About Nina Fain

Having been among the first African Americans and women to become a partner in major law firms in Chicago, Nina Fain is a lawyer with a unique background. Fain has transacted business for clients in England, Germany, Poland, Japan, China, Israel, France, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Russia, and the Caribbean. Her knowledge of complex corporate transactions, economic development, real estate and finance has allowed her to provide effective representation to both public and private clients for more than two decades. While maintaining the highest standards of ethics and professionalism, Fain has worked with colleagues and trained numerous associates, with an interest in diversity and retention of women lawyers and lawyers of color in these firms. Her leadership, interest and focus on education and continuing legal education for professionals is derived from her academic background.

In addition to Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Fain holds a Bachelor of Science in Education, and a Master of Science in Education Administration from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. As a Senior Fellow, studied corporate strate?y at the University of Texas-Dallas in its Graduate School of Business Management's Institute for Corporate Governance and was a member of its inaugural class for women who were trained to sit on publicly-traded corporate boards. Fain is nationally recognized as a trailblazer in many organizations where she developed smart strategies to acquire corporate business clients and be a profitable member in law firms. In addition to her career as a corporate lawyer advising senior management in complex business, public finance, and real estate transactions, Fain has served as an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Public Policy at DePaul University and the Graduate School of Business at Roosevelt University. Also, she has combined her love of teaching with various community board leadership positions, serving on the Francis W. Parker School Alumni Association Board, Homes for Children Foundation, and the Field Museum Board of Trustees.

Fain's experience on the Field Museum board allowed her to use her educational background, working with the award-winning Cultural Connections program and her transactional and public finance background when Fain served on the Field's Audit and Pension, Finance and Endowment Committees. She has been a frequent lecturer for both corporate and non-profit organizations, with her expertise in corporate training focused on alternative dispute resolution methodologies, leadership, and implicit bias. Fain is bilingual and speaks, writes and translates Spanish for business matters. She also has a working knowledge of French. Finally, Fain maintains strong ties to the Chicago south side community where she grew up. To this day, she serves as the volunteer counsel to the Southeast Calumet Homeowners Association and its 3,000 members. Nina's broad-based background in education, business, and law, along with her deep-rooted community ties makes her a unique asset to the legal community and Chicago-at large.

Information

Years in Practice: 25

Cases Mediated: 50

Attorney in good standing with the State of Illinois? Yes

Not under sanction / discipline by any court or regulatory body? Yes

Practice Areas

• Contracts
• Commercial

Mediation Training Qualifications

• CBA Advanced Mediation Training, March 2020