Bianca Ciarroni was recently appointed a co-chair of Chicago/Midwest TMA Network of Women as featured in the magazine’s Talk of the Town latest news section. Attorney at Law Magazine followed up with Ciarroni on her aspirations for her new role.
AALM: How long have you been a member of TMA NOW? What first brought you into the group?
Ciarroni: I joined TMA NOW at the beginning of 2019 during the kick-off meeting. A partner at my firm asked me if I’d like to attend the meeting. She explained that it’s a great organization and figured I could test it out to see if it was a good fit for me. Little did I know attending one meeting would introduce me to the great women I’ve met and give me the opportunity to serve as a co-chair of TMA NOW Committee after being involved for less than a year.
AALM: In your new leadership role, what do you most hope to accomplish?
Ciarroni: I hope to work with my co-chairs to continue recruiting new female members and share with them all that TMA NOW has to offer, such as amazing networking opportunities and a fantastic group of women that share similar experiences, not just professionally within the industry, but also with what comes with being a female in a male-dominated industry.
AALM: Are there any particular networking or educational events you are in the process of planning you’d like to share with us?
Ciarroni: Yes. TMA NOW plans several events throughout the year with the help of our volunteers that sign up for the events of their choosing during our kick-off meeting. One of my favorites is The Future is NOW event that we’ll be hosting again in 2020. Last year, the inaugural event was at the Wyndham Hotel in Chicago. We had two hilarious and well-rounded speakers from NPR discuss strategies and tactics for women in the workplace. It was an excellent event with a great turnout. Stay tuned on TMA’s website for the details for 2020!
We had two hilarious and well-rounded speakers from NPR discuss strategies and tactics for women in the workplace. It was an excellent event with a great turnout.
AALM: How do you and your co-chairs work together or plan to work together to achieve TMA NOW Chicago/Midwest goals?
Ciarroni: We work together pretty frequently. The other two co-chairs are amazing and extremely on top of it. We consistently brainstorm ways we can make this year better than the last with big shoes to fill. We continue looking for new ways to improve and promote women in the industry.
AALM: What advice do you have for women in law and in the business sphere?
Ciarroni: It’s never too early to start networking and finding a mentor. The same woman at my firm that introduced me to TMA NOW invites me to several different events throughout the year. As a result, I have become involved in different organizations, such as TMA NOW, and take each opportunity I get to network. As one of my law school professors would always say, “you are either networking or not working.”
As one of my law school professors would always say, ‘you are either networking or not working.’
AALM: Tell us a little about yourself and your practice.
Ciarroni: I am a second year associate at Freeborn & Peters LLP in our Bankruptcy & Restructuring and Fraud & Internal Investigations practice groups. Luckily, I’ve been able to also dabble into other areas of law, such as real estate commercial foreclosures in representing lenders in the Illinois foreclosure process. I’ve also been fortunate to gain experience working on smaller post-judgment litigation that has helped me in the fraud practice group to further my understanding of Illinois law and the process for collection actions outside of Cook County.
