About

Laura is a seasoned sports executive and top legal advisor for Chicago’s Major League Soccer professional team, the Chicago Fire Football Club. In her role as senior vice president and general counsel, Laura advises the club on a host of sports and risk management issues. 

Laura has counselled club leadership and staff on various corporate transactions and contracts; sponsorship and vendor management; intellectual property and marketing matters; match and event operations; media rights and communications; employment issues; athletic facility development and operations; compliance and litigation; athlete health and welfare, and youth programming. Laura also oversees the club’s human resources department that manages people and talent matters including employee recruiting, compensation and benefits, engagement, and learning and development. 

Laura is a former co-chair and current advisory board member for the American Bar Association’s Sports Division and serves as a governing committee member for the ABA’s Forum on Entertainment and Sports. Laura is also an advocate for empowering women and girls through sport, having previously served on the boards of the Chicago chapter of Women in Sports and Events (WISE) and Girls in the Game, a non-profit delivering sports, health and leadership programming to underprivileged girls in Chicago.  

Prior to joining the Chicago Fire, Laura worked for a decade as a senior associate general counsel for DePaul University as the primary legal advisor for its collegiate athletics department. Before DePaul, Laura worked as a commercial litigation associate for the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin LLP and served as a judicial clerk for United States District Court Judge Lee H. Rosenthal in Houston, Texas. 

Laura graduated with honours from the University of Chicago Law School and Illinois Wesleyan University. She currently resides in the western suburbs with her husband and two boys, who likewise share a passion for sports.