CBA Record March-April 2022

YOUNG L AWYERS S EC T I ON : COME TOGE THER

chambers from the Federal Correctional Institution Oxford in Oxford, WI—sent by John. In the letter, John told Kocoras about his life in prison, and how he had been able to attend culinary school and take correspondence courses at the Univer sity of Wisconsin. Kocoras faced a moral dilemma: was it right for him to respond to a letter from someone he had sentenced? After some thought, Kocoras responded, leading to regular correspondence between the two. While Kocoras never discussed his own personal life in his letters, he could tell that John had changed for the better and encouraged the young man to pursue his dreams. A few years later, John graduated from both culinary school and the University of Wisconsin and invited Kocoras to his graduation ceremony at the prison, where he was still serving his sentence. Kocoras keeps a picture in his chambers of himself at the ceremony with John and proudly notes that John further blossomed after

completing his sentence and is now a moti vational speaker. Kocoras observes that there can be a bigger picture than just law and order when deciding a case as a judge. Writing Career—and More Kocoras began serving as a judge in the Northern District of Illinois in 1980. He assumed senior status on the bench in 2006. Such a change gave him time to devote to one of his favorite pastimes: writing. He now takes Fridays o ff to devote his weekends to writing. Th is approach led him to publish two books in a short amount of time: May it Please the Court: A Story about One of America’s Greatest Trial Lawyers , focusing on Dan Webb’s life, and Where’s Mine? , a fi ctional retelling of Operation Greylord. He is currently writ ing a book about his father and his family’s immigration journey from Greece. Kocoras is proud of his work ethic. But the most important lesson he has learned in life is that no one is self-made: in his case,

his family provided strength and support, and instilled his core values. Th ey were always quick to help him, even when it was di ffi cult for him to ask. Mentoring and teaching are crucial for Kocoras. He has taught trial advocacy to law students for 40 years, dedicates himself to his clerks and externs, and is a devoted father and grandfather. But most importantly, Kocoras embodies the Rule of Law and inspires others to live those principles in their own lives. Kenneth Matuszewski is an Associate at Gold berg Segalla LLP, where he focuses his practice in intellectual property litigation; he is also the Member Services Man ager of the YLS and a Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Racial Justice Coalition.

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