Laurel's Blog

Laurel G. Bellows

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Laurel G. Bellows is a Principal in The Bellows Law Group, P.C. Ms. Bellows is an experienced business lawyer who counsels senior executives around the world on employment matters such as employment contracts, executive compensation, severance agreements and workplace disputes. She also represents clients in areas ranging from commercial litigation to business startups. Ms. Bellows is licensed to practice in the States of Illinois, Florida and California, as well as in Federal courts throughout the country. She is also admitted and qualified as an Attorney and Counsellor of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ms. Bellows is a mediator, certified through the Institute for Conflict Management.

A respected voice on matters concerning negotiation, business litigation and the advancement of professional women, Ms. Bellows has written and lectured extensively. She has spoken on the subject of negotiation tactics before groups such as the Deloitte and Touche Leadership Conference, the Harvard Club of Chicago and the Women's Leadership Exchange. She authored a chapter on negotiating in The Communication Coach, a book on business and personal communications and has written or been interviewed for articles on litigation and negotiation in publications such as Your Money, Nation's Business, Chicago Life, Investment Dealer's Digest, Time Magazine, The Washington Post, Working Woman and The Chicago Tribune.

Ms. Bellows is a leader in the legal community on the local and national levels and is currently unopposed to be nominated as President-elect of the American Bar Association. She is immediate past Chair of the American Bar Association's House of Delegates, the ABA's policy-making body; the second-highest elected office in the ABA. She is past President of the 22,000-member Chicago Bar Association and the National Council of Bar Presidents. American Lawyer Magazine selected Ms. Bellows as one of seven women nationally who contributed most to the advancement of women in the legal profession, Chicago Magazine designated her as a Power Lawyer and Crain's Chicago Business named her in the Who's Who in Chicago Business List and as one of Chicago s 100 Women of Influence. In addition, Ms. Bellows has served on the Standing Civil Reform Act Advisory Committee of the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Illinois Supreme Court Special Commission on the Administration of Justice and the U. S. Senate Judicial Nominations Commission for the Northern District of Illinois.

Highly regarded for her contributions to the profession, Ms. Bellows has received many honors and awards. The American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession awarded her the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award in recognition of her accomplishments in the field of law and for paving the way to success for other women lawyers. The American Jewish Committee awarded Ms. Bellows the Judge Learned Hand Award for her commitment to the rights of individuals and the importance of democratic values in an orderly society. Ms. Bellows has been selected an Illinois Superlawyer. Ms. Bellows was one of 12 women from throughout the world to receive the Women Who Make A Difference Award, from the International Women's Forum, a nonpartisan organization of women from throughout the world who hold leadership positions in business, the professions, academics, politics and the arts. Recently, the Women's Bar Association of Illinois awarded Ms. Bellows its Women with Vision Award.