Julie B. Kulovits

Prior to joining the Tenenbaum Law Group, Julie served as in-house general counsel of the North American Spine Society for six years, an internationally recognized association for medical professionals in the spine care field. In this role, she not only provided legal advice on all aspects of the Society’s operations, but also served as a member of the association’s executive management team. Julie understands the legal, operational, and governance challenges facing nonprofit organizations and is very experienced in providing practical, understandable, usable legal advice to address all of these considerations.

Julie handled all day-to-day legal aspects of the Society, such as vendor, meeting, and other contracts and related issues; bylaws, conflicts of interest, and other governance and nonprofit corporate law issues; employment matters; publications; intellectual property; federal tax exemption, and overall risk management, among other areas of nonprofit law. In addition, she oversaw the association’s ethics and compliance program, a key legal and reputational safeguard. Through this program, Julie managed the organization’s peer review disciplinary proceedings and ensured that the organization had rules and processes in place to maintain the high scientific integrity of its work. Finally, she has a fairly nuanced understanding of key issues impacting healthcare-focused associations.

Prior to working at the North American Spine Society, Julie spent nearly ten years in private practice as a commercial litigator. Representing associations, businesses, and individuals in this role, she worked on complex cases from a variety of backgrounds, including contract, employment, copyright, class action, and premises liability cases. This experience has helped her to assess a client’s risk profile and offer advice on how to avoid, or if necessary, navigate this complex arena.

Julie received her juris doctorate degree in 2006 from Northern Illinois University College of Law, where she graduated summa cum laude and was the recipient of the Academic Excellence Award for graduating first in her class. During law school, Julie also served as the Lead Articles Editor for the Northern Illinois University Law Review.

Julie is based in the Chicagoland area and is an active and involved member of the nonprofit and association community. She currently sits on the Legal Advisory Council of the American Society of Association Executives and is also involved in the Council of Medical Specialty Societies through one of its legal-focused work groups.

Education

• J.D., Northern Illinois University College of Law, 2006, summa cum laude
• B.A., Business Administration, Augustana College, 2002, cum laude

Bar Admissions

• Illinois
• District of Columbia

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

• 2021-Present, Member, American Society of Association Executives’ Finance and Business Operations Professionals Advisory Council
• 2018-21, Member, American Society of Association Executives’ Legal Advisory Council
• 2019-Present, Member, Council of Medical Specialty Societies’ General Counsel Professional Peer Group
• 2018-Present, Member, Illinois State Bar Association
• 2018-21, Member, Association of Corporate Counsel (Member of the Compliance and Ethics Network, Health Law Network, and Nonprofit Organizations Network)
• 2018-21, Member, Association of Corporate Counsel – Chicago Chapter
• 2016-17, Member, American Society of Association Executives’ Healthcare Community Committee
• 2014-15, Member, American Society of Medical Association Counsel.

• 2014-21, Illinois Emerging Lawyer, Association & Non-Profit Law
• 2014-21, Illinois Emerging Lawyer, Commercial Litigation
• 2012, The National Trial Lawyers, Top 40 Under 40 – Illinois
• 2011, Illinois Rising Star.

• 2015-21, General Counsel, North American Spine Society, Burr Ridge, IL
• 2006-15, Attorney, The Collins Law Firm, P.C., Naperville, IL
• 2004, Intern, United States Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, Fort Knox, KY
• 2004-06, Academic Support Program Tutor, Northern Illinois University College of Law, DeKalb, IL
• 2002-03, Research Assistant, Legislative Research Unit, Springfield, IL.

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