Supio Summit 2025

Attorney Devan Byrd is a fierce advocate for justice who has helped recover over $63 million for her clients in nursing home, medical malpractice, as well as other catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. Her strategic approach to case development, particularly in medical malpractice and catastrophic injury cases, has led to multiple seven-figure verdicts and consistently successful outcomes for clients across Alabama. Beyond her legal practice, Devan serves as President of the Alabama State Bar Young Lawyers Section and holds board positions with several community organizations, including the Alabama Head Injury Foundation and Alabama Civil Justice Foundation. Recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star and among The National Black Lawyers Top 40, Devan is deeply committed to mentoring female and minority lawyers, helping forge connections that empower the next generation of legal professionals.

Melia Russell is a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering tech culture and the collision course between law and technology. Melia started her career at Business Insider in 2013. Since then, her breaking news and features have been cited by Adweek, DealBook, the Financial Times, Fortune, and TechCrunch. Her writing has also been published in The San Francisco Chronicle.

John A. (Jay) Stefani is a trial lawyer concentrating on helping individuals and families affected by trucking collisions, car crashes, and wrongful death. He has represented people in these situations his entire legal career.

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Jay was honored as a Top 100 Illinois Super Lawyers for 2024, after being recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer in 2020-23 and a Rising Star for 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Roughly 5 percent of Illinois lawyers are selected as Super Lawyers, while 2.5 percent of Illinois lawyers under the age of 40 are selected as Rising Stars. Jay has also been selected as a Leading Lawyer for Illinois every year since 2018. Leading Lawyers are recommended by their peers and then selected by a multi-phase process; less than 5 percent of all licensed lawyers in Illinois receive this distinction. Jay had previously been chosen as an Emerging Lawyer for Illinois in 2017; fewer than 2 percent of qualified lawyers in the state are selected.

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Jay is an active member of  American Association for Justice (AAJ), where he was recently appointed to serve on the Law Schools Committee, and elected to serve as the Content Curator (2023-24) for the Motor Vehicle Section. A past Chair of the Sole Practitioner & Small Firm Section, he is also active as a member of AAJ’s Trucking Litigation Group and Ride Share Litigation Group. He has published numerous articles in AAJ’s monthly magazine, “Trial,” as well as the Trucking Litigation Group’s “Journal of Trucking Litigation.” 

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A DePaul graduate, Jay continues to be a part of the university through Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK), acting as a mentor within the DePaul University and College of Law communities, and teaching and speaking in the law school’s Preparing to Practice (P2P) program. He currently sits on the DePaul Law Alumni Engagement Board, where he serves as its President.

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Other memberships include the Chicago Bar Association (Solo/Small Firm Practitioners Committee); the Illinois State Bar Association; and the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.

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A proud “Double Demon,” Jay graduated DePaul University in 1997 and received his law degree from DePaul University College of Law in 2004. While in law school, Jay was actively involved with the DePaul Chapter of the ACLU and the Public Interest Law Association. He received the CALI Award for his Senior Seminar paper, which he later presented at the 2004 DePaul University CIPLIT Symposium, “Privacy and Identity: The Promise and Perils of a Technological Age.” The paper was subsequently published as Finding Waldo: Face Recognition Software and Concerns Regarding Anonymity and Public Political Speech, in Privacy and Technologies of Identity: A Cross-Disciplinary Conversation (Katherine Strandburg & Daniela Stan Raicu eds., Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.) (2006).

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When Jay isn’t helping clients, he spends his time with his wife and two kids. He loves cooking (and eating), traveling, the Bears and Bulls, and shooting well over par on the golf course.

Eric T. Chaffin is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Chaffin Luhana LLP, an Inc. 5000-ranked plaintiffs’ law firm with a national footprint in personal injury, product liability, and mass tort litigation. As Managing Partner, he shapes the firm’s business strategy, financial direction, and growth vision, while continuing to serve as lead trial counsel in high-impact cases across the country.

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Over the course of his career, Eric has helped recover billions of dollars for individuals and families harmed by dangerous products, environmental hazards, and corporate misconduct. He has held court-appointed leadership roles in major federal and state multidistrict litigations and has successfully litigated against some of the world’s most powerful corporations. His legal work includes significant trial and appellate advocacy before U.S. Courts of Appeals and multiple state appellate courts.

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Eric began his career as a corporate defense lawyer at a large international law firm before serving as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York. There, he built complex cases against criminal enterprises and corporations—a foundation that now informs his strategic approach to advocating for plaintiffs. That prosecutorial mindset—methodical, forward-thinking, and grounded in storytelling—continues to guide his work on behalf of injured clients.

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A regular invited speaker on the business of law, Eric presents internationally on topics such as law firm finance, culture, strategic recruiting, and the evolving legal landscape. He also drives the firm’s innovation vision, including its early adoption of artificial intelligence, litigation finance strategies, and systems to support scalable, client-first legal service.

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Raised in a blue-collar community outside of Pittsburgh, Eric was the first in his family to attend college. The son of a steelworker, he brings humility and empathy to each case and every client relationship. He is a graduate of the Gerry Spence Method and an active student of psychodrama and narrative advocacy to help uncover the emotional truths that drive compelling trial stories.

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When he’s not leading trial teams or building the firm of the future, Eric can be found with his family, volunteering, or competing in endurance sports. He is a former Ironman All World Athlete and an avid cyclist, runner, and skier.

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Eric splits his time between the firm’s offices in Pittsburgh and Connecticut. Under his leadership, Chaffin Luhana remains committed to delivering meaningful results and extraordinary client service—always with integrity, purpose, and compassion.

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Nasser Abujbarah is the Managing Attorney of Phillips Law Group, P.C.  Nasser’s family immigrated from the Middle East in 1988 and landed in Phoenix, Arizona, where he has lived ever since. He received his undergraduate degree from Arizona State University, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in Finance. With a deep desire to stay in the state he loves, Nasser then went to law school at the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law at Arizona State University, once again graduating with honors.

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Nasser’s sole focus at Phillips Law Group is to seek justice for those who have been aggrieved by the negligence of others. He is licensed in the state of Arizona. Nasser has represented many clients with different types of claims including motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, wrongful death, and more, achieving numerous seven-figure settlements and verdicts for his clients throughout his impressive career. Some of his most monumental settlements include auto wreck cases for $3M, $2.75M, $2.5M, $2M, and countless others that recovered over seven figures for his clients.

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Nasser’s practice is also focused on helping individuals who were victims of sexual assault; sadly, those victims can include young children. But the work is important and Nasser prides himself on being the voice for those who cannot speak out on their own, and he is immensely proud of this work.

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Since 2024, Nasser has been honored in the 31st, 32nd, and 33rd  editions of Best Lawyers in America for his exceptional work in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs. He has also been named one of the best 100 lawyers in all of Arizona by AZ Big Media.

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In his free time, Nasser enjoys spending time with his wife Marie, their four-year-old, Theo, and their yellow lab, Penny. He is also an avid fan of the AC Milan soccer club.