Two Partners and Three Associates Join Nyhan

Nyhan announces the addition of partners Lisa Barbieri and Melinda Rowe-Sullivan as well as associates Sunyoung “Sunny” Cho, Essence Hill, and Shavez Rosenthal to the firm.

Lisa advises and represents clients with workers’ compensation issues, managing claims at all levels of practice and litigating claims before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, numerous circuit courts, and the Illinois appellate courts.

Prior to joining the firm, Lisa was a senior trial attorney with an international insurance company as well as a partner at a boutique workers’ compensation law firm in Illinois. Clients benefit from her exclusive focus on workers’ compensation matters throughout the years as she has built lasting relationships with insureds and claims professionals.

Lisa earned her J.D. from the John Marshall Law School and received her B.A. from Northern Illinois University.

In Melinda’s workers’ compensation defense practice, she draws extensive know-how from having served as an Arbitrator at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission in Chicago, where she presided over workers’ compensation cases and authored judicial decisions. Her previous roles also include working with other Illinois-based firms focusing on workers’ compensation defense and in the areas of personal injury litigation and healthcare advisory services.

Melinda earned her J.D., cum laude, from Northern Illinois University, her M.B.A. from Lewis University, and her B.S. from Northern Illinois University.

Sunny concentrates her practice in workers’ compensation with heavy influence from her previous experience as an associate attorney at an employment boutique law firm in Chicago. In this role, she managed claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful terminations in the workplace and represented clients before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Illinois Department of Human Rights, state court, federal court, and the appellate courts.

Sunny earned her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School and received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Essence concentrates her practice on workers’ compensation. Prior to joining the firm, she was a judicial law clerk for the Circuit Court of Cook County, providing memos for Presiding Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. and other judges in the First Municipal District and interviewing litigants applying for fee waivers and process applications. She also served as an intern with the Chicago Public School’s Office of Employee Engagement and previously served Nyhan as a law clerk in 2021.

Essence earned her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and received her B.A. from Bates College.

Shavez concentrates his practice in workers’ compensation with substantial experience from his background as a litigation associate at a civil litigation law firm, where he managed matters involving civil litigation and insurance defense, including personal injury and wrongful death claims. In previous roles, he also served as an assistant public defender for Kankakee and Effingham’s Public Defender’s Offices, trying numerous jury trials, resulting in not-guilty verdicts in every case, and handling large felony caseload from bond hearings to postconviction sentencing.

He earned his J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and received his B.A. from Western Illinois University.

Nyhan strives to recruit talented, forward-thinking individuals to join our growing team and contribute to the firm’s continued success. We highly value people who are innovative with a strategic eye toward problem-solving and a desire to continually exceed client expectations related to Workers’ Compensation, Employment, Medicare Secondary Payer