Seth Remy Yohalem has joined Scandaglia & Ryan as an associate. Mr. Yohalem has experience representing clients in a variety of commercial litigation matters, including contract and insurance coverage disputes, class action defense as well as antitrust actions. Prior to joining the firm, he was an associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Chicago office), where he worked for more than three years.

In addition to practicing law, Mr. Yohalem is a Metro Board member, Metropolitan Family Services, a leading human services agency that has been helping families throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs for 150 years. In 2004, he received a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar all three years. He also was a writing and research editor for the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems for which he authored the article "We'll Always Have Parish: The Ninth Circuit Court Decision and Its Implications for Enforcement of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines." In 2001, Mr. Yohalem earned a B.A., magna cum laude, from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Therese Tully has been named a partner at Scandaglia & Ryan, effective January 1, 2008. Since joining the firm in 2003, Ms. Tully has represented clients involved in hospitality industry litigation, partnership disputes and trademark prosecutions. She also has garnered significant experience representing clients in cases concerning patent infringement, commercial contracts and constitutional law. Additionally, throughout her legal career, Ms. Tully has worked on noteworthy pro bono matters involving issues such as the death penalty, political asylum and divorce/orders of protection.

Prior to joining S&R, Ms. Tully was an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission. She also was an associate at Jenner & Block, LLC for three years, and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Martin C. Ashman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Ms. Tully is a co-author of the article "Express Preemption and Premarket Approval Under the Medical Device Amendments," Food and Drug Law Journal (vol. 59, no.1), November 2004, which was cited in several trial, appellate and Supreme Court briefs as well as by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a published decision Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc.

Before going to law school, Ms. Tully, was a professional equestrian instructor. Her love of horses, and all animals for that matter, grew during her childhood when she competitively rode and showed English horses in both the hunter/jumper divisions in Michigan.

Ms. Tully received a J.D., magna cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1996, where she was a student articles editor for the Loyola University Law Review. She also was an editor on the Loyola University Consumer Law Journal. In 1993, she earned a B.S., with honors in Finance, from Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan.

In November 2007, attorney James R. Ahler welcomed the opportunity to fulfill his dream of serving the public by accepting Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels' appointment to become the Jasper County Superior Court judge. Mr. Ahler left his private practice at Scandaglia & Ryan, where he represented clients in complex litigation matters involving claims of investment fraud and breach of contract as well as real estate disputes, to succeed Judge J. Philip McGraw, who retired on October 26, 2007. S&R Founding Partners Gregory J. Scandaglia and William J. Ryan are extremely proud of Mr. Ahler's appointment and are confident he is well-equipped to serve on the bench.

Mr. Ahler grew up in Rensselaer, Indiana, and has strong ties to the community. At a very early age, he developed a great admiration and profound respect for the local judges, including Judge McGraw, hoping to one day emulate them. Mr. Ahler is no stranger to the inner workings of judicial chambers. Throughout his legal career, he served as a judicial law clerk to two appellate court judges, The Honorable Michael S. Kanne and The Honorable William J. Bauer, both U.S. Circuit Court judges for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He also was a judicial extern to Magistrate Terry I. Adelman, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri and a summer law clerk to Judge Thomas G. Fisher, Indiana Tax Court.

According to Mr. Ahler, clerking for the various members of the judiciary were extremely valuable and intellectually challenging experiences. "These experiences have provided me with opportunities to work for some of the best legal minds in the Midwest," noted Mr. Ahler. "However, I was very pleased to find that practicing law at Scandaglia & Ryan was no less rewarding than my judicial clerkship experiences. I can truly say that S&R attorneys approach legal issues with equal amounts of critical thinking, thoroughness and professionalism." Mr. Ahler received a J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law in 1996 and a B.A. from Indiana University in 1992.

In an unusual turn of events, the DePaul University College of Law Center for Intellectual Property Law and Information Technology (CIPLIT) will present the Scandaglia & Ryan Intellectual Property Legal Writing Award to two leading students participating in DePaul's First-Year Intellectual Property Legal Writing Program. Ordinarily, the award is presented to one student who receives the highest grade in the first-year program. This year, however, two exemplary classmates tied for top grades.

Mr. Piper and Mr. Schildt received the 2007 Scandaglia & Ryan Intellectual Property Legal Writing Award at the CIPLIT celebration on Tuesday, November 6, 2007. Both Mr. Piper and Mr. Schildt are members of the DePaul Law Review and expect to receive a J.D. in May 2009.

Mr. Piper grew up in a small town in Osceola, Missouri. In 1998, he received a B.S. summa cum laude, from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He then went on to earn an M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University in 2001 and 2004, respectively.

Mr. Schildt is from Quincy, Illinois. In 2007, he served as legal extern to the Honorable Amy J. St. Eve, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to law school, he received a Bachelor in Music, with highest honors, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2006.

Scandaglia & Ryan founded and has been funding the Scandaglia & Ryan IP Legal Writing Award since its inception in 2002. Past recipients include Nicholas J. Angelocci, Jamey A. Orchik, Lee James, Jeremy Bridge and Hillary A. Mann.

Pictured below: Justin L. Piper, Scott E. Rogers, William J. Ryan, Gregory J. Scandaglia and Jonathan Schildt at the reception.

Erie Neighborhood House, a community service agency that provides Latino and diverse low-income families with a wide range of educational programs, honored Scandaglia & Ryan associate Bradley D. Hergott with its TEAM Mentor of the Year award.

Erie House launched its Tutoring to Educate for Aims and Motivation (TEAM) program in 1984, pairing up Chicago professionals as mentors with at-risk high school students. In weekly one-on-one sessions, the mentors assist the youths with academics, college preparation and life skills, serving as positive, dependable role models. Since 1998, TEAM has had a 100 percent high school graduation rate and a 97 percent college placement rate.

Mr. Hergott has been a TEAM mentor for more than four years. He was selected to receive the Mentor of the Year award from among 52 other participants in the program. His TEAM graduate, Adam Pomales, was also honored, receiving the Rafael Ravelo "Corazón de Oro" (Heart of Gold) award and a scholarship.

Mr. Hergott has contributed to society in many other ways as well. Throughout his legal career, he has represented several clients on a pro bono basis, receiving a special award for his efforts. He also volunteered at Safe House, a shelter for victims of domestic violence and worked for the Child Advocacy Law Clinic through the University of Michigan Law School.