareholder disputes, antitrust and unfair competition claims, and commercial contracts. She has handled a number of jury and bench trials, including leading the defense of a multimillion dollar trust in a suit alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment and second chairing the defense of officers in a 250 million dollar lawsuit. Ms. MacDonald is a member of her firm’s Business Development Committee and plays an integral role in the firm’s litigation group.

Ms. MacDonald was an outstanding President of the California Young Lawyers Association; an organization’s whose board she served on from 2001 until 2006. During her tenure as President, the organization developed a new electronic newsletter, oversaw and developed programming at the State Bar Annual Meeting, and developed a new career development program. Ms. MacDonald was also an active member of the State Bar of California’s Board of Governors in 2005-2006, serving on its Board Operations

(Executive) Committee, Stakeholders Committee, and Membership Oversight Committee. Ms. MacDonald is also a member of the State Bar Insurance Disclosure Task Force and the Judicial Council of California’s Bench-Bar Coalition. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Women Lawyers of Sacramento and Co-Chair’s its Publicity and Community Relations Committee.

Ms. MacDonald has also been very active in the American Bar Association. She serves as a California representative to the ABA House of Delegates and is a young lawyer adjunct representative to the Section of Litigation’s Council. Ms. MacDonald also served on the ABA Young Lawyers Division’s Council in 2006-2007 as a Committee Director. Her outstanding service in this role earned her a Star of the Year Award. Ms. MacDonald has also served on the ABA YLD’s Affiliate Assistance Team and Litigation Committee.

Jennifer Evans Morris

Carrington Coleman Sloman & Blumenthal 901 Main Street, Suite 5500 Dallas, TX 75202

Jennifer Evans Morris is a partner at Carrington Coleman with a primary focus on business litigation, construction law, and legal malpractice. Nominated by the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Ms. Morris has a proven record of professional excellence, bar leadership and community service.

Ms. Morris currently serves as Secretary of the Texas Young Lawyers Association and has served on its Board of Directors since 2004. Ms. Morris played a pivotal role in developing the TYLA’s award winning They Had a Dream Too – Young Leaders of the Civil Rights project. Ms. Morris has also served on the Board of Directors of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers since 2004 and has chaired numerous DAYL committees, including Lawyers Against Domestic Violence and the Midnight Recess Committee. In recognition of her bar leadership, Ms. Morris has received two TYLA President’s Award of Merit.

Ms. Morris has also been recognized as an outstanding attorney. She has been named a Rising Star in business litigation in Texas in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. She is a published author of numerous articles on civil evidence and has co-authored articles entitled Examining Collectibility of the Underlying Trial and Texas Survey of Professional Liability. In her practice Ms. Morris has successfully managed a team of lawyers and legal assistants while preparing for significant and complicated lawsuits. One of her partners describes her as “serving as a role model for others by example rather

than by dictation, inspiring those around her to be better lawyers and better people.” One of Ms. Morris’ clients states that she has “demonstrated a commitment to excellence and client service that set her apart from the majority of the hundreds of attorneys I have retained globally in connection with my company’s legal affairs. Ms. Morris continually validates our confidence in her representation of our company though her thoughtful articulation of legal positions, effective litigation strategy and focus upon our business objectives.”

Ms. Morris has also been very active in her community. She has served as an officer and member of the Board of Directors of Community Partners of Dallas, an organization that serves the interests of abused and neglected children. She has also served as Co-Chair of Attorneys Serving the Community, which is an organization comprised of nearly 200 women attorneys. Through her efforts, Attorneys Serving the Community was able to raise over $215,000 from one event that raised money for a local charity that addresses the needs of children and families in Dallas. During her term as Co-Chair, Attorneys Serving the Community has raised over $450,000 for non-profit organizations. As Ms. Morris’ Co-Chair described her, “few lawyers devote so much time to the larger community, and fewer still do so with the energy and integrity that Ms. Morris brings to each task she undertakes.”

Sara Reynolds

Walker, Tipps & Malone 150 4th Ave. North, Suite 2300 Nashville, TN 37219

Sara Reynolds is an Associate at the law firm of Walker, Tipps & Malone in Nashville. Nominated by the Nashville Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Ms. Reynolds is a respected bar leader and community volunteer.

Ms. Reynolds is currently the Public Service Director of the Nashville Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, an organization she became active in during 2001. Ms. Reynolds has Chaired the YLD’s Quality of Life Committee and the Davidson County Mock Trial Competition. Because of her dedication of time, energy and leadership skills to projects of the NBA YLD, Ms. Reynolds received its Leadership Award, which is given to a board member who demonstrates outstanding leadership, dedication, and determination, in 2005. Ms. Reynolds is also a Barrister in the Harry Phillips American Inn of Court.

Ms. Reynolds’ excellence as an attorney is also well-recognized. One of her clients describes Ms. Reynolds as being “intelligent, hardworking, thoughtful, and conscientious” and reporting that she has been involved in cases of all levels of complexity. According to her client, Ms. Reynolds is “wise beyond her years and is able to grasp very complex concepts and identify the salient issues.”

Alison Werner Smith

Hayek, Brown, Moreland & Hayek, L.L.P.

120 East Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52230

An associate at Hayek, Brown, Moreland & Hayek, L.L.P., Ms. Smith focuses her practice on civil and appellate litigation, family law, real estate and criminal defense. Nominated by the Iowa State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Ms. Smith has an exemplary record of service to the public and bar, and professional excellence.

Ms. Smith was described by her nominator as epitomizing “the values and virtues that all young lawyers should aspire to possess.” Ms. Smith is very involved in her community where she currently serves as chairs the City of North Liberty’s Board of Adjustment and previously chaired the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. Ms. Smith is also a board member for the League of Women Voters for Johnson County, Iowa.

In 2007 Ms. Smith received the Iowa State Bar Association’s 2007 Pro Bono Award in recognition of her commitment to access to justice. Ms. Smith has donated 300 hours of pro bono time while handling twenty-one cases. Ms. Smith was appointed to the Iowa Lawyer Trust Account Commission in 2007 and has served on the Iowa State Bar Association Public Service Project Board of Directors for many years. Ms. Smith is also active in the Johnson County Bar Association, including serving as its Secretary in 2006­

07. She has also volunteered for the Iowa Radio Information Services since 1999, which provides live radio broadcasts of local news to blind and print handicapped. Finally, Ms. Smith has served as a debate coach for a local high school since 1998 and as a volunteer mock trial judge since 1997.

Ms. Smith’s bar participation and leadership is also extensive. From 2005 to 2007 she chaired the ISBA’s Disaster Planning Task Force and oversaw the creation of a disaster legal services plan. In addition, she has chaired the Legal Heritage Committee and the ISBA YLS’s State Fair and Law Related Education Committees, where she oversaw the nightly Trial by Jury program for fairgoers and the creation of the On Your Own handbook for Iowan teenagers. Ms. Smith has also served as a District Representative for the ISBA YLD Executive Council since 2000.

Ms. Smith’s practice began as a clerk for an Iowa District Court and then the Iowa Court of Appeals. Justice Anuradha Vaitheswaran, for whom Ms. Smith clerked, describes her as a “superb lawyer and a remarkable person.” Opposing counsel describe Ms. Smith as an intelligent, cooperative attorney who represents her clients zealously. In addition, she is described as being someone whose “opinions are often sought out by her peers in the profession.”

Diane Standaert

UNC Center for Civil Rights Chapel Hill, NC

Nominated by the ABA Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development, Ms. Standaert is a dedicated servant to the public who focuses on assisting those most in need.

Ms. Standaert was described by the Past Chair of the Forum as standing “above other young lawyers I have known in my 35 years of practice and is already a leader in the Forum. She is committed to public service, is exceptionally intelligent and articulate and, despite her youth, is particularly effective at persuading people to want to support things she identifies as important.” According to her nominator, Ms. Standaert “represents clients directly, champions the practice of public interest law, and promotes educational opportunities for other attorneys.”

Ms. Standaert directly represents the interests of poor communities and their low-income residents as an attorney for UNC Center for Civil Rights. In addition to serving as an on­the-ground legal advocate for disadvantaged African-American communities, Ms. Hill trains students in civil rights law. The Director of Advocacy at UNC-Chapel Hill describes Ms. Standaert as exemplifying “the best one could expect in terms of her professionalism, her dedication to serving her clients’ interests, and her initiative in finding ways to address complex issues. She brings light to hidden injustices, unravels complicated legal tangles, and generates amazing work product with what seems like lightening speed.”

Annamaria Steward

Jack H. Olender & Associates, P.C. 888 17th Street, N.W. – 4th Floor Washington, D.C. 20006

Annamaria Steward is an associate at Jack H. Olender & Associates, P.C. where she focuses on medical malpractice. Nominated by the Young Lawyers Section of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Ms. Steward is a highly respected bar leader, community volunteer and attorney.

Ms. Steward has served as an officer in several bar associations at the national and state level. She served as Chair of the YLS of the Bar Association of District Columbia, as well as its Treasurer and Chair-Elect. During her tenure as Chair, the YLS implemented over 39 comprehensive educational, professional, and social programs. Ms. Steward also serves as Assistant Secretary of the National Bar Association, Treasurer-Elect of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Secretary of the Washington Bar Association, and Secretary of the Washington Bar Association Legal Fund. In 2006 Ms. Steward was

recognized with the Bar Association of the District of Columbia Young Lawyer of the Year Award.

Ms. Steward is also an active community advocate. Since 2003 she has directed the Kenyan Water Well Project, a D.C. event at the Kenyan Embassy designed to raise funds for water well pumps, solar panels, and plumbing in Kenya. In 2006 Ms. Steward created “D.C. Law . . . Today,” a bi-weekly cable television program that she directs and hosts. This program highlights the numerous positive contributions lawyers make to society and informs the public about the legal resources available to them.

Ms. Steward began her legal career as a law clerk at the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. The Chief Judge of the Court describes Ms. Steward as being “conscientious and diligent in performing the demanding responsibilities of her position.” Since 2005 Mr. Steward joined the firm of Jack H. Olender & Associates, P.C. where she handles complex medical malpractice cases. She is described as someone with “exceptional legal skills” with whom it is a “joy” to work.

Jeannine Smith Williams

St. Petersburg , FL

Jeannine Smith Williams is an attorney in the Office of the City Attorney for St. Petersburg, Florida. Nominated by the St. Petersburg Bar Young Lawyers, Ms. Williams exemplifies bar leadership, service to the community and professional excellence.

Ms. Williams is described by her employer as a “very versatile attorney who not only handles litigation files, but also renders advice to the Mayor, City Council and City departments.” She has handled numerous trials and has earned the respect of the City Attorney’s employees, opposing counsel and judges before whom she has appeared. Her “self-assured manner and depth of knowledge when rendering an opinion have earned her the highest degree of respect.”

Ms. Williams’ outstanding bar leadership qualifications extend well beyond young lawyer organizations. She has previously served as President of the Fred G. Minnis, Sr. Bar Association and the Fred G. Minnis, Sr. Bar Foundation. In addition, Ms. Williams is currently President-Elect of the St. Petersburg Bar Association and has previously served as an officer of that organization for three years.

Ms. Williams is also President of and a Board of Trustee member for the Community Law Program, Inc., a board member of the St. Petersburg Alumnae Chapter Educational Services, Inc., a former Secretary of the Susan G. Komen Foundation Suncoast Affiliate, a member of The Florida Bar Grievance Committee 6E, and a fellow of the Florida Bar Foundation. Ms. Williams also serves as a volunteer for Lawyers for Literacy and a volunteer for the Mayor’s Mentors & More Program.

Ms. Williams has received numerous awards for her service, including the Community Law Program, Inc.’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award and recognition from the