Y’Noka Bass focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, employment litigation, and environmental & toxic tort. She has represented clients in a variety of matters, including breach of contract, employment discrimination, fiduciary duty, mass torts, premises liability, and toxic tort. Y’Noka is also a current Adjunct Professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law where she instructs a class of first-year law students on the importance of their professional identity and how to be ethical leaders in the legal profession.
Prior to joining GRSM, Y’Noka was an associate at a litigation firm where she represented clients in a range of areas including civil rights, class actions, trade secrets, and wage disputes. She also served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Allen P. Walker in the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County where she drafted legal memoranda concerning mass tort litigation arising from the opioid epidemic.
In her free time, Y’Noka enjoys trying new restaurants, traveling, pilates, and spending time with friends and family.
Admissions
- Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Central Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
Memberships
- Black Women Lawyers’ Association
- Chicago Bar Association
- Cook County Bar Association
Community Involvement
- Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, Adjunct Professor
- Wisconsin Alumni Association, Recent Grad Council Chair
EDUCATION
- J.D. & Certificate in Child Law; Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 2021
- – Dean’s List
- – CALI Excellence for the Future Award Winner for highest grade in Legal Writing II
- – Civitas Child Law Fellow
- – Philip H. Corboy Fellowship in Trial Advocacy
- – Philip H. Corboy Mock Trial Team
- – Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Team
- – Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial National Champion, 2019-2020
- B.A., English & Legal Studies; Certificate in Criminal Justice; University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2018
- – Dean’s List
- – Posse Foundation Full-Tuition Leadership Scholarship
Mr. Wright received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Michigan and his Juris Doctorate from University of Illinois at Chicago (formerly John Marshall Law School). He is admitted to practice to the Illinois Bar, and United States District Court - Northern District and Central District of Illinois.
His Governmental and Professional experiences include Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. The Department is responsible for securing the passage of legislation and appropriation of funds from the Chicago City Council, Illinois General Assembly and Congress. In addition, the office works to build strong relationships with elected officials and other governmental bodies. His experience also includes Director of Land Development at the Chicago Housing Authority; Deputy Commissioner, City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development; and Administrative Assistant to the Mayor, City of Chicago, Mayor’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
Prior to answering his call to law and politics he worked in the financial services industry at Aetna Life and Casualty and CIGNA Corporation as an Expense Analyst and Regional Controller respectively.
Mr. Wright has served as Director of Christian Education at St. James Baptist Church in New Britain, Connecticut. At Salem Baptist Church of Chicago, he has served as a teacher and Superintendent of Christian Education.
Otis is married to Jametra, his wife of 42 years. He and his wife Jametra have been involved in serving in their local church in the areas of Christian counseling, marital instruction and discipleship. They have four adult children, Charles (Marlise, wife), David (Marnie, wife), Janelle and Nathan and four grandchildren.
Working exclusively with higher education entities, Lisa is more than involved in the industry – she is deeply committed to higher education. She represents the full range of higher education institutions, including private non-profit, public, healthcare-affiliated, religious, small privately-owned institutions and large publicly-traded school groups. From serving as an administrator at a small private college to her role as vice president for a large publicly-traded school system, Lisa’s multifarious background directly correlates to her passion and dedication to furthering the business and educational goals of clients. Her knowledge of this complex, niche industry provides pragmatic approaches and tangible solutions. Plus, her years of litigation experience allow her to make strategic decisions to mitigate risks for clients. Lisa’s extensive on-the-ground industry experience at large and small educational institutions allows her to: Provide strategic and comprehensive regulatory counseling to higher education institutions regarding compliance with accreditation requirements, rules governing federal student financial aid (Title IV) and state regulatory requirements. Represent higher education institutions in litigation before trial and appellate courts. Assist higher education institutions through the change of control process, including serving as regulatory counsel on mergers and acquisitions as well as organizational restructuring. Conduct internal investigations for colleges and universities on sensitive legal, regulatory, and governance matters. Assist institutions in preparing for accreditation visits and responding to accreditation actions, including adverse actions. Lisa broadens and shares her knowledge through involvement in education-related causes, such as serving on the board of directors of Donnelly College, NNPRFTC, Level Playing Field scholarship foundation, and the First Friday Club of Chicago. Industry Education Services Healthcare M&A, Joint Ventures and Other Transactions Healthcare Providers Higher Education HR Consultation & Training Recognition National Black Lawyers (NBL), Top 100, 2021 Illinois Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2009 Education J.D., Saint Louis University School of Law Public Law Review, Articles Editor B.A., Lake Forest College American Studies Honors in American Studies Honors on Senior Thesis Admissions Illinois U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Professional Memberships and Certifications Black Women Lawyers’ Association Chicago Bar Association, Alliance for Women, Board of Directors, 2009 National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) Clerkship The Hon. Charles A. Shaw, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
Shenna Johnson is an associate in Baker McKenzie’s Transactional Practice Group and is a member of the M&A team in Chicago. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Shenna was an associate at Skadden Arps for five years, where she worked on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions and corporate governance matters. Ms. Johnson has advised public and private companies in a variety of sale and acquisition transactions, including mergers, joint ventures and stock and asset acquisitions and divestitures. She also has counseled on a broad range of other corporate and securities matters, including corporate financings and related transactions, securities law compliance, periodic reporting, annual board of directors assessments and other corporate governance concerns. Ms. Johnson also has an active pro bono practice. She has advised, among others, individuals seeking asylum in the United States, as well as 501(c)(3) organizations in connection with various corporate governance matters and a wide range of commercial arrangements. In recognition of her work, Ms. Johnson has been named repeatedly as one of National Black Lawyers’ Top 40 Under 40.
Practice Focus Shenna Johnson focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, corporate governance and SEC and other regulatory compliance issues, as well as a range of other general corporate and securities matters.
Representative Legal Matters Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Ms. Johnson advised on the following matters:
Cardinal Health, Inc. in its USD 1 billion sale of its Cordis business to an affiliate of Hellman & Friedman Orica Limited in its USD 640 million acquisition of Cyanco Intermediate 4 Corp. from an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company in its proposed but terminated USD 2.1 billion acquisition by affiliates of Atlas Holdings LLC, and subsequent USD 2.3 billion acquisition by affiliates of Chatham Asset Management, LLC Ball Corporation in its USD 530 million sale of its beverage packaging business in Russia Ecolab Inc. in the USD 4.4 billion merger of its upstream energy business with Apergy Corporation, creating a combined company with an enterprise value of approximately USD 7.4 billion Credit Acceptance Corporation in various financing matters, including its: USD 400 million senior notes due 2024 and its concurrent cash tender offer on USD 300 million of outstanding senior notes due 2021 USD 600 million senior notes due 2028 and its concurrent cash tender offer on USD 400 million of outstanding senior notes due 2024 AutoNation, Inc. in its offering of USD 500 million of its senior notes due 2030 Kemper Corporation on its USD 90 million sale of Reserve National Insurance Company to Medical Mutual of Ohio Apartment Investment and Management Company (Aimco) in its reverse spin-off of Apartment Income REIT Corp., a publicly traded REIT with an approximately USD 10.4 billion portfolio of apartment communities, and the related division of Aimco’s publicly held operating partnership Advice to the board of directors of ACI Worldwide, Inc. in connection with various corporate matters Veritas Capital in its USD 2.8 billion acquisition, along with Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation, of Cubic Corporation Noble Corporation plc with respect to certain corporate matters, including its debt and equity rights offering, in connection with the restructuring transactions contemplated in its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, which reduced the company’s debt from approximately USD 4 billion to USD 400 million Professional Honors Top 40 Under 40, National Black Lawyers Professional Associations and Memberships Member, Young Professionals Board, Public Interest Law Initiative Admissions Illinois Education Howard University (Juris Doctor, cum laude) (2019) Old Dominion University (Master of Public Administration) (2013) Old Dominion University (Bachelor of Science, Political Science with a Minor in Philosophy, cum laude) (2009)
Leighton Allen negotiates favorable commercial contracts for organizations in the areas of software as a service (SaaS) licensing, software licensing, IP sales and acquisitions, and data transfer and data processing. He has also advised clients on developing proper data handling and processing practices to comply with the latest developments in U.S. state data privacy laws. Leighton is a member of the firm’s Technology Transactions, Cybersecurity, and Privacy Practice. At his prior firm, Leighton was a cybersecurity and data privacy associate at a Chicago law firm where he counseled small and large entities, including merchants, health systems, hospitals, accounting and consulting firms, and educational institutions on identifying, evaluating, and managing first- and third-party data privacy and security risks. He also assisted in the analysis of compliance responsibilities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), and related state, federal, and international cybersecurity laws and regulations.