CBA Record January 2019

The CBA’s 95 general bar committees and 27 young lawyer committees provide our members an outstanding opportunity to interact with other lawyers who share a multitude of practice interests. Com- mittee participation is the lifeblood of our Association, and more than 6,500 members serve on one or more CBA com- mittees. Most CBA committee meetings feature substantive speaker presentations that qualify for MCLE credit. Signifi- cantly, there is no additional charge or fee for membership on Chicago Bar Associa- tion committees, and for participation in and attendance at any and all CBA com- mittee meetings. With our enhanced technology and state-of-the-art web broadcast system, the CBA has made committee participation extremely easy. All CBA Committee meet- ings are live-streamed over our website so that members can observe and even interact in committee presentations and discussions directly from their laptop or desk at their office or home. Thousands of our members take advantage of our web streaming every week, and of our library of recorded com-

mittee meetings. Indeed, my fear is that we may have things too easy! Remote and virtual participation in committee meet- ings tend to prevent the synergy and good will that is created with direct, in-person contact. In the spirit of promoting colle- giality, but still providing the convenience and efficiencies of webcasting, I have requested all Committee Chairs to make at least one meeting each year (preferably the first meeting of the year) an all hands on deck, in person meeting, while allow- ing web-streaming for all others. My hope is that this will create a healthy balance between these two legitimate, but some- times competing interests. The opportunities for our members to engage with each other at the CBA and enhance their professional and personal lives are almost endless. Through the committee structure, members can (1) build a better body of laws by reviewing non-sponsored legislation and drafting new legislation to improve state and federal law; (2) propose amendments to Circuit, Appellate and Supreme Court Rules; (3)

SOLO/SMALLFIRMRESOURCES

The CBA has a free resource portal for solo small

firmmembers. Access archived programs on firm

marketing, start up tips, legal software demos,

client development and more. Go to www.

chicagobar.org or call 312/554-2070.

assist in planning, and speak at, general and specialized Continuing Legal Educa- tion seminars; (4) volunteer to mentor new members, law students, at-risk children in the Juvenile Court, or to serve as a tutor/ mentor through the Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth Program; (5) participate in the Association’s Lawyer Referral Program and help provide low-cost and pro bono legal services to the public; (6) participate in community education and community service programs, such as our Restorative Justice Training Programs in Chicago schools; and (7) participate in our Lead- ership Institute that provides leadership

The Chicago Bar Association CLE in Jerusalem, Israel April 1-4, 2019 Pre-conference excursion to Amsterdam, Netherlands March 30-April 1 Post-conference optional travel to Tel Aviv, Israel April 5-7

To receive an agenda and travel information in the Fall, send an email to Tamra Drees at tdrees@chicagobar.org.

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