The bar year in review and thank you from the chair

It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as chair of the Bench and Bar Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association for the 2017-2018 bar year. I am pleased to report that we more than satisfied our council’s mission to forge a spirit of cooperation, collegiality, and exchange among judges and the practicing bar, and to enhance the court system, the administration of justice for the public, and the relationship between judges and lawyers.

At each of our meetings, council members engaged in a substantive discussion on topics that are critical to the justice system and the legal profession from the perspective of the both judges and lawyers. Some of our discussion topics included the challenge of pro bono legal service and how to address those challenges, dealing with pro se litigants, the ethics of social media, and the ARDC’s proactive program for better practice management to assist solo and other lawyers who are uninsured—a discussion led by special guest Wendy Muchman, the chief of litigation and professional education at the ARDC. Our discussions were engaging, spirited, refreshing, and informative. It was a very unique experience to be able to exchange thoughts on such important topics with trial and appellate court judges from around the state as well as lawyers from all judicial districts in Illinois. We were also fortunate to have Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier share his ideas on these matters, as a longtime member of our council. As chair, I was able to share our discussions with you in my newsletter column, which I hope you enjoyed reading.

As many people contributed to the success of our council meetings this year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank them. The vice chair, David Inlander, who will serve as chair of the council for the 2018-2019 bar year, provided great support in his role and always had interesting ideas to share with the council. The council will be in good hands next year with David at the helm. Secretary Steve Pacey did a terrific job taking the minutes and was instrumental in leading our discussion on the ethics of social media.

Various council members also took leadership roles this year and did a wonderful job. Chief among them is Judge Ed Schoenbaum, who served as editor of the council’s monthly newsletter, and assistant editors Evan Bruno and Ed Casmere. Together, the three of these men were instrumental in producing a quality newsletter every month filled with informative and thought-provoking articles. This was no easy task and I would like to thank them for their hard work.

Our other council subcommittee chairs also did excellent work and deserve to be thanked. These people include Kenya Jenkins-Wright, who provided professional ethics updates; Sandra Blake, who kept us informed of relevant legislation; Judge Michael Jordan, Appellate Justice Michael Hyman, and Jayne Reardon, executive director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, who co-chaired the Ombudsperson Subcommittee; and Judge April Troemper and Dion Davi, who co-chaired the Continuing Legal Education Subcommittee. Our Council presented a CLE webinar in March 2018, entitled, “The Ethics of Social Media for Attorneys and Judges.” The successful and informative webinar featured Jayne Reardon, Judge Lynn Eagan, ethics attorney Allison Wood, and Judge Pacey. Our council also co-sponsored with the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association a CLE presentation in May 2018 on appellate practice, which took place in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. It was organized by attorney Richard Chase, was very well attended and received lots of positive feedback from attendees.

Special thanks also go to our ISBA staff liaison, Melissa Burkholder, for her hard work and amazing organizational skills. Finally, thanks to all of you for reading our newsletter.

In sum, it was an impressive bar year for our council and I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to lead the group of talented and dedicated lawyers and judges who comprise our council.