Someone you should know: The Honorable Nancy J. Katz

Judge Nancy J. Katz was concerned with justice long before she became a judge. While pursuing an undergraduate degree in sociology and criminal justice at Northeastern Illinois University, Judge Katz worked in a domestic violence shelter in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago.

As a result of her undergraduate studies and volunteer experiences, she decided to go to law school to better assist under-represented members of  the public. She attended Chicago-KentI.I.T. College of Law where she was on the Dean’s List and received honors scholarships all semesters. Judge Katz was also the recipient of American Jurisprudence Awards in Labor Law and Criminal Law. She was a staff member of the Chicago-Kent Law Review in 1981-82, and Notes and Comments Editor of the Chicago-Kent Law Review in 1982-83. In addition, in the fall of 1982, she served as an extern to Judge William Hart, Federal District Court, Northern District of Illinois. In 1983, she culminated her stellar performance in law school by graduating second in her class.

After graduation, Judge Katz’s continued interest in serving the public led to employment with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago (LAF). At LAF, she represented clients in State and federal court and in administrative hearings. Her areas of concentration included housing law, public benefits, family law, social security, and unemployment compensation law. Her work at LAF heightened her interest in ethics, and in 1986 she accepted a position as Assistant Ethics Counsel for the American Bar Association’s Center for Professional Responsibility. After a year and a half, however, she missed representing clients and returned to LAF in a supervisory position where she provided public benefits advocacy for seven years for clients with mental health issues and with HIV/AIDS.

From 1995 through 1999, Judge Katz worked as Assistant General Counsel at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), supervising attorneys who represented DCFS in child abuse and neglect cases in juvenile court. While working at DCFS, she was inspired by the judges in the juvenile system. Katz noted that the judges in juvenile court were her “model of judges who made a difference in people’s lives, who dealt with policy matters that related to the public interest and that were important to people.”

Because of the satisfaction she received from public service and out of a desire to make a difference in people’s lives, Judge Katz decided to seek a judicial position as the natural next step in her career path in government. In 1999, she was appointed as an Associate Judge for the Circuit Court of Cook County. Always a rising star, Judge Katz quickly moved from traffic court in the First Municipal District, to the Domestic Relations Division. After only nine months as a trial judge in the Domestic Relations Division, she was assigned an individual calendar. Working in Domestic Relations, she sees herself as a problem-solver who helps people transition in very difficult situations, especially where children are involved.

Always striving to do more, Judge Katz frequently writes for and lectures at training programs and seminars for Illinois judges through the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts. She also speaks at family law seminars for attorneys, mediators, and mental health professionals. Judge Katz has remained an active participant in the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA). She has been a member of the ISBA’s Standing Committee on Government Lawyers and the Standing Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, the latter of which she chaired in 2003-2004. She was recently appointed to the ISBA’s Family Law Section Council.

Judge Katz has received several awards for her dedication, service, and commitment. In 2000, she was inducted into the Chicago Lesbian/Gay Hall of Fame because she was the first openly lesbian judge appointed in the State of Illinois. She also was one of the first members of the Lesbian Gay Bar Association of Chicago. In November 2000, a coalition of five bar associations awarded Judge Katz the Vanguard Award, an honor bestowed upon individuals who make a difference in diversity in the legal profession. In April 2001, she received the Law School Association of Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Professional Achievement Award. In November 2004, she was recognized with the 2004 Court of Honor Award from the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS) Foundation because of her sensitivity to pro bono litigants and CVLS volunteers.

When asked what she likes most about being a judge, Judge Katz replied, “what a treat to get to do justice everyday!” What a treat for all of us!