Chicago partner Avanti D. Bakane was recently selected to serve a two-year term (2016-18) as a Central Regional Governor for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). Bakane was sworn into office at the 28th Anniversary Gala during the 2016 NAPABA Convention in San Diego, California on Saturday, November 5.
NAPABA is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. It represents the interests of more than 50,000 attorneys and more than 75 national, state and local bar associations.
Bakane has been a member of NAPABA since 2011. She is the immediate past President of the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago (SABA), formerly the Indian-American Bar Association of Chicago (IABA) and a NAPABA affiliate. She also is currently an Honorary Board Member for the Asian American Bar Association of Chicago, and volunteers with several non-profit organizations to provide opportunities for underprivileged youth and to end gender violence.
Bakane represents publicly traded and smaller companies alike in areas such as complex class action, antitrust, and other commercial litigation with a focus in consumer class action defense. She has experience in federal and state courts across the country. Bakane also assists with ethical and compliance matters and is a key asset in pre-suit negotiations, litigation, and other legal counseling.
Along with her legal practice at Gordon & Rees and participation in NAPABA and SABA Chicago, she volunteers as an Associate Board member for Leading India’s Future Today (LIFT). She is actively involved in helping LIFT achieve its mission of raising money to provide education and home environment for high-potential orphans and underprivileged youth that otherwise would be denied schooling due to limited access to resources.
Bakane is also a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Women's Bar Association of Illinois. She earned her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in 2009 and her B.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2005. Bakane is proficient in Spanish and Marathi.
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