Nissa focuses on complex, commercial litigation in federal and state courts. Before joining Forde & O’Meara, Nissa was the long-term career clerk for the Honorable Robert M. Dow, Jr., of the Northern District of Illinois. While at the court, she drafted opinions resolving motions at every stage of federal litigation—from the filing of the complaint to post-trial—in a wide variety of cases including commercial litigation, antitrust, securities, trademark and patent infringement, bankruptcy, ERISA, employment discrimination, and civil rights. Nissa also served as a term clerk for the Honorable Lindsay C. Jenkins of the Northern District of Illinois, and she began her career with a clerkship with the Honorable Joel M. Flaum on the Seventh Circuit. Prior to working for Judge Dow, Nissa spent a decade at Mayer Brown as an associate and counsel in the firm’s litigation group. She was part of the firm’s highly regarded telecommunications subgroup, where she represented clients in federal and state courts at the trial and appellate levels and in state public utility commissions in litigation involving the Telecommunications Act of 1996, use of rights-of-way and easements, zoning, cell tower placement, merger approvals, breach of contract, and a range of regulatory issues. She is an experienced brief-writer and takes a holistic view of the litigation process and her client’s goals.