CBA Record October 2018

CBA RECORD

EDITOR’S BRIEFCASE BY JUSTICE MICHAEL B. HYMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF The Power is Within You T he emotional pain and psychological toll of poverty cannot be easily explained. Not too long ago, about 100 judges, including me, participated in a poverty simulation. Under the guidance of a professional facilitator, we were paired into a family of a single parent and a high school senior, and assigned unique circumstances associated with those susceptible to the consequences of poverty. The simulation, derived from real life, brought the participants into contact with gov- ernment welfare agencies, the legal system, the police, employers, bill collectors, school administrators, and others. Over two-and-a-half-hours, the parent and student faced a school year of ups and downs, with each month presenting a new difficulty (examples, the parent is sued for unpaid bills or the child is arrested for theft), an unexpected obstacle (examples, the parent is laid-off or the family car is totaled in an accident), and, occasionally, temporary relief (example, a social agency provides rent money). The goal was for the family to maintain normality (avoid homelessness, separation, and hunger) and for the student to graduate high school with respectable grades so he or she would be college eligible. All but a handful of participants achieved a favorable outcome, and most of those due to the availability of free legal services. I was assigned the role of the student. At the beginning of the simulation, my mother had a steady job, we lived in a decent apartment, and I did well in school. From time to time, we all stumble; however, the vulnerable seem to stumble more often and harder. As the end of the school year approached, our lives were torn inside. Poverty respects no demarcations or rules or preconceptions. My mother was trying to keep herself from drowning in misery; I was living alone in a car, my plans to attend college dashed. I felt marginalized, abandoned, and, worst of all, hopeless. Of course, nothing can replicate the reality of being adrift in the rough waters of poverty. The simulation merely let us glimpse, in a general sense, the effect of poverty on behavior and wellbeing as well as provide some insight into our legal system from the point of view of the poor. The Unrepresented Litigant Ostensibly, the courts are accessible and affordable, yet, those assurances mean little to people who cannot afford to pay a lawyer to vindicate their rights or defenses. The simula- tion captured the helplessness and fragility of an unrepresented litigant. Every lawyer can perform pro bono, so every lawyer has the power recognized by this year’s CBA/CBF Pro Bono Week theme, Celebrating the Power of Pro Bono. This power can have an enormous impact on the client, the courts, the community, the profession, and you. The need in Cook County for pro bono counsel continues to swell. Judges will tell you that most self-represented litigants want an attorney but lack the financial resources to hire one, and that legal representation can affect the outcome of a case. Doing pro bono gives you… the power to change someone’s future; the power to imme- diately impact a life; the power to be the catalyst to heal misfortune; the power to redress injustice; the power to instill hope; and the power to empower. This power is within you to unleash. Celebrate the power…the power of pro bono. Rehearing “This is the true joy in life—the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one…”–George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Justice Michael B. Hyman Illinois Appellate Court Associate Editor Anne Ellis Proactive Worldwide, Inc. Summary Judgments Editor Daniel A. Cotter Latimer LeVay Fyock LLC YLS Journal Editors-in-Chief Natalie Chan Sidley Austin LLP

Daniel J. Berkowitz Aronberg Goldgehn

Carolyn Amadon Jonathan B. Amarilio Taft Stettinus & Hollister LLP Ali Ammoura Cook County Public Defender's Office Amy Cook Amy Cook Consulting Nina Fain Janet Sugerman Schirn Family Trust Anthony F. Fata Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP Clifford Gately Heyl Royster Jasmine Villaflor Hernandez Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Lynn Semptimphelter Kopon Kopon Airdo LLC John Levin Kathryn C. Liss Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center Bonnie McGrath Law Office of Bonnie McGrath Clare McMahon Law Office of Clare McMahon Pamela S. Menaker Clifford Law Offices Peter V. Mierzwa Law Bulletin Publishing Company Kathleen Dillon Narko Northwestern University School of Law Adam J. Sheppard Sheppard Law Firm, PC Nicholas D. Standiford Schain Banks Kenny & Schwartz Ltd. Richard Lee Stavins

Robbins, Saloman & Patt, Ltd. Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. Circuit Court of Cook County Rosemary Simota Thompson William A. Zolla II The ZOLLaw Group, Ltd.

THE CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION David Beam Director of Publications Rebecca Martin Manager of Advertising and Sponsorships

6 OCTOBER 2018