CBA Record July-August 2023

YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

Honoring Our Legacy, Shaping Our Future By Martin D. Gould

CBA YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

Chair Martin Gould Romanucci & Blandin LLC First Vice-Chair Kenneth Matuszewski Goldberg Segalla LLP

to the Greenberg Commission to inves tigate charges of misconduct involving two Illinois Supreme Court justices. The investigation, hearings, and final report confirmed the misconduct charges and resulted in the two justices resigning later that year. In 1971, the CBA formed the YLS, giving young lawyers greater inde pendence; a stronger voice in Chicago’s legal community; an annual budget; and authority to establish YLS committees, public service programs, and educational and social programs for young lawyers. The YLS has excelled in achieving its mission. Its programming has consis tently earned the highest honors from the American Bar Association for nearly three decades, including the ABA’s award for “Best Young Lawyers Section” for the last 20 years and the ABA Award for Excel lence for Best Public Service Projects for the last 28 years. Some of the great vol unteer programs the YLS created that are still active today include Wills for Heroes, Serving Our Seniors, CBA Law & Debate Club, and the Racial Justice Coalition. Despite having different leadership styles, experiences, and philosophies, our past leadership has led our organization through times of crisis, celebration, chal lenge, and innovation. Just recently, the Covid-19 pandemic deprived our members of many things, including meaningful in person social interactions and networking. Thanks to the leadership of past Chairs Jef frey Moskowitz (2020), Tracy Brammeier (2021), and Daniel Berkowitz (2022), the YLS successfully adapted to the chal lenges. This past year, we have had signifi cant in-person attendance at many of our staple events, including the All Bar Social, Meet the Committees Night, and the Pro Bono Fair. Our members have made clear they value these in-person events, and this upcoming year’s agenda includes many of

Second Vice-Chair Gavin Phelps Phelps, LLC

Member Service Manager Kernisha Padilla Latham & Watkins LLP Public Service Manager Theodore Kontopolous Internal Revenue Service Project Officer Aleksandra Petrovic Damisch & Damisch, Ltd Project Officer Stephanie Moon Armstrong & Teasdale LLP Secretary/Treasurer Alexander Passo Latimer LeVay Fyock LLC Co-Editors in Chief YLS Journal Jacob Berger Tabet DiVito & Rothstein

I t is a tremendous honor to serve as the 52nd Chair of the Young Lawyers Sec tion this year and to have the opportu nity to carry on our Association’s long and storied history of supporting justice, serv ing our local communities, and providing a variety of important services and benefits to our thousands of members. The Execu tive Council and I have been fortunate to have worked with and been mentored by so many great leaders within the CBA. We’re lucky to have such a talented YLS Director in Emily Anderson, and we are very excited about this year’s agenda as the CBA commemorates its 150th anniver sary. It is said that we build on those who have come before us. I believe that is cer tainly true when looking at the legacies of those who have led the YLS and the CBA. Founded in 1874, the CBA was the fourth major metropolitan bar association in the United States. Since its inception, the CBA’s membership has been composed of many of the country’s most prominent attorneys and has been at the forefront of many groundbreaking developments affecting the legal community. One such example took place in the 1940s, when the CBA formed a Young Lawyers Com mittee. In 1969, John Paul Stevens and a core group of CBA’s young lawyers were appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court

Nikki Marcotte Tabet DiVito & Rothstein

Co-Editors in Chief @theBar Blog Brian Bentrup Pluymert, MacDonald, Hargrove & Lee, Ltd.

Teresa Dettloff Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office

YLS Administrative Director Emily Anderson

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