THE BOOK
This year’s list of Notable Minorities in Accounting, Consulting & Law features a cohort of 56 who have overcome challenges and bias to rise to the top of their professions. With the death of George Floyd and the intensified Black Lives Matter movement, many have stepped up to more visible roles in diversity and inclusion initiatives. At professional services firms, they are involved not just in recruiting but in making sure young associates have the tools and opportunities to advance and succeed. Many are writing, speaking and engaging social media on issues of racial and social justice. Some
47
are conducting training in implicit bias. They take on pro bono work to help the disadvantaged and join community organizations to support at-risk youth. At their firms, these professionals are helping to navigate the pandemic, whether supporting colleagues in remote work or helping clients in matters of employment law, immigration, intellectual property, mergers, raising capital or managing taxes. In an extraordinary year, they’ve risen to the challenge. By Judith Crown
METHODOLOGY: The honorees did not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from the nomination materials. This list features only individuals for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after a review by our editorial team. To qualify for the list, nominees must be based in the Chicago area and be employed full time at a public accounting, consulting or law firm of 25 or more employees. They must have shown the ability or power to effect change in their role or area of practice, serve as a role model or mentor, and have assumed a leadership position outside their organization.
SERGIO ACOSTA
IMRON ALY
Partner Akerman
Partner Schiff Hardin
Former prosecutor Sergio Acosta is co-chair of Akerman’s white-collar crime and government investigations practice. He handles criminal and civil investigations and enforcement actions. Acosta served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, including seven years as chief of the general crimes section. As criminal civil rights coordinator at the U.S. attorney’s office, he led the team of prosecutors and agents that indicted former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge, notorious for his role in torturing African American men in police custody. He was on former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s task forces on ethics reform and police accountability. Acosta joined Akerman in 2018 after eight years as a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson. He is on Akerman’s Chicago committee on racial justice, diversity and equality.
Imron Aly serves as co-leader of the intellectual property practice group and co-leader of the Hatch-Waxman and biosimilars practice group. His practice focuses in part on patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation litigation and medical devices. Aly recently led a team in a successful groundbreaking appeal for Fresenius Kabi USA against Pfizer subsidiary Hospira; it not only benefited the client’s generic version of the sedative Precedex, but further developed the case law for generic drugs. He represents a number of generic-drug manufacturers based in India. Aly joined Schiff Hardin in 2014 from Winston & Strawn, where he was an intellectual property partner. He is on the board of nonprofit Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms, which provides training and mentorship programs to assist minority lawyers.
P047-P063_CCB_20201214.indd 47
MELISSA ANYETEI
Partner Mayer Brown
Intellectual property attorney Melissa Anyetei has more than 15 years of experience in patent litigation, patent procurement and counseling. Earlier this year, Anyetei secured a victory for the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, a group of the 18 largest vehicle manufacturers in Europe, Asia and the U.S. The dispute, litigated in Delaware bankruptcy court, centered on the ownership of a patented touch-based technology that measures a driver’s blood alcohol level. Anyetei serves as chair of the firm’s Black lawyers affinity group and is a founding member of Mayer Brown’s associate diversity council. As a member of the firm’s Project Equity leadership team, she helps organize outreach and pro bono initiatives to advance social and racial justice. Anyetei joined Mayer Brown in 2005 and became a partner in 2014.
11/23/20 1:52 PM