CBA Record September-October 2026

PRESIDENT’S PAGE BY TRISHA M. RICH Pro Bono Service: Privilege and Responsibility

The Chicago Bar Association www.chicagobar.org President Trisha M. Rich First Vice President Kathryn C. Liss Second Vice President Jonathan B. Amarilio Immediate Past President Judge Nichole C. Patton Executive Director Beth McMeen BOARD OF MANAGERS Judge Jorge L. Alonso James V. Campell Elizabeth Carpenter Dora Cornelio Steven R. Decker Octavio Duran Kevin Gerow Secretary Andrew W. Vail Treasurer Adam M. Zebelian

Pro bono service is sometimes described as an act of generosity. It is certainly gen erous, but it is also something more. It is an expression of our professional identity and of our shared commitment to the fair administration of justice. A legal system may promise equal treatment, but that promise has limited meaning if only some people can understand the process, assert their rights, or make their voices heard. When lawyers provide pro bono assis tance, we help make that promise real. Pro bono benefits extend well beyond the individual matter. Pro bono work strengthens courts by helping cases pro ceed more efficiently and ensuring that judges receive clearer presentations of the facts and the law. It supports communities by helping people preserve their housing, protect their families, secure necessary benefits, and resolve problems before they become crises. Pro bono also reinforces public confidence in the legal profession by demonstrating that lawyers recognize an obligation to serve the broader community. And pro bono service benefits lawyers themselves. It can place us in courtrooms, communities, and areas of law that we might not otherwise encounter. It helps us develop judgment, confidence, empa thy, and practical skills. For younger law yers, a pro bono matter may offer an early opportunity to interview a client, develop a strategy, negotiate with opposing coun sel, or argue before a tribunal. For expe rienced lawyers, it can reconnect us with the reasons we entered the profession in the first place. Pro bono service can take many forms. It may involve accepting full representa tion of a client, staffing a brief-advice clinic, assisting a nonprofit organization,

A defining characteristic of the legal profession is that our work is not simply a business. Lawyers occupy a unique place in our justice system. We are advocates, counselors, officers of the court, and stewards of institutions that cannot function as intended unless people have meaningful access to them. With that privilege comes a responsibility: to use our training and experience in service of those who would otherwise face the legal system alone. That responsibility is especially impor tant now. For someone confronting evic tion, domestic violence, the loss of public benefits, an immigration proceeding, or another life-altering legal problem, the difference between having—or not having—a lawyer can be profound. Yet the need for legal assistance continues to exceed the resources available to provide it. Legal aid organizations do extraordi nary work, but they cannot close that gap by themselves. The private bar must be part of the answer.

William T. Gibbs Martin D. Gould Noah J. Graf Elizabeth A. Kaveny Sarah F. King

Jennifer F. Kuzminski Kenneth Matuszewski Judge Thomas A. Morrissey Judge Michael T. Mullen Ryan M. Nolan Brandon E. Peck

6 September/October 2026