CBA Record

2015 Vanguard Awards Honor Diversity Champions

By David M. Beam Publications Director

T he Chicago Bar Association was proud to co-host the 2015 Van- guard Awards Luncheon on April 2 at the Standard Club with several local bar associations. The Vanguard Awards honor “the institutions and lawyers who have made the law and the legal profes- sion more accessible to and reflective of the community at large.” The Vanguard Awards began with a reception for the honorees at 11:30 a.m., followed by the luncheon in the Grand Ballroom and the presentation of the awards. The luncheon honored lawyers, judges and institutions that have made the law and the legal profession more accessible to and reflective of the community we serve. Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman of the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, was the Association’s 2015 honoree. Other 2015 honorees included: Jim Bennett, Midwest Regional Director, Lambda Legal, Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago; Virginia Marti- nez, Illinois Latino Family Commission, Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois; Anne Shaw, Shaw Legal Services, Asian American Bar Association of Chicago; Jus- tice JohnO. Steele, Ret., Illinois Appellate Court, Cook County Bar Association; and Hon. Mary Jane Theis, Illinois Supreme Court, Puerto Rican Bar Association.

10 APRIL/MAY 2015