News

Five to be Honored at 2016 Northwestern Law Alumni Awards Luncheon

October 04, 2016

On Friday, October 21, Dean Rodriguez will present awards to five distinguished alumni at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s fourth annual Alumni Awards Luncheon. The ceremony will take place at the University Club of Chicago at 11:30 a.m.

The awards and recipients are:

Distinguished Alumnus Award

Neil Eggleston 

Neil Eggleston (JD ’78) will receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award, given to a graduate for extraordinary contributions to the legal field. Eggleston has served as White House Counsel to the President since May of 2014. As the President’s chief lawyer, Eggleston advises the President on all legal and Constitutional issues across a broad spectrum of domestic and foreign policy matters. These matters include significant litigation, the defense of congressional investigations, the judicial selection and nomination process, government ethics, and clemency. Eggleston was previously a partner at both Kirkland & Ellis and Debevoise & Plimpton. After clerkships for Judge Hunter on the Third Circuit and Chief Justice Burger on the Supreme Court, Eggleston started his career as an Assistant US Attorney in the Southern District of New York. Eggleston served as Associate Counsel in the Clinton administration, after previously serving as Deputy Chief Counsel of the congressional committee that investigated Iran-Contra Affair.

 

Emerging Leader Award

James Koutoulas

James L. Koutoulas (JD ’06) will receive the Emerging Leader Award, presented in recognition of career achievements by a graduate from the last ten years. Koutoulas is the CEO of Typhon Capital Management which he founded in 2008. Typhon operates seven niche commodity trading strategies under a common operational and risk framework. Typhon also operates bespoke hedging strategies in the energy and volatility spaces. Koutoulas is the President and Co-Founder of the Commodity Customer Coalition, which was formed in response to the MF Global bankruptcy. Via the CCC, Koutoulas represented over 10,000 customers pro bono and helped force the full return of $6.7B in customer assets. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Futures Association for three years. He has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg, and CNN, and has been featured in major national publications such as Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, and Reuters. He serves as a consulting expert to the Northwestern Investor Protection Clinic and is a member of its Advisory Board. 

 

Volunteer Service Award

Marlene Nations 

Marlene Nations (JD ’82) will receive the Volunteer Service Award for her continued commitment to the Law School.  Nations is a partner in Dentons Real Estate practice. Nations has practiced real estate law in Chicago for her entire career, and while her practice is national in scope, she has a significant focus on transactions in the Chicago metropolitan area. Nations is widely recognized as one of the City of Chicago’s most versatile practitioners, having represented private and institutional clients in a wide range of debt and equity transactions and in restructuring and transactions involving distressed real estate. Nations’s clients include private real estate development companies, financial institutions, institutional investors and investment advisors. She is especially well known for her experience in the development, acquisition, capitalization and sales of multi-family housing, both market-rate and affordable, and in the creation of joint venture relationships.  

 

International Alumnus Award

Leontine Chuang

Leontine Chuang (BA ’97, JD ’01) will receive the International Alumnus Award, presented in recognition of international career achievements. Chuang started her legal career at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, working as a capital markets and private equity lawyer for almost four years before changing career paths in 2004. After leaving corporate law, she joined the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ Hong Kong office where she served as a protection and refugee status determination officer for six years reviewing asylum applications and providing support for protection matters. Later, she served as a resettlement officer for three years helping recognized refugees find permanent homes in resettlement countries including the United States and Canada. For the past two years, she has been on a career break and spending time with her three children now aged seven, six and two. In September 2016, she joined PILnet, an international NGO promoting public interest law, to help them run projects in Hong Kong. She serves as a Governor of the Lee Hysan Foundation, a private family foundation that actively supports meaningful charitable initiatives in Hong Kong. Chuang received her bachelor of arts from the Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences in 1997 before attending the Law School.

 

Dawn Clark Netsch Award for Public Service

Thomas Geraghty

Thomas Geraghty (JD ’69) will receive the Dawn Clark Netsch Award for Public Service. Geraghty is the Class of 1967 James B. Haddad Professor of Law, the Associate Dean for Clinical Legal Education and Director of the Bluhm Legal Clinic at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. He is a graduate of Harvard College and The Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. The Bluhm Legal Clinic houses 35 clinical faculty members and enrolls 170 students each year in its various programs. In addition to teaching, fund-raising, and administrative responsibilities, Geraghty maintains an active caseload at the Bluhm Legal Clinic, concentrating primarily in criminal and juvenile defense, death penalty appeals, child-centered projects dealing with the representation of children and juvenile court reform. Professor Geraghty is a member of The Board of Trustees of The National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

For more information, a list of previous awards recipients, or to register to attend the luncheon, visit the alumni website.