CBA Record March-April 2025

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CBA RECORD

EDITOR’S BRIEFCASE BY JUSTICE MICHAEL B. HYMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Justice Michael B. Hyman Illinois Appellate Court ASSOCIATE EDITOR Anne Ellis Council of State Governments Justice Center SUMMARY JUDGMENTS EDITOR Daniel A. Cotter

Finding Happiness with a Law Degree

Dickinson Wright PLLC YLS JOURNAL EDITORS

Joanna Kopczyk Attorney at Law Nikki Marcotte Kirkland & Ellis LLP

O ur profession promises intellectual challenge, societal impact, and personal growth. Often, the promises come with unrelenting demands—long hours, deadlines, and intense pressure, which can be emotionally and mentally drain ing and lead to discontent. Adjusting to these demands and landing a job that is a good fit can be tough, espe cially for young lawyers. That’s why experts recommend regularly taking stock of career objectives, ambitions, and personal values. Work should bring enjoyment and purpose to your life. To guide your self-awareness, ask yourself these four questions: Am I finding joy in my work? Am I using my talents and knowledge to their fullest potential? Am I surrounded with supportive and inspiring colleagues? Am I creating the difference I set out to make? If you answer “no” to even one of these questions, your current position may not suit your goals, interests, or motiva tions, and you should evaluate your situation and options. Change is difficult, particularly for lawyers trained to seek certainty and minimize risk. Embracing the possibility of change calls for courage and a willingness to step out of your comfort zone. But change is how we grow, adapt, and ultimately find our way. Change does not imply failure. Nor does it signal weakness. It means you have evolved. Mobility is the norm. Legions of young lawyers switch jobs during their first eight years, some two or three times. Experienced lawyers also routinely make career moves to acquire better client and practice support, career advancement, and work-life balance. The era when a lawyer stayed put for most of their career is gone. As lawyers, we are taught to question, analyze, and solve. Those same principles apply to our own lives. In redirecting your career, start with a thorough self-assessment, includ ing skills, passions, and strengths. Seek insight and advice from people you trust. Net work actively, leveraging connections to gain referrals. Above all, believe in yourself. The practice of law is a profound privilege, but it is not the only path if you have a law degree. If your aspirations no longer reside in litigation or deal-making, the versatil ity of a law degree allows you to pivot to academia, public service, finance and business, politics, journalism, and countless other fields. Legal education cultivates critical reasoning, persuasive communication, attention to detail, and thinking through problems. These are not just legal skills but transferable life skills. (For this annual YLS issue of the CBA Record , our dedicated YLS co-editors feature articles on alternative careers for lawyers.) True Success True success involves liking what you do, measured by internal happiness, not by acco lades, titles, or monetary gain. Mark Twain expressed this point when he said, “The secret to success is making your vocation your vacation.” Similarly, Dale Carnegie, the author of How to Win Friends & Influence People , taught, “People rarely succeed unless they have fun with what they are doing.” In this context, “fun” refers to the satisfaction of engaging

Carolyn Amadon Samuel, Son & Co. Daniel J. Berkowitz Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston & Zimet LLP Jacob B. Berger Tabet DiVito & Rothstein LLC Amy Cook Amy Cook Law LLC Nina Fain Janet Sugerman Schirn Family Trust Anthony F. Fata Kirby McInerney LLP Clifford Gately Quarles & Brady Meredith A. Geller Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Judge Jasmine Villaflor Hernandez Circuit Court of Cook County Kaitlin King Hart David Carson LLP Theodore Kontopoulos Internal Revenue Service John Levin Kathryn C. Liss DePaul University College of Law Clare McMahon Reed, Centracchio & Associates, LLC Pamela Sakowicz Menaker Clifford Law Offices Kathleen Dillon Narko Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Alexander Passo Latimer LeVay Fyock LLC Adam J. Sheppard Sheppard Law Firm, PC Richard Lee Stavins Robbins DiMonte, Ltd. Kevin A. Thompson Levin Ginsburg Rosemary Simota Thompson

Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. Circuit Court of Cook County

THE CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION Sharon Nolan Director of Marketing

6 March/April 2025