Taft Law is pleased to welcome associate attorneys Stephanie P. Addison, Nicholas P. Brankle, Bianca E. Ciarroni, Scott Dawson, Reginald F. Lys, and Caroline E. Thee in the Litigation, Real Estate, Employment, Business, and Intellectual Property practices. The Chicago office has added 14 attorneys in 2021 so far and now numbers 115 lawyers.

Addison has represented a broad range of clients in state and federal courts in complex commercial litigation matters, including breach of contract disputes, employment discrimination claims, and consumer class defense. Before entering private practice, Addison served as an assistant inspector general for the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General. She also served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Young B. Kim at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and before that, for Justice Cynthia Y. Cobbs at the Illinois Appellate Court, First District.

Ciarroni is a member of Taft’s Litigation practice. Prior to joining Taft, she represented creditors’ committees in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases and creditors and Trustees in Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. Ciarroni also represented creditors in enforcing their judgments against debtors concealing their assets in both state and federal court. She is active in the Turnaround Management Association’s (TMA) Chicago/Midwest Chapter, Network of Women (NOW) Committee and is in her second year as TMA NOW co-chair.

Brankle counsels clients on a wide range of intellectual property and emerging technology and data-related products and services. Clients look to him for help negotiating complex agreements that bring new products and services to market and best position them to operate in ever-evolving commercial marketplaces. Brankle has extensive experience working with clients to develop and implement privacy and data security programs to ensure compliance with regulations, litigation trends, and laws including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and E.U. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Dawson is an associate in the Real Estate practice. He assists clients in real estate transactions related to the acquisition, disposition, leasing, development, and financing of real property. 

Thee rejoins Taft in the Business practice. She is a transactional attorney that focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions, including related equity, debt, and mezzanine financings. Thee was previously an associate in Taft’s Indianapolis office.

Lys is an associate in Taft’s Employment and Labor Relations with experience in all aspects of employment litigation including pre-trial preparation. He is skilled in the areas of labor negotiation preparation and collective bargaining agreements. Lys served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable E. Kenneth Wright Jr. in the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago, Illinois. He also was a law clerk in the National Labor Relations Board’s Chicago office.

With a diverse mix of professional experience, Taft Chicago is equipped to serve clients from Fortune 500 corporations to small businesses and startups to state and local governments. The office concentrates on matters involving real estate, zoning, gaming, government relations, business law, and public finance, as well as litigation of all types including employment and intellectual property.