Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP announces that Allison E. Czerniak and E. Michael Montgomery have joined the firm as associates in the Chicago office. Czerniak is a member of the firm's Litigation group, and Montgomery is a member of the firm's Real Estate group.

Prior to joining Taft, Czerniak served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Harry D. Leinenweber at the U.S. District Court for the N.D. of Illinois and for the Honorable Christopher Dietzen at the Minnesota Supreme Court. While in law school, she clerked for the Washington County Attorney's Office in Stillwater, Minn. Czerniak received her J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of St. Thomas School of Law in 2014 and her B.A. from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in 2010.

Montgomery focuses his practice on all aspects of real estate law. He was previously a summer associate at Taft. Montgomery earned his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, cum laude, in 2016, where he was included on the Dean’s List. He received his M.A. in urban education from Loyola Marymount University in 2013 and his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010.