Women to Watch: Lori S. Nugent

Lori S. Nugent

Partner and Head of the Enterprise Risk Practice Group

Cozen O'Connor P.C.

Chicago

Age: 44

Lori S. Nugent, voted Illinois' "Super Lawyer" in 2005 and 2006 by her bar association peers, focuses on insurance, reinsurance, e-commerce and punitive damages issues. She co-wrote "Punitive Damages: A State-by-State Guide to Law and Practice," published in 2004, and "@Risk: Internet and E-commerce Insurance and Reinsurance Legal Issues," published in 2000. Before joining Cozen O'Connor in 2000, she was a partner with Blatt, Hammesfahr & Eaton beginning in 1994, and before that she was an attorney with Peterson & Ross, both in Chicago.

What would you change: "I see it happening a little already as a result of Sarbanes-Oxley and enterprise risk management. A lot better results are obtained when company executives don't restrict themselves to rigid silos of operation. One of the neat things about SOX compliance is that companies are encouraging that kind of thinking outside of their operating units to address overarching problems that, at the end of the day, can save the company millions."