CBA Record

PRESIDENT’S PAGE BY PATRICIA BROWN HOLMES Access to Justice–A Global Crisis

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Amy Cook Amy Cook Consulting CBA RECORD The Quinlan Law Firm, LLC Summary Judgments Editor Pamela S. Menaker Clifford Law Of À ces YLS Journal Editors-in-Chief Jonathan B. Amarilio Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP Geoff Burkhart American Bar Association Carolyn D. Amadon Shannon R. Burke American Bar Association Anne Ellis Proactive Worldwide, Inc. Clifford Gately Heyl Royster Angela Harkless The Harkless Law Firm Jasmine Villaflor Hernandez Cook County State’s Attorney’s Of À ce Michele M. Jochner Schiller DuCanto & Fleck LLP Ruth J. Kaufman Stacey R. Laskin Illinois Attorney General’s Of À ce John Levin Bonnie McGrath Law Of À ce of Bonnie McGrath Clare McMahon Law Of À ce of Clare McMahon Peter V. Mierzwa Law Bulletin Publishing Company Kathleen Dillon Narko Northwestern University School of Law Adam J. Sheppard Sheppard Law Firm, PC Features Editor Justin Heather

and we were honored to have President- Elect Dominique Attias, Jacques Bouyssou, Denis Chemla, and Emile Vasseur join us. Our discussion included some of the following topics: • Private for-profit legal service providers. • The U.K.’s legal aid crisis and pro bono programs/initiatives to help serve the growing legal needs of people who cannot afford legal services. The U.K’s “Pupillage” program–both the U.K and Paris Bar Leadership–were interested in the Chicago Bar Foundation’s “Justice Entrepreneur’s Project” (JEP) and vis- ited the project later that afternoon. • Women in the legal profession and global diversity initiatives. • Court programs to provide greater access to justice for pro se litigants. Regulatory Oversight of the U.K’s Legal Profession Alistair MacDonald explained the mission of the U.K’s Bar Council and gave us an overview of the Bar Standards Board and the Legal Standards Board which, pursuant to action by parliament, have regulatory oversight of the U.K.’s legal profession. Barristers now pay a fee to cover the costs of the new regulatory board. McDermott felt that the lay people who serve on the board don’t understand the legal profes- sion and are often too ambitious with disciplinary matters. It’s clear that the government’s new regulatory role has created tension among the U.K.’s 15,000 practicing barristers. Pupillage Program The U.K’s “Pupillage” program is a com- pulsory 12 month training program that must be completed before a new member of the bar is authorized to practice. The Pupillage program must be taken at a bar-

T his past July, I hosted a meeting at the Association with the leaders of the Bar Council of England and Wales and the Paris Bar Association. The CBA is an active member of the Confer- ence of World City Bar Leaders which was founded in 2000 and through the years, we have participated in several international programs with each of these Associations. The Conference of World City Bar Leaders meets every 18 months to discuss common issues, concerns and specific programs of interest to city bar associations. The World City Bar Leaders is comprised of the largest city bar associations in the world including: London, Paris, Tokyo, Rome, Montreal, Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels, Beijing, Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh City, Seoul, Frankfurt, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Alistair MacDonald, Chair of the Bar Council of England andWales, and Gerard McDermott also from the Bar Council asked that the meeting focus on the major access to justice issues facing the legal and judicial systems in each of our countries. I invited the Paris Bar to attend the meeting

Rosemary Simota Thompson U.S. Department of Justice William A. Zolla II The ZOLLaw Group, Ltd.

THE CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION David Beam Director of Publications Joe Tarin Advertising Account Representative

6 SEPTEMBER 2015