Category: 2000s

Matthew Louis Brown passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, January 10, 2026. He began his legal career as an associate with the Chicago firm of Sachnoff & Weaver, Ltd., later continuing his work after its merger with Reed Smith, LLP, before joining his father at Brown Law Group in 2010. A full obituary is available online.

United States Magistrate Judge Noelle C. Collins was sworn in for a five-year term as Chief Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri on December 30, 2025. Judge Collins has served as a Magistrate Judge since 2013. Prior to that, she worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in St. Louis, specializing in human trafficking prosecutions […]

Latoya Hughes has been appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Ava George Stewart ’03, of Chicago, Illinois, was appointed by Governor J.B. Pritzker to a second term as a member of the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, where she has been elected Vice-Chair of the Commission.

On December 1, Kilpatrick announced the addition of Lauren Ferrante, Counsel, to the firm’s State and Local Tax Team. She represents clients at all stages of state and local controversy disputes at the audit, administrative, and judicial levels.

Robert Kiepura has joined Raytheon as Director and Senior Counsel with the company’s Naval Power Strategic Business Unit. He was previously with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division.

Abad Lopez was awarded the “2025 Latino Lawyer of the Year” by the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois.

Kevin Berrill recently became President of the Lake County Bar Association. Kevin is a prosecutor in the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, where he is Chief of Special Investigations as well as Chief of Financial Crimes & Public Integrity.

Chris Stetler was selected to join the Board of Directors for PEAK – Partnership to Educate and Advance Kids, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering high school students in underserved communities through a combination of scholarships and dedicated mentors.

Michael Cabonargi was appointed a Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County by the Illinois Supreme Court on June 13. Cabonargi had previously served as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and prior to that as the Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.