CBA Record July-August 2018

Elrod's favorite pastime is boating on Catfish Lake with his grandson Max and wife Donna. The Eagle River/Catfish Lake area of Wisconsin is Elrod's "little slice of heaven."

design and décor professional, resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband Russell Mollen, an investment manager and advisor with Bares Capital Management, Inc. The couple have two sons, Max, 3, and Asher, nine months. Son Daniel Elrod is an associate attorney in the Chicago Real Estate Group at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and is married to Ali Elrod, a pediatric nurse at Town & Country Pediatrics in Chicago. Richard Elrod, Steven Elrod and Daniel Elrod represent three unique generations of Chicago lawyers, but their commonalities run deep. All three were Northwestern law graduates who knew, at relatively early stages in their lives, that they wanted to become lawyers. “My Dad never pressured me to go to law school, but I fed off of the excitement and the passion that he felt about the law,” said Daniel. “He had the benefit of looking up to his own father and he passed that benefit down to me, and it has been an invaluable gift in my life.” The three Elrods share another unique bond that spans the ages. All three attended Camp Ojibwa, a sports camp for boys in Eagle River, Wisconsin; Richard in the 1940s, Steven in the 1960s and 70s, and Daniel in the 1990s and 2000s. The camp recently cel- ebrated its 90th anniversary at a banquet for more than 700 alumni organized and led by none other than Steven Elrod himself. It’s clear that Camp Ojibwa holds a very special place for Elrod, who says it “helps young boys develop into strong, successful and well balanced young men through participation in competitive sports.” As is his practice in causes that he believes in, Elrod is personally invested in the camp as a part owner and in service on the camp’s board of directors. Camp Ojibwa just happens to be down the road and on the same lake as “‘Camp Elrod,’” the Elrods’ second home that is modeled in spirit after the youth camp that has meant so much to the Elrod family.

mission of the organization, which is to strengthen democracy by providing students with hands-on learning about the constitution to prepare them for informed and respectful civic engagement. “We have a real problem in today’s world with respectful dis- course. Steve understands that and, like myself, is committed to teaching children and students how to solve problems without conflict or insult,” Wood said. “Steve has lived these values and he will be a great leader for the CBA.” Professional and Family Bonds In addition to his father, Elrod counts among his mentors the founder of the Holland &Knight firm, Chesterfield Smith, whom he says helped ignite his passion for community and civic service as part of the mission in the practice of law. He also credits the late Dawn Clark Netsch, the iconic Illinois political figure, for having a significant impact on the course of his career. Elrod took Netsch’s state and local government class in law school. The two forged a bond and he would later return to lecture in Netsch’s class each year, ultimately taking over the class as an adjunct professor, a role he continues to this day. “She really and truly believed that nothing was impossible,” Elrod said of Netsch. “And she taught me that instead of just thinking about doing something that inspires you, just get out there and do it.” Above the business of law, family is an ever-present dynamic in Elrod’s makeup. He and his wife Donna met when they were chemistry partners at Niles West High School and they both went on to attendTulane University. The two were married in 1980 after Elrod’s first year of law school. The couple have two children and two grandchildren. Daughter Elizabeth Mollen, a University of Texas graduate and an interior

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