CBA Record January-February 2023

Justice Joy V. Cunningham “Immerse yourself in whatever you are doing, because every experience prepares you for later opportunities.”

T he newest member of the Illi nois Supreme Court, Justice Joy Cunningham, brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the state’s highest court. Her expansive private prac tice, distinguished judicial service, and unique personal perspective make her an ideal addition to the Court. Originally hailing from New York, Cunningham earned a Bachelor of Arts in nursing from City University of New York. However, she found the field of law to be her true calling. She graduated from John Marshall School of Law and was admitted to practice in Illinois, New York, and the federal trial bar. After clerk ing for Illinois Appellate Justice Glenn Johnson, she focused on healthcare law. She gained invaluable experience with the Illinois Attorney General and later as a litigator at the law firm of French, Rogers, Kezelis & Kominiarek. Cunningham then served as Associate General Counsel for Loyola University of Chicago and Loyola University Health System before she was appointed to serve the Circuit Court of Cook County as an associate judge, where she heard a range of matters including civil jury trials in the First and Second Municipal Districts. In 2000, she left the judiciary to serve as Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary for the North western Memorial Healthcare System, which includes Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Foundation. In 2006, she was elevated to the Illinois First District Appellate Court and was retained by voters in 2016 for a 10-year term. As a rising young attorney, Cunning ham often found herself being “the first” or “the only” in a group of legal profession als. Her presence was especially noticeable because her practice area, healthcare law, was male dominated and under-repre sented by people of color. However, she never allowed being “the first female” or the “first minority” or the “first female

minority” in her field to define or limit her. Rather, she acknowledged her unique status and carried on – seizing any oppor tunities to increase the scope and depth of her practice. In fact, she credits “first” experiences with teaching her to develop strong people skills and an intuition as to how to navigate the legal profession. Having to face a plethora of challenges – none of which involved her legal knowl edge or skill – taught her to traverse this vocation in a professional manner and maintain credibility. Cunningham’s legal acumen, people skills and insatiable curiosity have con tributed to her success. She brings these same skills to her newest role; they give her the confidence to tackle any new chal lenge she may face. Cunningham consid ers all her past experiences – positive and negative – as building blocks that have led and prepared her for this moment. In fact, she encourages everyone, especially young attorneys, to “immerse yourself in whatever you are doing because every experience is preparing you for later opportunities, even if right then you cannot envision what those opportunities may be.” As an Associate General Counsel with Loyola Healthcare System, Cunningham was charged with creating an offshore captive insurance company. While many viewed the work as mundane and intense, she seized the chance to broaden her skills. At Northwestern, she drew upon this knowledge to immediately contrib ute and lead insurance changes at their healthcare center. She shares that example of her never allowing an opportunity to go to waste and how everything seems to come together at the end. She acknowledges the strides the Court has made as well as ongoing challenges facing the Illinois judicial system, such as waning public confidence. “Judges do not appear as apolitical or neutral as we should be seen. If the public views our

rulings as partisan, that undercuts the judiciary. In a democracy the rule of law is effective because the public embraces the power of the court. We have to be vigilant about this in Illinois.” She praises the judiciary for making great strides in areas such as diversity. She has observed an increase in diversity in the circuit courts as well as the Supreme Court. As of December 5, 2022, Illi nois’ seven-member Supreme Court will be composed of five women and three people of color. Cunningham looks for ward to addressing matters before the Court with her new colleagues. With five women on the court, she believes that while the legal conclusion may be same, the justices’ approach and interactions with each other may differ from previous years. She attributes that to a more varied perspective and style. Cunningham describes her own lead ership style as being a manager of, and resource for, legal professionals. She works to ensure “the right people are on the bus, that we are all driving in the same direc tion, and then I let them drive.” Over the years, she has honed her leadership skills via work and professional volunteer roles such as President of The Chicago Bar Association and serving on the Board of Directors for The Chicago Bar Founda tion, the Center for Conflict Resolution, the Center for Disability and Elder Law, and the Chicago Legal Clinic. Based on her community activities, it comes as no surprise that as Supreme Court justice, she is eager to make the Supreme Court more accessible to the

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