CBA Record May-June 2021

Y O U N G L A W Y E R S J O U R N A L Magnum Opus By Jeffrey Moskowitz, YLS Chair I n life, we generally do no t

CBA YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION Chair Jeffrey Moskowitz J. Moskowitz Law LLC

on your perspective, and you alone control your perspective. I said it in a prior column, and I will repeat it here: it is not happy people who are grateful, it is grateful people who are happy. I am sorry to tell you this, but no one cares how much money you have, so stop counting other people’s money. Success is completely subjective. Time is the single most valuable asset on earth—you do not know how much you have, so don’t waste it. No matter the month, march to the beat of your own drum. I think one of the most elusive and important things in life is to find balance. If you figure out how to do it, please let me know. I want to thank you all. This experience has been one of the best of my life. I cannot tell you how lucky I have been to meet the people I have met or had the experi- ences I have had from being in the CBA. I encourage everyone reading to get more involved. As attorneys we have incredible opportunities to change our communities in small and large ways. Use your collective power to drive change. We have shown our collective power this year with the incred- ible accomplishments of the Racial Justice Coalition (RJC). Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to work with you. Special thanks to Lindsay Wunrow, Jennifer Byrne, Beth McMeen, Terry Murphy, Tracy Brammier, Chastidy Burns, Marty Gould, Kenny Matuszewski, John Risvold, Dan Berkowitz, Gavin Phelps, Kaitlin King, Ted Kontopoulous, Laura Wibberly, Jack Sanker, Alex Passo, Octavio Duran, Brandon Peck, Jon Amarilio, Katie Liss, Matt Passen, my directors, my special project officers, the Talk Legal personali- ties, and members of the RJC. Most of all, thank you to the members of the YLS for your participation! If you are wondering how to get involved, please feel free to reach out to me. I am so proud that I can definitely say this year we lived our theme: Together We Were Stronger .

First Vice-Chair Tracy Brammeier Clifford Law Offices, P.C.

know when a n y t h i n g is going to be “the last time.” This column is an excep- tion—this will be my last column

Second Vice-Chair Chastidy Burns

Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender

Member Service Manager Marty Gould Romanucci & Blandin LLC Public Service Manager Kenneth Matuszewski Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP Project Officer John Risvold The Collins Law Firm PC

as YLS Chair. For what it’s worth, I am going to share some of the principles I have learned throughout my life, and maybe some will be useful to you. Smell the flowers; take a minute to enjoy the sunshine on your face; do not leave things left unsaid. Take chances and throw caution to the wind. Start your own firm; take on the case that scares you; turn down the case that is lucrative but morally corrupting. Change careers—you have one life, and please live it to the fullest. If you are going to bet, bet on yourself. Attending that networking event will likely have a greater effect on your future than one more hour in the office. Always listen to people who give you advice, but don’t take all of it. Surround yourself with people who impress you and people who do not always agree with you. It is almost impossible to see ourselves as we are, so if you are wondering, you are the combina- tion of the five people closest to you. If you live like there is no tomorrow, you will end up missing out on a lot of tomorrows. But if you lose yourself in your future plans, you will miss out on today. My mom always used to tell me that the present is a present. I used to scoff at the notion, but she was right. Plan for a future. Just remember, ultimately, you are only racing yourself—but do not use that as an excuse to leave anything on the table. You should probably do more things that people told you not to do. Your level of happiness is entirely based

Project Officer Daniel Berkowitz Office of the Illinois Attorney General Secretary/Treasurer Gavin Phelps Attorney at Law

Co-Editor in Chief YLS Journal Kaitlin King Hart David Carson LLP Co-Editor in Chief YLS Journal Alexander Passo Latimer LeVay Fyock LLC Vice Chair YLS Journal Jacob B. Berger Tabet DiVito & Rothstein LLC

YLS Director Lindsay Wunrow

32 May/June 2021