Yara’s practice focuses on products liability and complex business litigation, including matters involving privacy and cybersecurity, insurance coverage and defense, and employment disputes. Her litigation experience spans the entire lifecycle of a case, from early discovery through trial and appellate advocacy. She has substantial experience managing complex discovery, taking and defending depositions, preparing witnesses for trial, and briefing and arguing dispositive motions at the trial and appellate level. Yara is also experienced in the courtroom, where she has argued motions in limine, conducted witness examinations, and presented arguments on evidentiary issues.
Yara has been a featured speaker at numerous professional engagements, addressing topics such as cybersecurity and privacy, the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, and federal securities regulations affecting Illinois businesses.
Outside her litigation practice, Yara serves as an adjunct professor of criminal law at Benedictine University and is an active member of the firm’s Middle Eastern Employee Resources Group and Junior Women’s Management Council.
Presentations
Be Aware: Your AI Has Implicit Bias, Too, Association of Corporate Counsel Mid-America Chapter CLE, May 8, 2024 (with Caroline Gieser).
Be Aware: Your AI Has Implicit Bias, Too, CenterForce Diversity in Law & Leadership, September 13, 2023 (with Caroline Gieser).
Be Aware: Your AI Has Implicit Bias, Too, Association of Corporate Counsel Colorado, September 7, 2023 (with Caroline Gieser).
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Avoiding Litigation Risk and Complying with Ethical Obligations, Association of Corporate Counsel CLE, August 9, 2023 (with John Lewis, Jr., and Justin Donoho).
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Avoiding Litigation Risk and Complying with Ethical Obligations, Chicago Ethics CLE Conference, May 18, 2023 (with John Lewis, Jr., and Justin Donoho).