Levinson and Stefani is thrilled to announce the firm’s newest associate attorney, Vanessa A. Gebka! Vanessa served as a law clerk for the firm for nearly two years before rising up to her new position, and earned her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago’s School of Law.
“I hit the ground running the day after I was sworn in,” said Gebka of her start as an associate attorney. “I had a lot on my plate, as far as cases go, but I was happy to have the opportunity. Within about a week of being sworn in, I had already appeared in court for the first time as an attorney of record, I was able to file a motion under my name as the attorney, and I was also included in a deposition where I was listed as an attorney for the plaintiffs–so that’s all amazing to me and very exciting.”
At Loyola, Gebka worked on the Chicago Bar Association’s Moot Court Team and as a Student Clinician in Loyola’s Civitas ChildLaw Clinic. During her schooling, it didn’t take long for her to find the area of law that would become her passion.
“I’ve always wanted to work in personal injury,” she explained. “I always felt like it was the right area for me because I’ve always wanted to help people who have been harmed. I found this area of law and have been involved in it since the beginning of my law school career, and I really enjoyed it. Because I was a law clerk here for almost two years, I was able to become really familiar with everyone in the office and with the team here, and they’ve been very supportive.”
Gebka noted that she is incredibly grateful now that she gets to go to bat for the clients she cares about most.
“First of all, I think it’s a privilege and an honor for somebody to trust you in something as serious as a case where they’ve been seriously harmed or injured in something as traumatic as a car crash, even if that injury doesn’t happen to be as significant as other ones–just going through that kind of accident is very traumatic,” she said. “Just trusted as someone who can take care of that for them is an honor. I’m happy and thrilled to step up to the plate and be that person for these clients who are everyday people who have just been involved in something awful and just want someone to be their voice and advocate and help them get back to where they were before–to make them whole again.”
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