CBA Record July-August 2021

Y O U N G L A W Y E R S J O U R N A L

It’s Time for the CBA to Come Together as a Legal Community By Tracy Brammeier, YLS Chair

CBA YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION Chair Tracy Brammeier Clifford Law Offices, P.C. First Vice-Chair Daniel Berkowitz Office of the Illinois Attorney General Second Vice-Chair Martin Gould Romanucci & Blandin, LLC Member Service Manager Kenneth Matuszewski Goldberg Segalla LLP Public Service Manager John Risvold The Collins Law Firm, PC Project Officer Gavin Phelps Phelps LLC Project Officer Margaret Mendenhall Casey City of Chicago Department of Law Secretary/Treasurer Kernisha Padilla Blank Rome LLP Co-Editor in Chief YLS Journal Kaitlin King Hart David Carson, LLP Co-Editor in Chief YLS Journal Theodore Kontopoulos BKD LLP Co-Editor YLS Blog Laura Wibberly Barker, Castro, Kuban & Steinback, LLC Co-Editor YLS Blog Alexandra Morelli Barker, Castro, Kuban & Steinback, LLC Health and Wellness Facilitator Alexander Passo

tors, and courtrooms. While some lawyers may miss the daily energy and collegial interaction found in the courthouse, the bar association provides easy access to the legal chatter and social engagement we enjoy in our profession. At the same time, saving in-person appearances for contentious hearings or complex or dispositive motions might serve to enhance the gravitas and power of those arguments. It may also result in more civility in the courtroom by reducing the opportunity for petty fights and needless bickering that sometime gets the better of even the best of us. After all, if there is one thing lawyers excel at, it is arguing. So, I hope the courts will consider the benefits of a permanent remote appearance system as they deem appropriate, and that the Chicago legal community will continue its tradition of camaraderie both in, and (more importantly now) outside of, the courthouse. As always, the CBA is here with relevant and timely continuing legal education seminars and social events – the perfect forum to reconnect with friends and colleagues in our new post-pandemic legal world. Join me in inviting a friend or coworker to meet up with you at the next YLS meet- ing or event. I look forward to watching us all come together over the next year at the CBA.

O ne thing on which everyone seems to agree is that the pandemic has changed how businesses work. As we kick off the new bar year in the post-pandemic era, I find myself wonder- ing what the legal world will look like at this time next year. Over the next several months, as Chicago emerges from quar- antines and mask mandates, the legal community will have to navigate to find its new normal. Even as some local courts resume in- person hearings, I have a feeling that Zoom court is here to stay. For a simple status conference or an uncontested motion, a hearing via videoconference is not just easy – it might be a long overdue improvement to the efficiency of our justice system. After all, it eliminates an unnecessary commute for attorneys (and the accompanying legal bills for their clients) and reduces crowds clogging up parking, security lines, eleva-

Special Summer Meeting of Criminal Law Committees

The CBA and YLS Criminal Law Committees will meet on July 15 at 12:15 p.m. via live Webcast. Ayesha Ashai, MD, FPAMed, Forensic Psychiatric Associates, will cover defending the borderline per- sonality disorder client. All members are welcome to attend (IL MCLE Credit) but should pre-register at learn.chicagobar.org.

Latimer LeVay Fyock LLC Immediate Past Chair Jeffrey Moskowitz Momentum Funding, LLC

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