Michelle Preiksaitis, JD, PhD (Dr. P), has launched Coastal Organizational Research and Learning Strategies, LLC (CORALS LLC) and its peer-reviewed scholarly journal, C’JAR (CORALS’ Journal of Applied Research). CORALS LLC provides research and strategy services to small business owners seeking to leverage data-driven models for growth through publication and national conference engagement. C’JAR welcomes submissions from legal, business, and healthcare professionals focused on applied, practice-oriented research. In April 2025, Dr. Preiksaitis presented a case study on a foundation subsidence remediation project, along with her small business concrete engineering client, at the AEI Conference 2025 in Kansas City, MO. Her part focused on “Fight or Flight Responses in Construction Litigation.” The presentation was supported, in part, by an immersion grant from the University of the Cumberlands, where she is an Associate Professor of Strategy in the doctoral business program.
Category: 1990s
Brendan Squire ’99
Brendan Squire has joined AEON Law, a nationally recognized intellectual property boutique, as a patent attorney.
Michael Chmiel ’90
Elected in 2022, Michael Chmiel’s term as Chief Judge of the 22nd Judicial Circuit of the State of Illinois runs through the end of November of 2024. He was previously appointed and then elected as a Circuit Judge in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
Christen Bishop ’94
Lake County Circuit Judge Christen L. Bishop was honored as the 2024 Justinian of the Year by the Coalition to Reduce Recidivism for her work as the presiding judge of the Restorative Justice Division.
Sang-yul Lee ’95
Sang-yul Lee, a partner at the firm of K&L Gates, started his term this fall as President of the Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF). Sang-yul served as first vice president and second vice president during the previous two years. He has been a leader within the bar and foundation communities, including past service as the president of the NAPABA Law Foundation.
Richard Starnes ’96
This past October, Richard Starnes retired from the State of Missouri after serving as an Assistant Attorney General for 23 years. A member of the Attorney General’s Office’s Criminal Appeals Unit, Richard represented the state in hundreds of cases before the Missouri Court of Appeals, Missouri Supreme Court, and U.S. Supreme Court. Richard now serves as Legal Counsel for the Cole County Juvenile Officer in Jefferson City, Missouri, and pastors a small church at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Jason Torf ’98
2/22/24: Tucker Ellis LLP attorney Jason Torf has been named to the 2024 Illinois Super Lawyers list in the area of Bankruptcy: Business.
Robert Jacobson ’96
2/22/24: On February 15, judges of the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Illinois voted to select Robert E. Jacobson as an associate judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit.
Deidre Baumann ’92
3/21/24: Civil Rights Attorney Deidre Baumann was a candidate for the open judicial vacancy as judge of the 7th Judicial Subcircuit of Cook County in the March 19th, Democratic Primary Election.
Rachel Janutis ’95
4/23/24: Rachel Janutis was appointed the Geraldine W. Howell Professor of Law at Capital University Law School. The professorship recognizes excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service.