Description of your practice:
I am one of the founding members of the law firm of Boudreau & Nisivaco, LLC.  I have made it a point to make sure that diversity is always part of my firm’s culture and I am proud to say that over the course of my career I have had both female associates and partners.  My practice is devoted to handling personal injury and wrongful death cases arising from motor vehicle collisions, train crashes, aviation disasters, product liability, medical malpractice and construction site accidents.

Why are you a member of the WBAI?
I joined this association because I believe men have an obligation to join forces with women in our profession in order to address issues involving gender inequality.  Our profession has put obstacles in the way of women achieving equality in the workplace and it’s time for those barriers to be taken down.  Diversity is essential in our profession, whether it is in the law firms, the courtrooms or the bar associations.  Diversity strengthens all of us as professionals, advocates and counselors.  I believe that we all, as attorneys, have an obligation to promote equal career development that guarantees access to professional networks of mentors, contacts, and client development.  If women do not feel like they are supported, they are more likely to leave the profession.  If senior attorneys feel like women are more likely to leave, they will not invest as much time in mentoring women.  It is time to break this vicious cycle.  I applaud the officers and membership of the WBAI and their commitment to promoting diversity in our profession.  In that regard, I believe that the WBAI is paving a better path for female attorneys and I am proud to be a part of those efforts.  As a father of two daughters, I want to know that I am part of the solution.  I encourage more male attorneys to join the WBAI.

What are the ways you try to achieve work/life balance?
My wife and I both work full time and we both find work/life balance challenging, especially when trying to raise 4 children. Often our schedules overlap and we have to make adjustments to our routines to try to find time to put family first.  I believe that firms should be more flexible to allow attorneys time to be with their families and understand the difficulties of raising children in an environment where both parents work.  At the office, I try as best as I can to be efficient with the various aspects of handling my cases and running my practice.  I have a very supportive staff that keeps me organized at work and allows me to stay focused.  While it’s not always perfect, my wife and I try to spend as much time with our kids as possible.

What are you most looking forward to in 2018?
I am looking forward to completing my campaign for 3rd Vice President of the Illinois State Bar Association.  It has been a challenging experience to campaign while trying to run a busy law firm and maintain a proper work/life balance, but it has also been a very rewarding experience and one that has allowed me to meet new people and make new friends.  Once the campaign is over, I look forward to enjoying the warmer weather and being able to spend more time with my family on the weekends.

Tell us something interesting about you.
My last name, as difficult as it is, was actually shortened from Nisivaccio to Nisivaco when my great-grandparents came the to the United States from Italy.  I was told that they changed the name to try to make it sound less ethnic.  I’m not sure they succeeded.