Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund Elects New Board Chair

July 27, 2021

Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund Inc. elected Steve Norgaard as chair of its board of directors.

Norgaard first became an ATG agent in 1995 and was elected to the ATG board of directors in 2011. 

“Steve’s 26-years with ATG brings great perspective on our history as well as bright promise for our future,” said ATG President and CEO Peter Birnbaum. “As a lawyer, title agent, and individual with a strong background in finance, Steve has a tremendous grasp of our industry and a depth of expertise and experience,” he added.

Norgaard’s law firm, Steven K. Norgaard PC, represents a broad range of individual and corporate clients in transactional, taxation, and investment-related matters focusing primarily on real estate, estate planning, and general business matters.

In addition to the ATG board, Norgaard has served on a number of other boards where he held various offices and committee positions.

Prior to starting his own law firm in 1994, Norgaard practiced with McDermott, Will & Emery’s Chicago office in the transactional and taxation departments.

Other officers and new board member elected this year:

  • David Dunn, vice chairman, of the Bloomington, Ill., law firm by the same name, joined ATG as an attorney agent in 2002 and has been on the board of directors since 2006. He has been a practicing attorney for more than 40 years handling probate, wills, estate planning, land use, and zoning. Dunn’s experience includes service to the Illinois Army National Guard as Lieutenant Colonel, JAG Corps.
  • Aurora Austriaco, secretary, of Valentine Austriaco & Bueschel PC, has been an ATG attorney agent since 1999. She was elected to the ATG board in 2008. She handles landlord-tenant disputes, title insurance litigation, zoning and ordinance issues, construction litigation, and mortgage fraud. Austriaco’s history with ATG includes working in the disbursement accounting department as a college student then as law clerk, staff attorney and other positions before entering private practice.
  • James Hallene, treasurer, is a founding partner of CapX Partners and the founder of Capital Concepts Holdings LLC, both Chicago-based private equity investment firms. He has more than 30 years of experience in private equity investments and management, private banking, and mortgage services. His areas of expertise include investor relations, new business development, and portfolio management. Elected in 2014, Hallene is the first non-lawyer to serve on ATG’s board of directors.
  • Thomas Hundman is the newest member of ATG board. An ATG agent since 2002, he is the managing attorney of Frontier Title of Bloomington, Ill., where his team’s efforts have made Frontier one of the most efficient and high-producing title service companies in Central Illinois. Prior to joining Frontier Title, he was an attorney at the Ritchie Law Office Ltd., focusing his practice on real estate, general litigation and creditor’s rights.


Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or [email protected].