ARMENIAN BAR ASSOCIATION TO HOLD ANNUAL MEETING
Armenian Weekly
Fri, May 7 2010
>>From May 13-16, the Armenian Bar Association will host its 21st
Annual Meeting in Chicago at the Union League Club. The Honorable
Samuel Der-Yeghiayan, United States district court judge and the
first Armenian immigrant to be appointed to the federal bench in the
United States, will be an honored guest and keynote speaker at the
conference luncheon on May 15. Judge Der-Yeghiayan has served as a
federal district court judge for the northern district of Illinois
since 2003, having been nominated for the position by then-President
George W.
Bush.
His speech, entitled "Celebrating Armenian Heritage: Baba Ganoush is
the New Guacamole," will be delivered to bar association attendees,
their guests, local dignitaries, and the general public after a
gourmet three-course lunch catered by the Union League Club.
Yeghiayan’s keynote address and luncheon is open to the Chicagoland
Armenian community at a cost of $50 per person.
The Armenian Bar’s weekend conference will be punctuated by
legal seminars featuring speakers discussing topics of interest
to the entire Armenian legal community. The first panel, entitled
"Protection of Armenian Cultural Heritage Worldwide," will include
native Chicagoan Rachel Goshgarian, the director of the Zohrab Center;
Bedross Der Matossian, professor of Middle Eastern studies at MIT;
and local Chicago attorney Karnig Kerkonian, a managing partner of
Kerkonian, LLC.
A second panel, entitled "Electronic Discovery, Records Management,
and Privacy Issues on the Internet," will include local attorney,
James Nahikian, principal of Nahikian Global Intellectual Property
and Technology Law Group; Mark J. Nomellini, a partner in litigation
from Kirkland & Ellis LLP; and Chicago attorney, Gregory D. Hoogasian,
a vice president at the Chicago Stock Exchange.
California attorney Sara Anjargolian and other slated speakers will
comprise a third panel, which will discuss the current economic,
sociologic, and legal perspectives in Armenia. The lecture will
include a presentation of Anjargolian’s critically acclaimed photos
documenting everyday life in Armenia.
Rick Hartunian, a newly appointed U.S. attorney from Albany, N.Y., will
be another featured guest speaker and honored guest at the meeting.
"We are delighted to return to Chicago for our 2010 Annual Meeting
and hope to attract numerous Armenian attorneys from throughout
the country to participate," said Sonya Nersessian, chairman of the
Armenian Bar. "Our goal is to energize our constituents in the area,
help facilitate the interaction of our members and exchange of ideas,
and honor those at the top of our profession," she said. The meeting
will be presided over by Nersessian, from Boston, Mass., who is in
her second term as a chair of the organization. The meeting will
provide an opportunity for the Board of Governors to meet, set the
agenda of the organization, update membership on recent activities and
accomplishments, and vote on issues of importance to the organization.
Armenian Bar’s last meeting in Chicago was in 2004. Board member Amy
Hoogasian, who was a guest speaker at that meeting, is the organizing
committee chairperson for Chicago 2010. Hoogasian has assembled a
dynamic group of attorneys to coordinate the event. That group includes
Ann Lousin, a professor at the John Marshall Law School and the only
three-term chair of the Armenian Bar, along with former chair Lisa
Esayian, a partner in the prestigious law form of Kirkland & Ellis.
In addition to the legal seminars and keynote luncheon, the Bar
Association will hold a meeting of the Board of Governors, host a
Friday night reception with local dignitaries, and explore a few of
the city’s finest attractions, including a tour of the Dirksen Federal
Court Building and in-chambers meeting with Judge Der-Yeghiayan,
a tour of the new Modern Art Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago,
an architectural river boat cruise, a Cubs game, and a farewell dinner
Saturday evening at award-winning NAHA restaurant.
Bar Association sponsorship advertisements of local or national
businesses cost $250 and range up to $1,000 or more. For more
information on advertising or attending the May 15 luncheon, email Amy
Hoogasian at [email protected] or visit