Last week the CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project celebrated the graduation of the May 2019 cohort, the thirteenth cohort of participants to successfully complete the 18-month program. The graduates include Mahdis Azimi, Nikki Donnelley, Chelsea Herring, Courtney Kelledes, Michael Norton, Mitha Rao, and January Stramaglia. All seven graduates have built socially conscious and innovative businesses targeting middle-income people in the Chicago area.
More specifically, Nikki Donnelley and Courtney Kelledes teamed up to launch Rights & Restoration Law Group with their law partner Beth Johnson. Rights and Restoration Law Group is ensuring the past doesn’t close doors to the future for people with criminal records. At Gaddis-Herring Legal Solutions, LLC, Chelsea Herring is helping people living on the south and southwest sides of Chicago with family law and real estate matters. Mitha Rao is helping elderly folks and couples having children navigate life transitions by offering estate planning and business consulting services at Rao Legal. LLC. Michael Norton recently launched Norton Advocates, a one-stop shop for people in Cook County to resolve traffic ticket matters. Mahdis Azimi is helping people with immigration issues navigate the court system and get one step closer to their American dream through Azimi Law LLC. And last but certainly not least, January Stramaglia is helping domestic violence survivors and people living in Cook and Lake Counties resolve domestic relations issues through the firm that she launched while in the JEP – January Family Law, LLC.
We are incredibly proud of our newly minted alumni and the practices they have built, who join a growing network of dedicated lawyers providing affordable and accessible legal services to our community. If you know anyone who needs high quality, affordable legal assistance in any of these practice areas, please consider referring them to our new grads!