CBA Record November-December 2024

THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

TRADITION 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

This holiday season, I am thankful for my family, friends, and professional col leagues. You all have supported, loved, challenged, and encouraged me through out my life, especially this past summer, when I was balancing a layoff and job search with my YLS Chair duties. This bar year would not be possible without you, and I am eternally grateful. On the YLS front, I am glad to report that we have maintained its traditions of service to the public and service to the profession this bar year. Our first Wills for Heroes program for the new bar year reached the maximum capacity for volun teers well before the deadline to sign up. We also helped ensure a safe and fair 2024 election by partnering with the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights to promote election protection volunteer opportunities. Most importantly, we helped keep Pro Bono in Motion during Pro Bono Week and ensured access to justice for all, regardless of race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, and socioeconomic status. We are also con tinuing to develop relationships with other professional organizations with the aim of building connections and hosting social events. The YLS also has several holiday tradi tions, including the Moot Court Compe tition in November (all CBA members are welcome to volunteer as oral argument judges), the Dear Santa letters campaign, and the YLS holiday party on December 5 (sign up at www.chicagobar.org). These were among the very first YLS events I participated in after I was sworn into the Illinois bar eight years ago, and they laid the foundation for my legal career. For new admittees to the bar, I wel come you to the profession and encourage

Armstrong Teasdale LLP Philanthropy Officer Jacob Berger Tabet DiVito & Rothstein Project 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

W ith the CBA’s 150th Anniver sary Celebration, the 2024 presidential election cycle, the Summer Olympics, and “Brat” summer, the year has been nothing short of a fiercely whipping whirlwind. And as the days grow colder, shorter, and darker, the upcoming holiday season inspires either hope or dread. From my perspective, the holidays have always meant celebrating a wide variety of unique family and personal traditions. They have meant deep-frying turkeys for Thanksgiving, enjoying the traditional Polish Christmas Eve meat less dinner (while politely declining the śledzie), celebrating Christmas Day, exchanging personally meaningful gifts, and, most importantly, leftovers. They have also meant perennial attendance at Andrew Bird’s Gezelligheid concert here in Chicago, playing at Tuba Christmas, seeing double features of beloved holiday classics at the Music Box Theatre, and adding yet another Gluhwein mug from the Christkindlmarket to my personal collection. They have even meant loss and the recognition of loss. Each of these holi day experiences has shaped me, helped instill my core values, and made me the person I am.

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