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KWW shareholder receives ‘30 for the Future’ award
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: September 14, 2017
Over the past 10 years, attorney Jaime Kolligian has helped secure sponsors for the American Cancer Society’s Akron Cattle Baron’s Ball, co-founded a charity tournament that raises money for special needs children and is assisting in developing curriculum to teach managerial, business and leadership skills to women in the Akron area, all the while working her way up to shareholder at the management-side labor and employment law firm Kastner Westman & Wilkins.
Despite her many accomplishments, Kolligian said learning that she had been selected as one of this year’s 30 recipients of the Greater Akron Chamber’s “30 for the Future” award took her by surprise.
“I am very familiar with the award and I know there is a big list of well deserving nominees, who are all very accomplished and still generous with their time,” said Kolligian, 33.
Nominated by members of the Greater Akron Chamber and regional profit and nonprofit organizations, the recipients must be between the ages of 25 and 39.
Independent committees choose the recipients based on their professional accomplishments, leadership and community service.
“Jaime’s selection has bolstered my confidence in the merit of this award,” said James Wilkins, shareholder and president of Kastner Westman & Wilkins. “Jaime is a supreme role model for young associates at the firm.
“She is a young mother of two, who is extremely dedicated to her work, the community and her family,” said Wilkins. “She is always impeccably dressed, self-confident and extremely focused on serving clients. It is not uncommon to receive an email from Jaime at 4 a.m.
“We hit the gold mine when we hired Jaime.”
Born in Venice, Florida, Kolligian grew up in Parma, Ohio.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Otterbein University in Westerville, she took a job at Wells Fargo, where she handled mortgage refinancing for homeowners.
In 2004, she enrolled at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, receiving her juris doctor in 2007.
“I did not always plan to be a lawyer,” she said. “I don’t think the idea occurred to me until I was about to graduate. I was looking into further education when someone at my college suggested I consider law.
“I decided to focus on employment law after taking a summer legal writing course after I finished my first year in law school,” said Kolligian. “It was taught by an adjunct, who was a practicing employment law attorney. It was my first exposure to the world of workplace discrimination and harassment law and I was hooked.”
She began her legal career as an associate at Kastner Westman & Wilkins in November 2007, officially becoming shareholder on Jan. 1 of this year.
Around 2010, she and her husband Scott started a charity cornhole tournament, which raises money and awareness for local nonprofits that serve special needs children. For the past four years, the proceeds have benefitted the Akron Rotary Camp for Children with Special Needs, which offers programs geared toward creating new opportunities and increasing physical activity, while raising self-esteem.
Kolligian also chairs a local American Cancer Society Cattle Baron’s Ball sponsorship subcommittee and serves on a Women’s Network workforce curriculum development committee, which aims to create courses geared toward women that teach management, leadership and financial/business acumen skills.
In 2017, she received the Women of Professional Excellence Award from the Women’s Network, an award presented by ATHENA Akron honoring established women leaders in new positions and was notified that she will be presented with the Ohio State Bar Foundation’s Community Service Award for District 11 in 2018.
Kolligian and her husband Scott also received the Akron Area YMCA 2017 Volunteers of the Year Award for their fundraising efforts for the Akron Rotary Camp for Children with Special Needs.
As a shareholder, Kolligian said she plans to mentor associates at her firm and other young professionals in the community.
“I consider it my privilege and responsibility to help others achieve the success they desire so they can obtain real satisfaction in their career, just as I have,” said Kolligian.
“Jaime is our only current female shareholder at the firm,” said Wilkins. “She has been an awesome addition, who is not afraid to share her opinions and ideas with the group.”
This year’s recipients were recognized during a ceremony on Sept. 7 at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn in Akron.