Press Release
Alumna Cheryl Niro Elected to the ABA Board of Governors
August 25, 2010
DeKalb, IL -- NIU Law alumna Cheryl Niro (’80) was recently elected to the American Bar Association’s Board of Governors. Niro will serve a 3-year term as one of only 38 members of the Board. With over 400,000 members, the ABA is the largest voluntary professional association in the world, which works to improve the legal system for the public. She will oversee administration and management of the ABA and represent the ABA’s Seventh District – comprised of Illinois and Ohio.
Niro is a principal in the law firm of RobinsonNiro, PC, which she co-founded in June 2009. The firm is located in Chicago and provides legal guidance, expert witness services and legal ethics training to clients throughout Cook County and the surrounding areas. Prior to creating RobinsonNiro, Niro served as the inaugural executive director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism from 2006-09, in which she designed and created programs to encourage professionalism in the legal community. She also was a partner in the Chicago commercial litigation firm of Quinlan & Carroll, Ltd. and president of Judicial Dispute Resolution, Inc.
Niro has been a leader in the legal community throughout her career. She is a past president of the Illinois State Bar Association and only the second woman elected to serve in that position. Additionally, she has served as president of the Illinois Supreme Court Legal Historical Society and the Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation, the latter of which works to meet the legal needs of the county’s indigent. A nationally recognized leader in the field of dispute resolution, Niro was a founding director of the National Center for Conflict Resolution Education, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education.
Deeply devoted to the legal protection of children and families, Niro served as special counsel to past Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan as his liaison to the Illinois child support system. In addition, she has held leadership roles in numerous organizations including Our Children in the Court Foundation, National Center for Institutions and Alternatives, Chicago Council of Lawyers Panel on Child Support Enforcement, The Voice for Illinois Children Planning Commission, and was among founders of the Oak Park/River Forest Children’s Chorus.
NIU Law Dean Jennifer Rosato expressed pride in Niro’s success. “Cheryl Niro embodies the cherished values of the College of Law – she is an accomplished lawyer with a lifelong commitment to professionalism, a compassionate leader, and an innovator in dispute resolution. We are extremely proud of her accomplishments and know she will contribute greatly as a member of the Board of Governors,” said Dean Rosato.
Niro has been an active alumna including having served as a speaker for NIU Law’s annual Riley Lecture on Professionalism, co-chair of the Riley Renovation Fundraising Committee, and member of the NIU Law Board of Visitors. Niro also was the recipient of the 2001 Outstanding Alumni Award for the College of Law.
Niro, a long-time member of the ABA, chairs the Consortium on Professionalism in ABA Center for Professional Responsibility. She served as an Illinois delegate to the ABA House of Delegates for fifteen years and on the House committees on Drafting, Resolution and Impact Review, and Technology and Communications. Niro is a past member of standing committees on Bar Activities and Services, Medical Professional Liability and is a council member for Section of Dispute Resolution. She is a past president of National Caucus of State Bar Associations, the only national organization of State Bar Associations.
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For more information, contact:
Melody Mitchell
Alumni Events & Public Relations
(815) 753-9655 or mmitchell@niu.edu