CBA Record January-February 2024

training. And “bystanders” have been added to the list of people who can claim damages for exposure to acts of alleged sexual harassment. To ensure that CBA members are cur rent in their knowledge, the CBA provides annual sexual harassment prevention train ings as a membership benefit. These are specifically tailored to the practice of law in Illinois and include sexual harassment bystander intervention training for lawyers and law firm staff working in Chicago, as well as sexual harassment prevention train ing for lawyers and law firm staff managers working in Chicago (see www.chicagobar. org for upcoming training dates). As an epilogue to the CBA’s presen tation, April Otterberg, a partner at the Chicago offices of Jenner & Block, LLP, presented another proposal to the Rules Committee, that the Illinois Supreme Court modify the Rules of Professional Responsibility to include that sexual harassment by licensed Illinois lawyers be deemed acts of professional misconduct. In that way, when adjudicated to be so, sexual harassers would be subject to sanc tions permissible under the Rules of Pro fessional Responsibility. Remember, History Will Judge. If you have been harassed in your workplace, con tact your human resources department, the Chicago Commission on Human Relations (www.chicago.gov/cchr), the Illinois Department of Human Rights (dhr.illinois.gov), or the U.S. EEOC (www.eeoc.gov). Please know, too, that sexual harassment training is in addition to education advancing diversity, inclu sion, culture, engagement, and equity in hiring and retaining personnel. A copy of Katie Liss’s remarks to the Illi nois Supreme Court Rules Committee are available at www.chicagobar.org on the DICE page).

HISTORY WILL JUDGE

BY NINA FAIN Training to Prevent Sexual Harassment: Beyond Diversity S hould Illinois Supreme Court Rules specifically include sexual harassment prevention as a cate

gender orientation, who find themselves sexually harassed in the workplace. In support of the CBA’s position, Liss noted that the CBA Task Force’s research indicated that as of the date of the hear ing, 19 programs were available on the MCLE site for lawyers with “sexual harassment” as a keyword indicator. However, only three of them focused on sexual harassment prevention training as applied to law firms in Illinois. Liss said that since Illinois has over 65,000 active lawyers, it was reasonable to recommend that more classes be available to Illinois lawyers on sexual harassment preven tion as tailored to firms practicing in Illi nois. Juan Morado, a Rules Committee member, expressed his support for the CBA’s position; he proudly noted that he is a member of the CBA. On the day of the presentation, only the Committee’s male members attended; none of its four female members were present. In response to the CBA’s presen tation, one Committee member noted that law firms often present sexual harass ment prevention training. The inference was that, in essence, a plethora of pre vention classes are available. But let us be clear: those classes are mandated by the Illinois Human Rights Act and Chicago’s Human Rights Ordinance, with compli ance monitored by the Illinois Depart ment of Human Rights and the City of Chicago. Illinois has expanded the Human Rights Act to widen the scope of training, which must be given annually. Employers’ contractors and vendors must also receive

gory for professional responsibility educa tion credit? The CBA, led by Second Vice President Katie Liss, recently proposed to the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Com mittee that the Rules should award such credit. Liss explained that the CBA’s position had been derived from her work as Chair of the CBA Sexual Harassment Preven tion Task Force (full disclosure, I also sit on the Task Force). After studying sev eral sexual harassment issues in the legal community’s workplaces, the Task Force determined that sexual harassment train ing could garner greater attention if it were identified as a specific category for CLE professional responsibility credit. This would require a proposal to amend Supreme Court Rule 794(d) (CLE requirement) to list sexual harassment prevention as one of the subjects qualify ing for professional responsibility credit. Simply put, the Task Force considered it unconscionable to allow an issue of such import to be silently subsumed in the CLE professional responsibility credit and not distinctly mentioned. Due to the Task Force’s fine work, the Rules Committee has recommended the CBA’s proposal to the Illinois Supreme Court. Kudos to Katie Liss and the CBA Sexual Harassment Policy Task Force members; well done. Their work, research, and perseverance resulted in the CBA’s successful advocacy for all people, regardless of race, culture, ethnicity, or

Nina Fain is counsel to the JS Schirn Family Trust and serves as CBA Treasurer, Co-Chair of the DICE Committee, and is a CBA Record Editorial Board member.

38 JanuaryFebruary 2024