by Christi Parsons and John McCormick
A prominent Chicago lawyer who was one of Barack Obama's top fundraisers will be appointed to run the Office of Public Liaison for the White House, the Tribune has learned.
The formal appointment of Tina Tchen, a law partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, is expected to be announced in the near future.
Tchen raised between $200,000 and $500,000 for Obama's presidential bid, according to his campaign's web site. She was also active with his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate.
The office promotes presidential priorities through outreach to concerned constituencies and public interest groups. This includes planning White House briefings, meetings, and large events with the president, vice president and White House staff.
Tchen, who has been with her law firm since 1985, has broad litigation experience in state and federal courts. She has worked on cases involving shareholders, intellectual property, constitutional matters, insurance, real estates and breach of contract.
Some of the companies she has represented, according to her law firm bio, include Sprint Corporation, Abbott Laboratories, McDonald's, Aon Corporation and Motorola.
Tchen has also represented public agencies, including the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the Illinois Department of Public Aid and the Chicago Housing Authority. She successfully argued a case before the United States Supreme Court in 1992 on behalf of the State of Illinois.
Tchen has also done extensive pro bono work and has served on numerous Chicago boards, including for the Chicago Public Library, University of Chicago Hospitals, Field Foundation and the Chinese American Service League.
She will join a growing number of Harvard University alums who will be part of the future Obama administration. She earned her B.A. from the school in 1978, before graduating from Northwestern University School of Law in 1984.
A Chicago Lawyer profile of Tchen in 1994 said she clerked for U.S. District Judge John F. Grady in Chicago.
Dring law school, she was state vice president of the National Organization for Women and was one of the leaders in writing and lobbying successfully for the Illinois Criminal Sexual Assault Act, according to the Chicago Lawyer.
The magazine said Tchen's parents were from wealthy families in China. They came to the United States for their educations. Her father was a psychiatrist and her mother was a chemist.
Comments
I knew Tina when I worked at Skadden. She is all that she seems to be, and more. She is a great woman, with a steady moral compass. Good choice- I just hope she can still be in the running if a Supreme Ct. seat becomes available, as she would be great as the first Asian Woman Justice on the Supremes.
Posted by: Susan Levine | December 12, 2008 11:47 AM
Congratulations to Tina Tchen. And lucky us that she will have the ear of President Obama. YES she can be a Supreme Court Justice. What a great idea.
Posted by: Gay Bruhn | January 28, 2009 6:04 PM
Good Morning: After reading a very small announcement in the Seattle Times newspaper, dated March ll, 2009 - I read that Tina Tchen will be responsible for running the newly, created "women's Issue's" - My question is: Would someone, please, respond to my email - as I am now in a position to serve on a committee regarding "women". Thank You for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Bonnie Blowers
Posted by: Bonnie Blowers | March 12, 2009 2:10 PM
Just adding my congratulations to Ms. Tchen . I had the pleasure of working with her during monitoring of the B.H Consent Decree with Judge Jos. Schneider.
Posted by: Raberta W | March 14, 2009 7:06 AM
Sometimes connections speak louder than words. Ill politics is now very suspect. Does she pay her taxes?
Posted by: Virgil L Kleinhelter | April 4, 2009 11:05 AM
I would like to congratulate Ms. Tchen for a job well done also. It's rare to find women of this caliber in politics, and even rarer still to find an Asian woman. Good job!
Posted by: Asian women | July 27, 2010 2:06 PM