Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Honors Distinguished Alumni at Annual Alumni Awards

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law is pleased to announce that 21 distinguished alumni will be honored at the annual Alumni Awards dinner. The awards serve to highlight the achievements and service of Northwestern Pritzker Law’s extraordinary alumni community.

“Congratulations to our 2024 alumni awardees on their extensive accomplishments throughout their careers,” said Dean Hari Osofsky. “Their contributions to both the Law School and the wider community represent the very best of Northwestern Pritzker Law, and we are thrilled to honor them.”

The awards and recipients are:

Daniel B. Rodriguez Alumni Club Excellence Award
Lauren Fried (JD ’13) is a litigation partner at the law firm of Loeb & Loeb LLP in Los Angeles. She is an experienced litigator representing high-profile clients in the entertainment, technology, and media sectors. Her practice includes representing production companies, studios, satellite and network broadcasters, and high-profile celebrities and athletes in a range of matters including business disputes, copyright and intellectual property litigation, right of publicity, false advertising, and unfair competition.

Sherilyn Peterson (BA ’77, JD ’80) lives in Seattle where she moved after clerking for a year on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She has been with Perkins Coie LLP, Seattle since 1981, serving as partner and litigator for many years. Her pro bono work has included representing criminal defendants, homeless individuals, clients seeking pardons or clemency, and a death row inmate in a successful challenge to the State of Washington’s then-3 drug execution protocol.

Dawn Clark Netsch Award for Public Service
Shobha Mahadev (JD ’99) is a Clinical Professor of Law and the Assistant Dean for Clinical Education at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Bluhm Legal Clinic. She represents adolescents and adults facing trial or convicted for offenses that occurred in their youth, in addition to representing them on appeal and in post-conviction and clemency proceedings. She also supervises students working on those cases. Shobha also serves as the project director for the Illinois Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Children, overseeing policy and litigation strategy with respect to advocating for fair sentencing laws for youth and young adults.

The Honorable Algenon L. Marbley (JD ’79) was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in 1997 by President Bill Clinton. In September 2024, Judge Marbley completed his term as the District’s first African-American Chief Judge. The Washington Post adopted one of his statements during a trial as its motto: “Democracy dies in darkness.” Prior to serving on the bench, Judge Marbley was a partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP.

Distinguished Alumni Award
Jared Bartie (JD ’93) is a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and chair of Willkie’s Sports Transactions Practice. A sports industry veteran, he represents domestic and international clients on an array of complex matters, including professional sports team investments, stadium and arena transactions, facility naming rights and sponsorship transactions, and complex media rights agreements. A proud alumnus of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Jared currently serves as the Chair of the school’s Law Board. He was a founding member of the Law School’s African American History and Culture Endowed Scholarship and a founding donor of the Bartie-Greer Opportunity Scholarship.

Neil G. Bluhm (JD ’62, Trustee) is one of the founders and President of JMB Realty Corporation, Chairman of Rush Street Gaming and Rush Street Interactive, Managing Partner of LAMB Capital Advisors, and a founder of Walton Street Capital, LLC. JMB Realty Corporation, along with its associated entities, is engaged in real estate investment and development. JMB owns luxury hotels, office buildings, mixed-use projects as well as land held for development. Rush Street Gaming develops and operates casinos, while Rush Street Interactive is in the internet gaming and sports betting business. LAMB Capital Advisors is engaged in real estate development and is an investor in hedge funds, marketable securities, and other investments. Neil is a Life Trustee of Northwestern University, a member of the Board of Directors of Northwestern Memorial Foundation of Northwestern Hospital, and a current member and former President & Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Commissioner Sharon Bowen (JD-MBA ’82, Honorary Doctor of Laws ’23) serves as the Chair of the New York Stock Exchange, the first woman or person of color to hold that position. She was the first African American to be appointed as Commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, serving from 2014 to 2017, and was Vice Chair and Acting Chair of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation from 2010 to 2014. Her groundbreaking career includes three decades working in corporate and transactional law. Sharon serves on the Boards of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., Neuberger Berman Group LLC and Akamai Technologies, Inc. Sharon has served as a former Executive Committee member and Chair of the Law Board at Northwestern Pritzker Law. In 2023, she received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University.

Steven Matteucci (JD ’82) has held many positions in a career that has spanned the private practice of law, such as corporate general counsel and leadership roles in the insurance, real estate, investment banking, and multi-family office fields. He has served on several corporate boards, including public and private companies, and his is a Life Trustee at his alma mater, Denison University, from which he received an Alumni Citation. Steve is a member of the Law Board at the Northwestern Pritzker Law, serving as Chair for three years. He has a long-standing history of civic service in Phoenix, including leadership roles at the Arizona Science Center, the PGA TOUR WM Phoenix Open and its host organization, Maricopa Partnership for Arts & Culture, and the Greater Phoenix Leadership.

Emerging Leader Award
Bradford McGann (JD ’23) graduated from Harvard University in 2014, where he studied government with a focus on human rights and refugee policy. He served in several leadership roles as a student at Northwestern Pritzker Law, including Vice President of Finance for the Black Law Students Association and President of the Northwestern Chapter of the International Refugee Assistance Project. Bradford also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Northwestern University Law Review, the first Black person to hold that position since the journal was established in 1906 and received the Student Graduation Leadership Award for the greatest contribution to leadership in the student community. member of the DC Bar, Bradford recently left the Washington office of Covington and Burling LLP to serve as a judicial law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Jonathan Jacobson (JD ’14) has been an attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice since 2016. He prosecutes federal crimes affecting government integrity, including bribery of public officials, election crimes, and other related offenses. Previously, Jonathan investigated and prosecuted international narcotics trafficking cases and handled complex commercial litigation on behalf of the government. Before joining the Justice Department, he clerked for the Honorable Carl E. Stewart of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Honorable Kiyo Matsumoto of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Prior to law school, Jonathan worked as an elementary school teacher in Brooklyn, New York, through the Teach for America program.

International Alumni Award
Gang ‘Tomas’ Wang (LLM-K ’12) is the CEO of Shanghai FaPei Networking Technology Company Ltd., and Co-founder of WELEGAL, the largest platform for in-house legal counsel across China. He also serves as the Deputy Executive Director of the Anto-Infringement and Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance in China. Additionally, Tomas works part-time supporting several law schools, including East China University of Political Science and Law, in their in-person and offline LLM Programs.

Sandra Monroy (LLM ’11) is a lawyer from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, licensed to practice in Mexico, with over 25 years of experience, primarily in the telecommunications and technology sectors. Before becoming Uber’s Legal Director for Mexico, she led legal matters for Uber in the Andean Region, Central America, and the Caribbean. Sandra has also served as Legal Director for the North and Andean Cluster at Centurylink and as Senior Litigation Associate at Baker & McKenzie. In 2022, 2023, and 2024, she was recognized as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in Mexico. Her legal team was awarded the Best Legal Team in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Latin America in 2022 by Chambers and Partners. She has served on the boards of several prominent organizations and as a speaker on legal, regulatory, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion topics.

Social Justice Impact Award
Alycia Broz (JD ’98) is a partner in the Columbus, Ohio, office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease LLP and is a member of the firm’s litigation practice group. For more than two decades, she has provided strategic advice and counsel to clients across the country. Alycia represents companies and individuals in a wide variety of complex matters including antitrust, commercial, class action, insurance, and civil rights litigation. She is very active in the Columbus community and has served on the boards for numerous organizations including the King Arts Complex, the YWCA Columbus, and Big Brother Big Sisters of Central Ohio.

Kate Shank (JD ’01) is the CEO and Executive Director of Legal Aid Chicago, guiding its mission to ensure equal access to civil justice for all, regardless of financial means. Previously, as Deputy Director/Chief of Staff, she oversaw recruitment, staff retention, policy development, and program operations. Kate joined Legal Aid Chicago after law school, focusing on family law and domestic violence cases and has also served as Interim Executive Director and Director of Volunteer Services. She is an adjunct professor at Northwestern Pritzker Law and serves on the Law Board.

Volunteer Service Award
Christine Evans (JD ’03, LLM-IHR ’11) is the founder and principal director of Shared Roots Mediation L3C. She is passionate about fostering positive connections and resolving conflicts through restorative and transformative justice approaches, with a particular focus on addressing sexual harm. With over two decades’ experience as a human rights attorney in Chicago and internationally, Christine draws from her knowledge of the criminal legal system, victims’ and gender rights, and issues related to sexual harm to create processes for survivors seeking accountability and justice outside traditional legal systems. Beyond her restorative justice work, Christine also teaches gender rights as an adjunct professor at Northwestern Pritzker Law and serves as the president and chief funding officer of the Evans Family Foundation, supporting Chicagoland nonprofits.

Donna Haddad (BA ’92, JD ’95) is the Vice President, Associate General Counsel at IBM, with global responsibility for supporting its cloud business. She is also a Founding Board Member of IBM’s AI Ethics Board, and she led IBM’s Global Pro Bono Program for three years. From 2011 to 2014, Donna worked in Dubai, UAE, on international assignment as Senior Regional Counsel, IBM Middle East, North and West Africa. She is an Executive Committee member of Law Board at Northwestern Pritzker Law and is Chair of the Board’s Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group. Under Donna’s leadership, the DEI Working Group launched the Law School’s 16 alumni affinity Groups to mirror the student affinity groups.

The Honorable Dean Hansell (JD ’77) is a California Superior Court Judge, appointed to the bench by Governor Jerry Brown in 2016. Judge Hansell was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the Governor’s Judicial Selection Advisory Committee. He also serves as Chair of the California Judge’s Association Compensation and Benefits Oversight Committee, Chair of the Community Outreach Committee of the Los Angeles Superior Court and a member of the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Judge Hansell has received various awards from organizations, including the California Judges Association, the Board of Police Commissioners of the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles LGBT Bar Association, GLAAD, Congregation Beth Chayim Chadashim, the Liberty Hill Foundation, and the Stonewall Young Democrats. He currently serves on the Law Board at Northwestern Pritzker Law and is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Endowment.

Samantha Woo (JD ’12) is currently Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Northwestern Pritzker Law. She worked over a decade as a labor and employment associate, then partner, at Jones Day, representing employers in connection with wage and hour and discrimination disputes, as well as labor-management relations issues. Samantha also spearheaded diversity efforts at Jones Day’s Chicago office, developing DEI-related programming for associates, partners, and staff. Among other contributions, Samantha has judged the Miner Moot Court Competition, conducted mock interviews with students, spoken on student-organized panels, and mentored students and graduates. Since 2018, she also has served on the Advisory Board of the Bluhm Legal Clinic.

Dean’s Legacy Award
Adam Hoeflich (Trustee) is a Professor of Practice at Northwestern Pritzker Law and a partner at Bartlit Beck LLP, where he focuses on complex litigation, class actions, and legal ethics. He has been lead counsel in high-profile individual cases and in multi-jurisdiction litigation, with the unifying factor among diverse subject matters being the significance and complexity of the issues. Adam serves as a Trustee of Northwestern University, Chair of the Civic Federation Board of Trustees, a member of the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Quality Committee, and a member of both the Commercial Club and the Economic Club.

Dean’s Partnership Award
The John Paul Stevens Foundation. US Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens awarded the very first Stevens Public Interest fellowship in 1997 at his alma mater, Northwestern Pritzker Law. Since that initial award, the John Paul Stevens Foundation has been dedicated to his profound belief that a dynamic and effective justice system depends on a cadre of talented lawyers committed to the protection of civil rights and promotion of social justice. Today, the Foundation embodies this vision by administering one of the largest public interest summer fellowship programs in the U.S. Over the past 27 years, the Stevens Fellowship program has proudly supported more than 1000 law students, three-quarters of whom have gone on to work in public interest after graduation. By tackling pressing issues such as gun control, criminal justice reform, and access to legal services, Fellowship Alumni continue to work toward a more equitable society and serve as an enduring legacy that Justice Stevens began at Northwestern.

Latham & Watkins, LLP. Founded in California in 1934, Latham & Watkins is a multinational law firm that advises businesses and institutions around the globe. From a global platform, its lawyers advise clients on market-shaping transactions, high-stakes litigation and trials, and sophisticated regulatory matters. As one of the world’s largest providers of pro bono legal services, Latham takes on matters in nearly every area of public interest law. Latham lawyers advise a range of nonprofits and volunteer for a variety of causes that make a difference in the communities where they live and work. The firm steadfastly supports initiatives designed to advance diversity within the firm and the legal profession, and is committed to exploring and promoting environmental sustainability.