Judge Russell Hartigan to Be Installed as 141st President of Illinois State Bar Association
Hon. Russell W. Hartigan, of Western Springs, arbitrator, lawyer, and retired Cook County judge, will be installed as president of the Illinois State Bar Association at the organization’s 141st Annual Meeting on Friday, June 16 at The Abbey Resort in Fontana, Wis.
During his year as president, Judge Hartigan will concentrate on several initiatives. He is dedicated to helping lawyers manage their practices. He will assist solo practitioners and small firms with succession planning through programming aimed at lawyers nearing retirement age to help them think about what’s next for their practices and clients. In addition, he plans to expand the association’s law firm management programming and resources, which includes launching the ISBA’s management and technology web portal, PracticeHQ.
To help the legal profession combat gun violence, Judge Hartigan will establish a blue-ribbon committee to recommend an appropriate role for the ISBA in educating others on and addressing the issue.
A third initiative will focus on new and young lawyers. He plans to address law student debt and practice-oriented training in law school by working with the ISBA Council of Illinois Law School Deans. He is also committed to recruiting young attorneys to ISBA membership.
Judge Hartigan practiced law for over 33 years, during which time he handled a number of memorable state and federal cases. He was appointed to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2010 and was elected to a six-year term in March 2012. He has been involved with the ISBA since 1979, and has since served in the 203-member Assembly since with several short breaks. He has had two six-year stints on the ISBA Board of Governors, with terms as secretary and treasurer, and time as board liaison to the Insurance Law, Workers’ Compensation Law, Civil Practice and Procedure, and Local Government Law section councils. He served as director of the Illinois Bar Foundation for nine years, and chaired both its grants committee and the Lawyers Care Fund.
He received his J.D. from the John Marshall Law School and his bachelor’s from DePaul University. He currently works as a mediator and arbitrator with Resolute Systems in Chicago.