Three Chicago Partners Named “Notable Women in Law” by Crain’s Chicago Business

Partners Annie Kastanek, Anna Meresidis, and Megan Poetzel have been selected as “2024 Notable Women in Law” by Crain’s Chicago Business. This special feature celebrates women lawyers for “steering multibillion-dollar deals, earning high-dollar awards and securing outcomes that can't be measured in money.” 

The award recognizes Chicago’s top women lawyers who “serve as mentors and guiding lights for other women in their firms and bring their expertise to their communities and nonprofits outside the office.”

Annie, Anna, and Megan’s profiles highlight their sterling legal work as well as their deep commitment to pro bono service and civic engagement in the Chicagoland area.

Annie Kastanek is a former federal prosecutor, former Supreme Court clerk, and a Co-Chair of Jenner & Block’s Appellate and Supreme Court Practice. She regularly represents clients in the federal courts of appeals, as well as in federal district court.

Annie secured a first-of-its-kind jury verdict in Illinois’ Northern District on behalf of Kellogg, Nestle, Kraft, and General Mills. After a six-week trial, the jury found two of the largest egg producers and two industry groups liable for an antitrust violation. The jury awarded her clients $17.7 million for the damages they suffered from the overcharges they paid due to a conspiracy to inflate the prices of eggs by the nation’s largest egg producers and two industry groups. The plaintiffs are entitled to have the $17.7 million trebled. 

Annie is on the board of Chicago Debates, which sponsors debate programs in Chicago schools. A former debater, she helps new generations hone a skill that empowered her to excel.

With experience that spans secured and unsecured loans, acquisition financings, note transactions, private placements, bankruptcies, and restructurings, Anna Meresidis delivers keen advice that supports growth, innovation, and investment strategies.

Last year, a cross-practice team led by Anna obtained a $750 million multicurrency credit facility for client Methode Electronics Inc., a Chicago-headquartered international engineering company. The revolving loans are available in US dollars with a subfacility available in euros, pounds sterling, Singapore dollars, Canadian dollars and Hong Kong dollars. The facility amended a 2018 credit agreement, refinancing in full and terminating the term loan facility under the prior credit agreement. This complex, cross-border deal involved overcoming volatile macro environment for dealmaking, and the end result was extremely favorable to the client.

Anna serves as a Co-Chair of the firm’s Corporate Practice and a Co-Chair of the Finance Practice. She also co-chairs the Women’s Forum at the firm, which fosters opportunities for the professional, social, and personal growth of the firm’s women lawyers. Last year, Anna was appointed by Governor Pritzker to the board of trustees for Northeastern Illinois University, a public university and the longest standing federally designated Hispanic-serving institution in the Midwest.

Megan Poetzel is a first-chair trial lawyer and Co-Chair of the Financial Litigation practice, who represents businesses in a variety of disputes arising from corporate transactions and consumer relationships. She works with clients in numerous industries, including real estate, technology, commercial and consumer lending, and financial services.

Megan led the Jenner team representing a residential mortgage lender in more than a dozen lawsuits and several government investigations stemming from the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis. With state and federal litigation filed in New York, California, Minnesota and Connecticut, the client faced many billions of dollars of potential exposure. In one of the larger cases against the client, Megan first-chaired a three-week trial in which the plaintiff sought nearly $1 billion. Following closing arguments in early 2019, the matter settled for a small fraction of the damages sought.

Megan is a former co-chair of the Women’s Forum and serves on the board of directors for Legal Aid Chicago, which provides free legal services to people living in poverty in metropolitan Chicago and makes equal justice a reality for the most vulnerable members of the community. Now a member of its executive committee, she recently completed a two-year term as co-chair of the board.