CBA Record May-June 2022

PRESIDENT’S PAGE BY E. LYNN GRAYSON Lawyers and Gratitude

The Chicago Bar Association www.chicagobar.org

OFFICERS

President E. Lynn Grayson

that the profession’s new “normal” is even better. We welcome greater flex ibility into our work environments to improve how and where we practice law. We support the continued use of virtual meeting technology and remote hearings to streamline how we work together and interact with the courts and clients. We understand what matters most in rede fining how we connect and socialize with one another and determining what we need from the CBA. I am grateful for the many collabora tive efforts to forge a new and improved legal profession. The CBA remains at the forefront of these efforts to transform the practice of law, ensuring lawyers the best possible opportunities for sustain able, successful legal careers. Like you, I look forward to continuing to be a part of legal innovation efforts and access to justice initiatives that will benefit other lawyers and the clients we serve. I have come to believe that gratitude is a powerful force for good. Far from a fluffy or frivolous concept, it has real impact on physical health, emotional well-being, motivation, engagement, and belonging. How do lawyers feel about gratitude? In her article titled “Lawyers and Gratitude” in the Notre Dame Jour nal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy, author Reed Elizabeth Loder recommends that every lawyer should cultivate, feel, and act upon a special type of gratitude she refers to as legal gratitude. She also con cludes that a grateful lawyer is a more effective member of the legal workplace. As this bar year draws to a close,

First Vice President Timothy S. Tomasik

Second Vice President Ray J. Koenig III

Secretary Kathryn Carso Liss Treasurer John C. Sciaccotta

Immediate Past President Maryam Ahmad

I t has been another extraordinary year for the CBA, and I am proud of all we have accomplished together. While the pandemic has made us weary, I am grateful for the many contributions of our members to help and to support one another. I also appreciate and value the legal innovations aimed at improving the practice of law brought about by our shared remote working experiences. I will be forever grateful for the privilege to serve as the CBA president during this critical time, knowing I was in the right place at the right time. Serving as CBA president during the pandemic has been a unique opportunity to view firsthand the beginning of the transformation of the legal profession. The challenges lawyers have managed over the last couple of years have resulted in a shared vision and mutual under standing that how we practice law and how individuals gain access to the jus tice system must change. As a legal com munity, we embrace the positive lessons learned from the pandemic to ensure

Executive Director Elizabeth A. McMeen

BOARD OF MANAGERS Michael Alkaraki

Hon. Charles S. Beach II Alexis Crawford Douglas Octavio Duran Nina J. Fain Robert W. Fioretti Malcolm “Skip” Harsch Risa R. Lanier Patricia L. McCarthy Hon. James M. McGing Hon. Clare Elizabeth McWilliams Juan Morado, Jr.

Brandon Peck Ashley Rafael Antonio M. Romanucci

Hon. Maria Valdez Sandra S. Yamate

6 May/June 2022