Shook Welcomes Class of New Associates in 2021

Shook is pleased to announce that 19 new law school graduates and two lateral associates have joined the firm in its Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle and Washington, D.C. offices.

Chicago

Yara Rashad | Yara joins the Business Litigation group as a law clerk. She earned her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School and a B.A. in political science from Benedictine University.

Maveric Searle | Maveric joins the Business Litigation group as a law clerk. He earned his J.D. from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and a B.S. in information systems from the University of Utah.

Houston

Michella Gibbs | Michella joins the Product Liability Litigation practice group as a lateral associate. Prior to Shook, Michella was an associate at Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons in Houston, Texas. She earned her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and her B.A. in government and English from the University of Texas.*

Douglas McNiel | Douglas joins the Product Liability group as an associate. He earned his J.D. from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law and his B.A. in political science and Hispanic studies from Rice University.

Megan Mitchell | Megan joined the Intellectual Property group as an associate. She earned her J.D. from South Texas College of Law and a B.S. in biological engineering from Louisiana State University. 

Kansas City 

Henry Adams| Henry joins the Product Liability group as an associate. He earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law – Columbia and a B.S. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Tulane University.

Stefon David | Stefon David joins the General Liability Litigation group as an associate. He earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law – Columbia and a B.A. in communication from Valparaiso University.

Anna El-Zein | Anna joins the Class Action and Complex Litigation group as an associate. She earned her J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law – Columbia and a B.A. in international business administration and economics from Truman State University.

Rachel Groves | Rachel joins the Business Litigation group as an associate. She earned her J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law and a B.S. in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri – Columbia. 

Michael Hayes | Michael joins the General Liability Litigation group as an associate. He earned his J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law and the same year earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Kansas School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He has a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Dallas Constantin College of Liberal Arts. 

Cailynn Hayter | Cailynn joins the Product Liability group as an associate. She earned her J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law – Columbia and a B.A. in English, political science, critical thought and inquiry from William Jewell College. 

Kathrine Klaus | Kate joins the Environmental group as an associate. She earned her J.D. from Vermont Law School, her M.S. in environmental management from Yale School of the Environment and a B.S. in natural resources and environmental sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Ijeoma “EJ” Odigwe | EJ joins the Product Liability group as an associate. He earned his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School, his M.S. in health care delivery from Arizona State University and a B.A. in Ethnicity & Race Studies (Concentration in Public Health) from Columbia University.

Joseph Salazar | Joseph joins the Product Liability group as an associate. He earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and a B.A. in English and political science from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Hannah Sanchez | Hannah joins the Product Liability group as an associate. She earned her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School and a B.A. in economics and government from Georgetown University.

Los Angeles

Adam Lauridsen | Adam joins the Business Litigation group as a law clerk. He earned his J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law and a B.A. in French from the University of Kansas.

Miami

Gabriel Franca| Gabe will join the Business Litigation group as an associate. He earned his J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a B.A. in cognitive science from Hampshire College.**

Stephanie Moran | Stephanie joins the product liability group as an associate. She earned her J.D. from University of Miami School of Law and a B.A. in political science from Villanova University.

Seattle

Robert Ling | Robert joined the Intellectual Property group as an associate. He earned his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School and a B.S. in computer science from Washington University in St. Louis.

Washington, D.C.

Kateland Jackson | Katie joins the Public Policy group as a lateral associate. Prior to Shook, Katie worked in United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and in U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee as chief counsel to Senator Jeff Flake. She earned her J.D. from George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School and a B.A. in political science from Liberty University.*

Charles Kuo | Charles joins the Environmental group as a law clerk. He earned his J.D. from Vermont Law School, an M.S. in civil engineering from Texas A&M University and a B.S. in chemistry from York University.

* Lateral Associates
** Anticipated start date February 2021

At Shook, recent graduates who are already admitted to practice begin as associates. Graduates who have taken the bar but are not yet admitted to practice join our firm as law clerks.