Ms. Mata concentrates her practice in creditors' rights, business, commercial, and real estate litigation as well as labor and employment law. She began her career with Howard & Howard fifteen years ago as a runner.
Ms. Mata received her B.A., with honors, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001, where she graduated with distinction in philosophy. She also received her J.D. from The John Marshall Law School in 2007.
While in law school, Ms. Mata interned with the Honorable Joe Billy McDade of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois and with the Honorable Elizabeth Loredo-Rivera of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Prior to joining Howard & Howard, she served as a law clerk for Judge Jesse G. Reyes of the Circuit Court of Cook County from September 2007 to March 2010.
Ms. Mata is admitted to practice in the state courts of Illinois and the United States District and Bankruptcy courts for the Central District of Illinois. She is also admitted to the United States District Court for the Northern District. Ms. Mata is a member of both the American Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association, where she serves on the Judicial Evaluations Committee, Outside Cook County. She is active in the Peoria County Bar Association, the Women's Bar Association, and the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois. Ms. Mata serves as a Barrister in the Abraham Lincoln Inns of Court as well as on the Board of Directors of the Peoria Friendship House. She is President of the Peoria Hispanics Group.
Ms. Mata is fluent in Spanish.
Professional Accomplishments
· Illinois Rising Stars, 2011
· 40 Leaders Under Forty, 2011
Publications, Speeches and Presentations
· "The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act," National Business Institute, Peoria, Illinois, Spring 2012.
Affiliations or Memberships
· Illinois State Bar Association
· Judicial Evaluations Committee, Outside Cook County, 2012 - Present
· ISBA Diversity Leadership Institute, Fellow, 2012 - Present
· Peoria County Bar Association
- Young Lawyers Committee, 2010-present
- Diversity Committee, 2010-present
- Real Property Committee, 2010-present
· Women's Bar Association
· Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois
· American Inns of Court, Abraham Lincoln Inn