MEET THE TEAM

Olivia Sarmas-Ford is a passionate and relentless senior trial attorney at Kaveny + Kroll. She practices in all areas of personal injury with a special focus on personal injury, medical malpractice and products liability. She is perhaps most proud of a medical malpractice case she tried in Lake County, Illinois, recovering $1.4 million for her client.

“In every case, there is a client who has a story that needs to be told,” Olivia says. She makes it her personal mission to get to know her clients to best tell their stories, getting them through what is often a very difficult time.

Olivia is a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice and provides pro bono work through Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. She will be co-chair of the Chicago Bar Association Tort Litigation Committee for 2019-2020. Olivia earned her law degree from IIT Chicago-Kent School of Law where she was awarded three CALI Excellence awards and earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Illinois. She enjoys spending time with her husband, who is also a Chicago attorney, and their families, and experiencing new travel destinations whenever possible.

ACADEMICS
J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law. 2014
B.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2011

Ava Gehringer is a tenacious trial attorney at Kaveny + Kroll. She practices in all areas of personal injury, including medical malpractice and workplace injuries. Ava earned her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she was awarded three CALI Excellence awards, and her bachelor’s degree in Russian and Slavic Studies from NYU, where she was a University Honors Scholar.

A Chicago-area native, Ava grew up in Evanston and spent her young adult life traveling the globe as a rhythmic gymnast, representing the United States in numerous World Cup and Grand Prix competitions. She retired as a National Champion and member of the U.S. World team, and then became athlete representative to the USA National Team.

“Acting as a liaison between youth and adults in that role is what instilled in me the importance of giving a voice to the voiceless,” Ava says. “That’s what ignited my passion for advocacy work.”

ACADEMICS
J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law. 2018
B.A., New York University. 2013

Angelina Mijares has 25 years of experience in the legal field, the past 10 as the executive legal assistant for Elizabeth A. Kaveny. She prides herself on her caring nature and ability to build relationships with clients, keeping them updated and answering questions about developments in their cases.

Angelina is driven by her desire to help people, using her experience to their advantage. “So many people put all their trust into physicians and hospitals and think that accidents just happen,” she says. “But negligent acts can create horrific situations that can even result in death.” Angelina helps the firm’s clients become more knowledgeable about the legal system, generally, and what the client can expect as their case progresses through the legal process.

Angelina was educated at Robert Morris and Westwood Colleges and is fully bilingual in English and Spanish. In her spare time, she loves to travel to all parts of the world, especially warmer, oceanside locales.

Jodie has traveled many roads successfully on her path to being the Certified Legal Nurse Consultant at Kaveny + Kroll Trial Lawyers. Her background as an RN, BSN served her patients well during a 20-year career, specializing in Women’s Health at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Jodie worked as a Labor and Delivery nurse, a women’s health center coordinator and also gained her certification as a childbirth and CPR instructor. As an emergency room nurse, Jodie also earned ACLS and TENS certification. Her vast range of experience provides her with a strong working knowledge of healthcare and its inner workings.

Returning to school, Jodie earned her Masters of Business Administration (MBA) as well as becoming certified as a Legal Nurse Consultant. Her understanding of medical issues and problems are an integral part of the Kaveny + Kroll team, working side by side with the trial attorneys and the clients in order to achieve the best outcome, justice and financial compensation. Jodie’s work is part of the extensive review and critical research that Kaveny + Kroll conducts for every case to assure that our clients’ needs are being heard and met.

In her spare time, Jodie combines her love of animals and healthcare as the President and Founder of Soul Harbour Ranch Animal Therapy Program. Founded in 2018, Soul Harbour is an all-volunteer 501c3 nonprofit that provides animal-assisted activity and therapy visits with miniature therapy horses, miniature donkeys and therapy dogs to those in need. Activity and therapy programs include: SOUL Buddies, SOUL Veterans, SOUL Scouts, Read to Me, Walk with Me, Just Say WHOA to Bullying, and virtual visits to hospitals, schools, community centers and events. Her tireless work with the organization was recently featured on Chicago Today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkcFj9T0p0E.

Madeline Tome is a diligent legal assistant to Olivia A. Sarmas-Ford and Jeffrey J. Kroll at Kaveny + Kroll. She also serves as the lead assistant in the firm’s Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) Litigation.

Before coming to Kaveny + Kroll, Madeline earned her degree in Political Science from the Ohio State University, focusing on Inequality and Justice, and graduated summa cum laude. With the knowledge and experience she gained in her coursework there, Madeline is able to approach issues from an interdisciplinary perspective and build relationships with clients through empathy and understanding their unique perspectives, needs, and challenges.

Outside of the office, Madeline enjoys listening to podcasts, specifically ones based in journalism, politics, film, and popular culture, getting to travel with friends and family, as well as spending time with her golden retriever, Olive

Lee Ann Lesoon is the Business Manager at Kaveny + Kroll. She is a seasoned professional with an extensive background as VP of operations and finance within the transportation and insurance industries, spanning an impressive 25 years. On top of her professional experience, she also holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Gannon University, as well as certificates in leadership / psychology, and business analytics from LaRoche University and Cornell University respectively. Lee Ann ensures the firm’s financial operations run smoothly and efficiently.

Beyond managing the financial aspects of the business, Lee Ann excels in developing and maintaining key business relationships, as well as closing settlements for clients as quickly as possible. Her ability to foster connections with clients and partners strengthens the firm, and allows it to do what it does best – represent you.

In her spare time Lee Ann enjoys traveling, and spending quality time with her children and beloved dogs.

Will Turner is the newest member at Kaveny + Kroll, serving as an intern for all of K + K’s marketing needs. With previous experience in the non-profit sector he is excited to learn more about the field of law, especially within a firm that fights for the people in their community.

Before joining the team Will attended the Ohio State university and earned his bachelor’s of science in Business Administration, specializing in Marketing, and graduated magna cum laude. He uses his business acumen and experience in the Marketing industry to help K + K reach the people that matter, you.

Outside of the office he enjoys watching films, playing music, and running.