CBA Record March-April 2026

THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

CBA YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION Chair Gavin Phelps Circuit Court of Cook County First Vice Chair Aleksandra Petrovi c Damisch & Damisch, Ltd. Second Vice Chair Bianca Ciarroni Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP Armstrong Teasdale LLP Philanthropy Officer Pam Sran Fox Rothschild Secretary/Treasurer Andre Hunter, Jr. Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Program Officers Deepa Singh U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Cha’yra Eddie Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC Inclusion & Engagement Officer Joseph Nelson DiCello Levitt Co-Editors of the YLS Journal J. Kopczyk Attorney at Law Katherine Hanson First District Appellate Court Co-Editors of the CBA Blog Recruitment Officer Stephanie Moon

An Evolving Young Lawyers Section Gavin Phelps, CIPP/US, YLS Chair

affairs and determining programs that support its agenda for the bar year. The First Vice Chair continues to assist the YLS Chair and serves as an ambas sador to other lawyer associations. The bylaws now allow the First Vice Chair to create additional officer roles, not other wise named in the bylaws, for the next YLS election cycle. These additional roles will then serve during the bar year when the First Vice Chair becomes YLS Chair. This change allows the First Vice Chair to carry out their agenda more effectively once they assume the Chair role. In years past, the Second Vice Chair worked with the former Member Services Manager position to oversee all directors and YLS committees. In conjunction with the changes made to the Member Services Manager position, the Second Vice Chair now primarily serves to supervise and pro vide guidance to YLS committees, ensur ing that each committee has adequate support to host their regularly scheduled meetings and seminars. This oversight remains substantial given the wide range of YLS Committees, and as a result the Executive Council provides additional support as needed. Previously, the Member Services Man ager role lacked clarity, often overlapping with Chair and Program Officer func tions. The role has been rebranded to that of Recruitment Officer, with a focus on member recruitment and increasing reten tion through a variety of social, network ing, and practice-area specific programs

I n recent years, the Young Lawyers Section has evolved to better serve its members. To support this effort, the YLS formed a Bylaws Committee to exam ine existing operations and recommend improvements. As a result of the Com mittee’s work, several changes were made to modernize YLS procedures and better define leadership roles and responsibilities. Section Membership YLS membership remains open to anyone in their first 10 years of practice. How ever, the newly amended bylaws provide clarity on the exact start and end date of Section membership to assist in determin ing officer and director eligibility. Officers and Directors The YLS Chair's role remains the same: supervising the Section's business and

Sara Shiffman Attorney at Law

Hannah Werner MacDonald, Lee & Senechalle, Ltd Immediate Past Chai r Kenneth A. Matuszewski Rozier Hardt McDonough PLLC

Want to get involved in the Young Lawyers Section? Send an email to yls@chicagobar.org and ask to get connected with future leadership and volunteer opportunities.

20 March/April 2026