CBA Record March-April 2025

THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

NEW BEGINNINGS Kenneth A. Matuszewski, YLS Chair

CBA YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

Chair Kenneth Matuszewski Rozier Hardt McDonough First Vice-Chair Gavin Phelps Phelps LLC Second Vice-Chair Aleksandra Petrovic Damisch & Damisch Ltd. Recruitment Officer Stephanie Moon

sons why lawyers may choose to leave the profession entirely. Regardless, lawyers should be honest with themselves about those reasons and should seek a better understanding of what their next adven ture may be to ensure they are finding the path that is right for them. This issue of the CBA Record is intended to help young lawyers who may be ques tioning their current roles find that path forward—wherever that path may lead. The authors in this issue have all transi tioned within (or even away from) their legal careers, and they provide invaluable insights and advice on how and why they made those moves. You will read about folks who have left private practice to seek careers as law professors, mediators, legal recruiters, in-house counsel, fed eral prosecutors, and more. You will also read about individuals who left the law to become sports agents or to work in com pliance. No matter what kind of switch you are looking to make, this issue will serve as an excellent resource for wherever your career journey may lead. This issue also highlights and celebrates the incredible work of some of our YLS committees, Executive Council members and the CBA’s affiliated nonprofits. In particular, we look forward to support ing the Edward J. Lewis II Lawyers in the Classroom program through our annual fundraiser, “A Four-Star Night” on May 8, 2025 (see details on page 16). YLS career development programs have also been incredibly successful so far in 2025, with insight from past win ners of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin’s Forty Under 40 Award, a full house for the inaugural Judicial Externship Career Fair, the Law Student Speed Network ing Event, and the chance to engage in healthy (and tasty) competition through

Armstrong Teasdale LLP Philanthropy Officer Jacob Berger Tabet DiVito & Rothstein Program Officer Deepa Singh U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Program Officer Pam Sran Fox Rothschild LLP Secretary/Treasurer Andre A. Hunter, Jr. Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Co-Editors in Chief YLS Journal Nikki Marcotte Kirkland & Ellis LLP Joanna Kopczyk Attorney at Law Vice Chair of YLS Journal Katherine Hanson Chicago-Kent College of Law Co-Editors in Chief @theBar Blog Teresa Dettloff Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Hannah Werner MacDonald, Lee & Senechalle, Ltd. DEI Officer Bianca Ciarroni Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

T his year, the Young Lawyers Section issue focuses on new beginnings and career transitions that lawyers may take. Career choices for someone with a law degree are seemingly infinite. For example, some may decide to change their practice areas as a way of figuring out what they like or do not like, as I did. I started out as a patent litigator and did that for two years before trying out patent pros ecution. However, it did not take long for me to determine that patent litigation was a much better fit because there was more variety in the kinds of cases I could litigate. Therefore, I switched back to patent litiga tion, which I continue to enjoy. But other career transitions for law yers may be more drastic than changing practice areas. For example, many attor neys may change the kind of work they do altogether—like switching from litigation to corporate, or vice versa. Others may choose to change practice settings, such as moving from private practice to govern ment work, teaching, or in-house. Some even decide to give up practicing law entirely to become entrepreneurs, politi cians, or business professionals. There are myriad of reasons why lawyers may decide to pivot away from a certain practice area or setting, just as there are myriad rea

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