Tara’s practice focuses on complex business cases, privacy and cybersecurity litigation, and class actions. She has extensive appellate and motion practice experience. Her ability to quickly and efficiently synthesize factual details at the start of litigation streamlines the process for clients. Tara has substantial experience conducting and managing complex discovery issues, successfully arguing discovery motions, briefing and arguing dispositive motions, and managing electronic data and document preservation.
Before joining Shook, Tara was an assistant corporation counsel for the City of Chicago Department of Law, Appeals Division. There she represented the city of Chicago in a full range of appellate litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Illinois Appellate Court. She also worked for the City of Chicago Constitutional and Commercial Litigation Division where she represented the city in state and federal civil litigation, including cases under the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, and Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
Tara also brings a rich background of clerking at the state and federal level. She clerked for two years in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, where she learned to distill case record to the key details, honed her legal writing, and gained knowledge of the federal appellate system. Tara also clerked for a judge in the Chancery Division of the Cook County Circuit Court. She utilizes her knowledge about state and federal courthouses and procedures regularly at Shook in drafting dispositive motions on complex legal issues and representing clients in court.
Tara maintains an active pro bono practice, including representing an asylum applicant, successfully recovering damages for a small non-profit business in a breach of contract matter, and research for an organization providing legal services to domestic violence victims. Within the Chicago office, Tara is involved in the mentoring program, summer associate program, and with the Junior Women’s Management Council.
Representative Matters
Class Actions, Privacy and Cybersecurity, and Commercial Litigation
Tara has represented both defendants and plaintiffs in cases with a range of claims, including biometric privacy, data privacy, breach of contract, fraud, securities violations, consumer fraud and products liability in state and federal courts and currently represents defendants in numerous class actions.
- Represents defendants in numerous class actions arising from website advertising and tracking technology, including defense of movie theater company from novel claim under Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).
- Represents numerous defendants, including employers, technology providers, and consumer-facing companies, in class action litigation alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Tara’s work in these matters has included drafting and arguing dispositive motions on issues of first impression as well as oversight of complex discovery, including factual development of arguments regarding how biometric technology actually works.
- Represented investor clients as plaintiffs in case seeking to recover stolen funds under Securities Exchange Act and under theories of fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Representation including extensive development of complicated factual record and issuance and management of more than sixty third-party subpoenas.
Insurance Coverage
Tara also represents major insurers in litigation disputing coverage or beneficiary issues and has counseled insurers on a variety of coverage and other issues.
- Represented Liberty Mutual affiliates in appeals, including briefing a successful opposition to a petition to transfer a matter to the Indiana Supreme Court, resulting in total victory for her clients on the merits.
- Provided coverage advice on numerous issues, including coverage for privacy claims; additional insured issues; commercial general liability issues; and college and university coverage.
- Represented Corebridge in dispute regarding entitlement to death benefits and briefed successful motion to dismiss matter.
Presentations and Publications
Case Law Developments Related to Advertising Technology, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Review, Volume 59, Issue 2, Summer 2024.
Recent Developments in Cybersecurity and Data Privacy, American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, Summer 2024 (59:2) (with Lauren D. Godfrey, Suzie Allen, Catherine Geisler, Joy Momin, Elisabeth Axberger, Pahoua Thao, Lindsey Knapton, Ali Cabeza, Josh Hansen, Robert A. Stines, and Anna A. Gadberry).
Moderator, Fledglings, Fear and Fatigue: Lessons in Flying, Chicago Ethics CLE Conference, May 2, 2024.