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Anna M. Ahronheim is an attorney in private practice. Ms. Ahronheim obtained her J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law. For the next 22 years, she was an attorney with the Illinois Office of the State Appellate Defender. From 2008 through 2017, she was the supervisor of the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Public Defender’s Office in the Western District of Pennsylvania and represented clients in habeas corpus proceedings. She has given presentations on postconviction practice at seminars sponsored by numerous organizations and law schools. She intends to devote her post-public-defender practice to the representation of incarcerated clients in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan.
Sami Z. Azhari is an attorney at Azhari LLC, in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice on federal and white-collar criminal law. Mr. Azhari is a Superlawyers Rising Star (2015 – present), Chair of the Federal Criminal Law Committee of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association, and faculty at the ABA White Collar Crime Conference (2021). Mr. Azhari received his B.S. from Purdue University and his J.D. from Michigan State University.
William B. Beattie is an attorney at The Law Offices of William Beattie, Ltd., in Mount Prospect, where he focuses on criminal defense at the trial and appellate levels in both state and federal courts throughout Illinois. Mr. Beattie has also represented clients before the Illinois Criminal Review Board and the Illinois Secretary of State. Outside of his criminal work, Mr. Beattie has litigated civil cases involving defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of contract, and fraud. Before entering private practice, Mr. Beattie was a member of the felony trial division of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office. He has instructed in the areas of trial advocacy, constitutional law, and scientific evidence involving witness identification testimony, drug recognition experts, and standardized field sobriety testing. Mr. Beattie received his B.A. from the University of Minnesota and his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Matthew A. Chivari is Founding Attorney at Chivari P.C., in Chicago, where he focuses his practice on criminal defense. Mr. Chivari is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Chicago Bar Association. He received his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, with a certificate in criminal law, and earned CALI Awards in Prosecuting and Defending Criminal Cases, as well as Negotiations.
Keith Grant is the Senior Supervisor for the Lake County Public Defender’s Office in Waukegan, where he concentrates his practice on criminal defense and is responsible for the coordination and litigation of Public Defender complex cases and all training conducted for all employees (legal and otherwise) in the Office. Mr. Grant also coordinates the Public Defender’s Conflict Unit. Previously, he served as the Public Defender’s Office Felony Division Chief and, before that, as the Misdemeanor Division Chief. Before becoming an administrator, Mr. Grant was a line-assistant in the Public Defender’s Office for nearly ten years. He is the President of the Illinois Public Defender Association (2012 – present) and a Past President of the Lake County Bar Association (2014 – 2015) and the Jefferson Inn of Court (2010 – 2011). Mr. Grant received his B.A. from Ripon College and his J.D. from Northern Illinois University College of Law.
Marcos D. Reyes is an associate at Mitchell S. Sexner & Associates LLC, in Chicago, where he focuses on criminal defense and traffic law. He is a member of the Puerto Rican Bar Association and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and he has received the CIVITAS ChildLaw Fellowship. Mr. Reyes received his B.S. from Loyola University Chicago and his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Stephen L. Richardsis an attorney at the Law Office of Stephen L. Richards, in Chicago. He has been a member of the Illinois Supreme Court’s Screening Committee for the Capital Litigation Trial Bar and is former President of the Illinois Public Defender Association. He has lectured and written extensively on criminal law and the death penalty.Mr. Richards graduated from the University of Chicago and from Brooklyn Law School.
Jed H. Stoneis a criminal defense lawyer with Stone & Associates, Ltd., in Waukegan, where he focuses his practice on criminal defense. He is a member of both the American Board of Criminal Lawyers and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and he has been named a Super Lawyer (2016 – 2022). Mr. Stone received his B.A. from Lake Forest College and his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.