Please join us in congratulating faculty member, Jessica Wiersma, violin, who has accepted a position with the national tour of Hamilton. Ms. Jessica has been a valuable member of our ISA faculty since 2016, and we will miss her immensely. Her dedication to excellence and her commitment to her students have been so valuable to the ISA, and we are grateful for all Ms. Jessica has done for the ISA. Congratulations, Ms. Jessica!
We are pleased to announce that Ms. Yuri Uchida, current ISA Violin Faculty, will be able to take over for Ms. Jessica's students and teaching. Ms. Yuri is a violinist with extensive knowledge in performance and teaching. She completed her Bachelor of Music degree at Northwestern University with Almita Vamos. During her senior year, she won a two-year fellowship with Civic Orchestra of Chicago, training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, serving as Assistant Principal Second Violin in her second year.
She went on to obtain her Master of Music degree after the fellowship with Sibbi Bernhardsson, violinist from the Pacifica Quartet, where she was the recipient of the Jacob School of Music Scholarship Award and the Artistic Excellence Award. During her time at Indiana, she received Beginning/Intermediate Violin training with the renowned Mimi Zweig and taught her String Academy students as well as her professor’s pre-college students.
In the summer seasons, Yuri has traveled all over the world to participated in number of festivals, such as Aspen Music Festival, Chautauqua Music Festival, Litomysl Masterclasses in Czech Republic by Milan Vitek from Oberlin Conservatory, the QuartetFest in Victoria, BC, and Astona International in Zurich, Switzerland. She has also played in masterclasses by renowned violinists and professors, such as Rachel Barton Pine, Shmuel Ashkenazi, Paul Kantor, and William van der Sloot.
Yuri completed her ECC Training in Deerfield, IL, her Suzuki Book 1 with Linda Stieg, and Suzuki Book 2 with Esther Fellows. Currently, she resides in Indianapolis and can be seen performing regularly with major ensembles such as Nashville Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, and Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra
Wiley Rein’s Karen Toto Profiled by Law360 as ‘Rising Star’
Washington, DC — Karen L. Toto, partner in Wiley Rein’s Insurance Practice, was profiled by Law360 as a 2019 “Rising Star” in Insurance. Ms. Toto was recognized as one of the top five lawyers in her practice area on this elite national list of attorneys under the age of 40.
Law360 highlighted Ms. Toto’s role in helping XL Specialty ward off a $20 million claim related to allegations that its insured UBS AG lost investors billions of dollars by manipulating Puerto Rico’s municipal debt bond market; however it was a case in which the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a decision that Travelers Indemnity Co. was liable for $13.7 million in asbestos insurance claims that Ms. Toto cited as the biggest of her career.
“When you’re talking about thousands of underlying asbestos cases that span decades, there’s a lot of facts, a lot of information to marshal, a lot of weeding through, figuring out what’s significant to the case and what isn’t,” Ms. Toto said. “That’s a lot of what we deal with, and I really enjoy it.”
Ms. Toto’s perseverance throughout the Travelers case eventually led her client to victory even though she and her team lost in the trial court on nearly all issues. According to Ms. Toto, she was ultimately successful because she was always thinking of how to best position the client if the case were to be appealed. “We always had our eye on the future, so it was a satisfying win,” Ms. Toto said.
When asked what motivates her, Ms. Toto told Law360: “It’s about how to best marshal teamwork and resources at a large law firm. I love trying to figure that out.”
Ms. Toto said she anticipates certain types of insurance litigation to remain in demand, especially cases involving the opioid crisis and a variety of civil rights issues.
“Everything is impacted by coverage, so think of the next big wave of litigation, and insurers will be at the table,” Ms. Toto said. “That's what I like about this practice.”
Ms. Toto’s full Law360 “Rising Star” profile can be found here (subscription required).
Maria Woehr Aronson
Director of Communications
Senior Communications Manager