Illinois Bar Foundation

Judge Debra Walker, former President of the Illinois Bar Foundation, is the recipient of the 2017 National Conference of Bar Foundations (NCBF) Excellence Award.  The award, to be presented at the NCBF midyear meeting in Miami in February, recognizes an outstanding contribution to law-related philanthropy by an individual. Prior to her election to the Cook County Circuit Court in 2008, she was a partner at the law firm of Clausen Miller, P.C. where she concentrated on professional liability matters. 

Judge Walker has a long record of leadership in the legal profession. As a past president of the Illinois Bar Foundation, she served longer than any other board member in its 65-year history, holding the offices of Secretary and Vice President, as well as Chair of the Fellows program. A regular attendee at NCBF meetings, she served one term on the NCBF Board of Trustees, which included her service as chair of the Awards Committee and as a member of the Program Committee.  She also participated as a presenter at NCBF midyear and annual meetings. She was recently elected to the Illinois Judges Foundation board of directors.

The following is a transcript from a speech given by Elizabeth Kaveny, President of the Illinois Bar Foundation, during their 18th Annual Gala on October 14, 2016 at the Four Seasons in Chicago.

Good Evening. For those of you that I have not had the chance to meet yet this evening, my name is Elizabeth Kaveny. It is really my honor and fortune to serve as the President of the Board of the Illinois Bar Foundation this year and to welcome all of you to this year’s Gala. What a beautiful night it is.

In 1972, a young man was buried in an unmarked grave in Missouri. His own attorney later added a tombstone which read simply:

“Each era finds an improvement in the law for the benefit of mankind.”

Join the Illinois Bar Foundation and the Friends of Tom Leahy for a Leahy Memorial Happy Hour on Thursday, September 8 in Chicago to celebrate the life of Tom Leahy. The proceeds from this event will support the Foundation's Legal Fellowships program at Tom's alma mater, Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Tickets are $100 and sponsorship opportunities are available. For tickets and sponsorship information, please call 312-726-6072 or click here. 

The Illinois Bar Foundation (IBF), the charitable arm of the Illinois State Bar Association, has awarded its 2016 Post Graduate Legal Fellowship Program grants to law school clinics at DePaul University College of Law, Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Northern Illinois University College of Law.

Each law school has selected a 2016 graduate for the one-year fellowship, designed to increase access to civil legal aid, help new attorneys develop practical legal skills and build a network, and encourage the participants to use their skills to serve those in need throughout their career through public interest jobs or pro bono work.

The 2016 participants are Patricia Zimmerman, a graduate of Northern Illinois University College of Law; Caitlin M. Duane, DePaul University College of Law; and Victoria E. Dempsey, Loyola University Chicago School of Law. The IBF and law schools share the cost of the Fellowships which have been awarded annually since 2014.

Zimmerman will serve at NIU Law’s Zeke Giorgi Clinic in Rockford; Duane will work at DePaul’s Poverty Law Clinic; and Dempsey will be located at the Community Law Center Clinic at Loyola University Chicago.