Chair’s column

The ISBA Women & the Law Committee team for Lawyer Feeding Illinois reached a successful conclusion through the intercession of our Secretary, Letitia Sheats. Tish put me in touch with ISBA First Lady Terry Thies, who walked me through the registration process. Many thanks to newsletter editor Emily Masalski, who compiled and prepared a special edition of The Catalyst, so we could announce our ISBA Women & the Law team to all members. Our team raised $750 through online donations and additional donations through checks to other food banks throughout Illinois. Thank you for making our team efforts a success!

In addition to competing in Lawyers Feeding Illinois, in recent months our committee has been asked to comment on several comprehensive, complicated and controversial pieces of legislation. Thanks to all for your considered responses, and thanks to Julie Neubauer, legislation subcommittee chair, for coordinating Women & the Law commentary. Our positions remain important to the ISBA legislative efforts.

What’s next? As many of you know, Women Everywhere hosts a Community Service Day where it pairs up volunteers from the legal community with community agencies providing services to women and children in need. It’s a great way to spend a few hours helping others. The bulk of the volunteer activities are direct service in nature like gardening, painting or organizing donations. Other volunteer activities are legal in nature, like leading seminars for agency clients or providing resume assistance and other professional tips. This year, the Community Service Day is scheduled for Friday, June 14, 2013. Anna Fridman is taking the lead in coordinating our Women Everywhere team. Please contact Anna at af@afm-law.com if you are interested in volunteering a half or full day with our Women & the Law team. ■