The national law firm of Quarles & Brady appointed three new national practice group chairs: Jon Howard will lead the firm’s business law practice group, Judith Williams-Killackey will helm the labor and employment practice group and Maria Kallmeyer will oversee the immigration and mobility practice group.
“These groups each have been foundational to our success over the years and are keys to our continued long-term growth,” Mike Aldana, firm managing partner and chair of the executive committee, said. “Jon, Judi and Maria each have long histories with our firm and have played significant roles in the growth of their groups, so they are ideal choices to lead the business law, labor and employment and immigration and mobility teams to even greater accomplishments in the years ahead.”
Howard replaces Will Schultz, who served as Business Law chair since 2020 and will continue his practice at Quarles. Howard, who has been at Quarles since graduating law school in 2008, advises business ranging from local startups to Fortune 100 companies on mergers and acquisitions; joint ventures, reorganizations and business formations; and commercial contracts, including high-leverage transactions. He has been recognized by Southwest Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” (Business/Corporate) each year since 2018 and was named to the Phoenix Business Journal “40 under 40” in 2020. He received both his B.S. and J.D. degrees from Arizona State University.
Williams-Killackey, who joined Quarles in 2003, succeeds Sean Scullen, who was Labor & Employment chair and now will serve as co-vice chair, along with Aaron Buckley. She is an experienced labor and employment counselor and litigator who works with clients in the manufacturing, construction, health care, transit and other industries. She has been rated in Chambers USA for Labor & Employment (2009-2010, 2021-present) and Best Lawyers in America (2018-present: Litigation – Labor and Employment, Employment Law – Management). She earned her B.A. from Marquette University and J.D. from University of Wisconsin Law School.
Kallmeyer had been co-chair of the Immigration team with Grant Sovern for the last year and now is taking on the solo leadership role as Sovern moves on to direct the Community Immigration Law Center in Madison, Wis. Since starting at Quarles in 2008, Kallmeyer has become a highly respected advisor on all aspects of employment-related immigration law, with a focus on employment-based immigration strategies, corporate immigration compliance and visa processing for foreign national employees. Listed in Illinois Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” (Immigration) each year since 2014 and Chambers USA in 2025 for Immigration, she received a B.A. from Boston University and J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.
