8 O'Clock Call

One thing I’ve always liked about the Chicago Bar Association is that it’s a place where lawyers can get to know Judges one-on-one, outside the formal, sometimes uncomfortable setting of the courtroom. Since 2006, the CBA has made it easy for members to get to know our local Judges by hosting a series of “8 a.m. Calls” -- short, informal question and answer panels on a Friday morning at 8 a.m., over in time to get us all off to court or to our offices by 9 a.m.

The 8 a.m. Calls give us a chance to ask Judges what they really think -- about trial lawyers, the court system, anything. At the Friday, Septemebr 24 8 O'Clock Call, we met with three Judges from the Law Division of the Circuit Court, Hon. James P. Flannery and Hon. Thomas L. Hogan of the Jury Trial Section, and Hon. Bill Taylor of the Individual Commercial Calendar Section. CBA Past President, Hon. E. Kenneth Wright, Jr., Presiding Judge of the First Municipal District, led the discussion.


From left are Judge Bill Taylor, Judge Thomas Hogan,
Judge James Flannery and,
at the podium, Judge E. Kenneth
Wright, Jr.



We learned that Judges don’t like lawyers who don’t admit that they don’t know the answers to the Judge’s questions. They want us either to be prepared to answer their questions -- even if we’re sent in to appear on a case that isn’t our case -- or to be straight with them, let them know we’re covering for someone else and that we don’t know the answer to the question but we’d be happy to step out into the hall and make a call to get the answer.

We also learned that juries expect lawyers to be courteous to witnesses. One thing jurors expect is that a lawyer will ask the Judge’s permission to approach a witness.

We learned that the Law Division tries 450-550 jury cases a year, and that there are more civil jury verdicts in the Law Division in two weeks than in our federal District Court in a year.

We learned that Category 1 cases in the Law Division -- cases expected to take 4 days or less to try -- comprise 85% of the cases filed in Division and typically get to the close of discovery in 20-22 months. Category 2 cases -- which will take a week or more to try -- typically get through discovery in 32 months.

The Judges also gave us tips for getting to trial once a case rises “above the Black Line” and goes to Room 2006:


           Agree upon a trial date and you can get a set trial date within 60-90 days.

           Ask (in Room 2005) for a pretrial before any Judge in the Division, and if the case doesn’t settle that Judge may take you onto his or her regular calendar and set a trial date.

We’ll have several of these 8 a.m. Calls throughout the year -- come join us and get all your questions answered!

Justice Stevens Returns to the CBA


 

The CBA Symphony Orchestra and Chorus


Over 650 CBA members assembled in the Grand Ballroom of the Chicago Hilton and Towers Hotel on the evening of Sept. 15 to honor one of our own -- Justice John Paul Stevens -- in his first return to Chicago since retiring from the United States Supreme Court this summer. We celebrated his career of service, and also honored the two 2010 recipients of the John Paul Stevens Award, Judge Wayne Andersen and Judge Sophia Hall. 

 

From left: Stevens Award winner Judge Wayne Andersen,
Justice John Paul Stevens, Stevens Award winner Judge
Sophia Hall and me.

Justice Stevens spoke of his views on the misguided attempts to use history by the majorities in four recent decisions of the Court which stuck down gun control laws, including McDonald v. City of Chicago, decided this past term. Of the McDonald decision, Justice Stevens said: “[T]he most persuasive history on which the Court relied to support its holding that the constitutional right at issue is truly ‘fundamental’ is its account of the post-Civil War atrocities committed by the Ku Klux Klan and other racists against African-Americans whom they out-gunned. Implicit in the discussion is the suggestion that rather than allowing the government to disarm the law-breakers, the draftsmen of the 14th Amendment wanted all the adversaries to have adequate weaponry for a fair fight.” (The full text of Justice Stevens’ remarks will appear in the next issue of the CBA Record.)





Proclamation making the Justice
"Honorary President" of the Association



The CBA Board of Managers honored Justice Stevens’ long service to the Association by presenting him with a resolution naming him Honorary President of the Chicago Bar Association. Justice Stevens, tongue in cheek, graciously accepted after extracting the CBA’s promise that we would not require him to resign from any of his country club memberships in order to serve. Justice Stevens also eagerly accepted Young Lawyers Section Chair Jill Eckert McCall’s resolution naming him “Honorary Young Lawyer in Perpetuity.” The Justice said that resolution had special meaning for him, because his brother, who he credits for persuading him to go to law school, had served as the Young Lawyer Committee’s representative on the  Board of Managers.

With his lifelong friend Judge William Bauer

Before and after dinner, we were entertained by the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and after dinner we enjoyed the music of the Barristers Big Band. It was a great reunion between the CBA and one if its own, Justice John Paul Stevens.    

 

Jill Eckert McCall announces the YLS proclamation making the Justice
a "Young Lawyer in Perpetuity"





On the dais were, Judge Timothy Evans (l), Judge Sophia Hall
and CBA Secretary J. Timothy Eaton

Stevens Award Dinner Wednesday, September 15

Justice John Paul Stevens

You won’t want to miss this year’s Stevens Award Celebration. We’ll be honoring two pillars of the Chicago legal community and CBA stalwarts, Judge Wayne Andersen (recently retired) and Judge Sophia Hall. Both Judge Andersen and Judge Hall have devoted their careers to public service, and they have had immense impact upon our legal system and access to justice in Illinois. Join us in thanking them for their careers of service.

Hon. Sophia Hall

And join us in celebrating the storied career of Chicago’s own Justice John Paul Stevens. Justice Stevens, the third longest-serving Justice in the history of the Supreme Court, was himself a stalwart CBA member as a Chicago lawyer. Justice Stevens served for many years on the CBA Committee that reviewed judicial candidates, served on the Board of Managers, and, when he was appointed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, was serving as Second Vice President of the Association. This year’s dinner will be a homecoming of sorts for one of our own, and you’ll want to be a part of it.

Hon. Wayne Andersen

This year’s celebration, a dinner, will feature performances by the CBA Symphony, the CBA Chorus, the Scales of Justice and the Barrister’s Big Band. We’ll begin with a reception at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 and dancing afterward. Dress is black tie (or, in honor of Justice Stevens, bow tie) optional. Everything takes place at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, the old “Stevens Hotel,” once owned by Justice Stevens’ family. Tickets are $165 each, or $1650 for a table of 10.


I look forward to seeing you on Sept. 15!

2010 PRO BONO AWARDS

It was my privilege to co-host the 2010 Chicago Bar Foundation Pro Bono Awards Luncheon at the Fairmont Chicago Hotel on July 13, along with CBF President Steve Patton. This year, more than 750 people came to celebrate the work of the CBF and seven extraordinary honorees. I always find this luncheon to be one of the most uplifting of the Bar year, and this year was no exception.

It was inspiring to hear the stories of the 2010 awardees, Beth Cunningham, Mary Anne Smith, Professor Joe Butler, Todd Solomon, Dan Kirk, Ben Wolf and Fred Cohen. Each has used his or her particular legal talents to advance the cause of equal access to justice in our community in a very significant way. One of the goals I would like to emphasize this year is to encourage all of my colleagues in the profession to use our privileged position within our community to help those most in need. This year’s honorees are great role models for all of us.

2010 Chicago Bar Foundation Pro Bono Award Winners

The Kimball R. Anderson and Karen Gatsis Anderson Public Interest Law Fellowship for 2010 went to Beth Cunningham of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. The Los Angeles native became devoted to child welfare law while attending law school at the University of Denver. She moved to Chicago to become Youth Attorney for Youth Futures, and took the law to the streets in a mobile legal clinic for homeless youth.

The Exelon Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award went to Mary Anne Smith, Vice President and General Counsel of the Illinois Institute of Technology. For 30 years, Mary Anne has volunteered for the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, handling over 200 adoption, guardianship and divorce cases for low-income clients. In 1988, she founded the legal clinic at Visitation Catholic Church on Chicago's south side, which she has run ever since. Mary Anne spoke about how much she enjoys getting “out of the comfort zone” of a University counsel to help individuals with legal problems that are very different from what she sees in her day job.

I was happy to help honor such outstanding honorees. On the first row are (from left) Mary Anne Smith, Joseph Butler, Todd Solomon, Elizabeth A. Cunningham, Bejamin S. Wolf, Daniel A. Kirk and Dana Cohen (who appeared on behalf of her late husband, Frederick Cohen, to receive his award). In the back row (from left) are Stephen R. Patton, President of the Chicago Bar Foundation; Pauline Levy, Co-Chair of the Annual Awards Luncheon; David E. Mendelsohn, Co-Chair of the Awards Luncheon; me.

The Leonard Jay Schrager Award of Excellence was awarded to Professor Joe Butler of The John Marshall Law School. At the suggestion of students, in 2006 Joe started the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic. Since then, he has educated over 70 students in advocacy for vets, a unique clinic program. Joe spoke about how rewarding it is to serve those who have served our country.

The Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award went to Todd Solomon, an employee benefits attorney with McDermott Will & Emery LLP. With the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, Todd takes on pension benefits cases, and, as a result, has become an expert in domestic partner benefits. Todd has assembled teams of lawyers from McDermott to spend hundreds of hours benefiting non-profit organizations through the Community Economic Development Law Project. He heads McDermott’s pro bono and community service committee and has been a leader in raising funds for pro bono efforts through the CBF Investing in Justice Campaign.

The Richard J. Phelan Public Service Award was given to Dan Kirk of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. Dan serves as Chief of Staff for State's Attorney Anita M. Alvarez. When he's not upholding justice for the citizens of Cook County, Dan donates his time and talents to one of the most vulnerable communities in Chicago, homeless teens. Through the program Teen Living, he assists young people with nowhere to turn, helping with problems of daily life and any legal issues that arise from their homelessness.

The Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award went to Ben Wolf of the Roger Baldwin Foundation of ACLU, Inc. For the past 25 years, Ben has worked on behalf of children, victims of abuse and neglect, prisoners and the mentally ill. Throughout his career, he has addressed problems in state institutions by filing class action impact lawsuits, effecting substantive change. Some of the major reforms brought about through his efforts have affected the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center and the State of Illinois system for the care of mentally ill and developmentally disabled people.

The Edward J. Lewis II Pro Bono Service Award was awarded posthumously to Fred Cohen, who died of cancer last May at the age of 45. Fred’s wife, Dana, accepted the award on his behalf. A partner with Goldberg Kohn Ltd., Fred was a commercial litigator. Dana told us how Fred’s career was transformed when he took on a major class action suit against Medicaid that benefited 600,000 kids and set landmark standards for children's health care. Fred litigated the case while fighting his own private battle with the cancer that ultimately claimed his life. Fred, like Edward Lewis, for whom the award is named, had a real impact on the lives of many, many in our community before being taken from us much too soon.

You can visit the Chicago Bar Foundation here www.chicagobarfoundation.org/

Le Bicentenaire du Retablissement du Barreau de Paris

Paris, June 24-26, 2010

As what may have been my first "official act" as CBA President, I traveled to Paris on June 24 to represent the Association at the Bicentennial of the Paris Bar. The Paris Bar, which was first established over 800 years ago, was disbanded during the French Revolution, and re-established in 1810 near the end of Napoleon’s reign. The Paris Bar celebrated with several events and a legal conference: Ordre et Transgression, Les Leviers du Droit et de Economie (Order and Transgression, the Legal Drivers of Progress).

I must say, French lawyers really know how to put on a party, and they know how to put on a terrific conference. Just look at the photos from the events that the Bar staged: an opening ceremony in the Palais du Justice (the civil courts) with President Sarkozy as keynote speaker, a reception at the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) with the Mayor of Paris, and a gala black tie affair at the Grand Palais, entitled "Les Nuits de Paris" (Paris Nights). (Les Nuits de Paris alone was rumored to cost $5 million Euros.)


The conference featured such prominent lawyers as Christine Lagarde, French Minister of Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment, Michele Alliot-Marie, French Minister of Justice and U.S. Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. Justice Breyer surprised me by delivering his speech in fluent French.

The conference focused on the role that lawyers can and should play in solving world economic and social problems, and advocating for change. The Minister of Justice, for example, told us that any legal order must be in rhythm with the society that it regulates. Sometimes yesterday’s laws are today’s transgressions, as is the case, for example, with segregation. She also stressed that legal culture must become an important part of our corporate culture -- and pointed out that in Europe, unlike in the U.S., lawyers within a corporation typically are not involved in setting strategy and become involved only when a problem develops.

The conference gave me an opportunity to renew the CBA’s friendship with the Bars of Paris, Hong Kong, Frankfort, Tokyo, Japan, Scotland and England and Wales. We look forward to more international programming with those Bars, including joint programming over the internet.

To access a video about the conference click on the Paris Bar Association's site here.