Photo: CHRIS HARALAMBIDIS

Age: 53
Occupation: Chief of the appellate division at Winston & Strawn

When Winston & Strawn chairman Tom Fitzgerald wanted someone to lead the vaunted law firm’s pro bono effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in Illinois, he knew Coberly — considered one of the top appellate lawyers in America — would be ready for the high-profile battle. The first female managing partner of the firm’s Chicago office, Coberly had represented multiple clients before the U.S. Supreme Court. Thanks in part to her legal maneuvering, legislators ratified the ERA in 2018.