CBA Record May-June 2026

Justice John Paul Stevens 2026 Award Nominations Each year, the Association honors lawyers and judges whose careers best exemplify the integrity, commitment to public ser vice, and distinguished career of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. Justice Stevens served as Second Vice President of the CBA until his appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 1970. In December 1975, he was nominated to fill the vacancy of U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas and was sworn in several weeks later. He retired in 2010 after 34 years—making him the third-longest serving justice in the Court’s history. In 2000, the CBA Board of Managers and Justice Stevens’ law clerks established the award that bears his name, which is the highest award presented by the CBA. Submit nominations for the 2026 Justice John Paul Stevens Award by August 7, 2026 by emailing Beth McMeen at bmcmeen@chicagobar.org. The presentation date will be announced in early fall. Hit the Links with the CBA The CBA’s Annual Golf Outing will be held on Tuesday, Sep tember 15, 2026, at The Glen Club in Glenview, Illinois. Stay tuned for details at www.chicagobar.org/golf . Congratulations To the 2026 Vanguard Award recipients: Advocates Society, Judge Diann K. Marsalek ; Arab American Bar Association of Illinois, Anthony (“Tony”) Michael Abou Ezzi ; Asian Ameri can Bar Association, Ajay K. Mehrotra , Justice Goodwin H. Liu , and the American Bar Foundation; Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc., Judge Candace Jackson Akiwumi ; Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago, Daniel R. Murray ; Chicago Bar Association, Judge Frederick H. Bates ; Cook County Bar Association, Cannon Lambert, Sr. ; Deca logue Society of Lawyers, Judge Abbey Fishman Romanek ; Filipino American Lawyers Association, Mark J. Calaguas ; Haitian American Lawyers Association, Judie Lyn Smith ; Hel lenic Bar Association of Illinois, Judge Koula A. Fournier; His panic Lawyers Association of Illinois, Nancy Andrade ; Justinian Society of Lawyers, Judge Jill Cerone-Marisie; Korean Ameri can Bar Association, Caroline K. Kwon ; LAGBAC-Chicago’s LGBTQ+Bar Association, Judge Mary M. Rowland ; Muslim Bar Association of Chicago, Naheda Zayyad-Hussien ; Puerto Rican Bar Association, Judge Lucy Vazquez-Gonzalez; South

Asian Bar Association of Chicago, Avani Patel; Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, Judge Patrice M. Ball-Reed (ret.) This year marks the 20th anniversary of the CBF’s Investing in Justice Campaign . The Campaign will be led by co-chairs for the first time: Laura Stein , General Counsel of Mondelēz Inter national Inc., and Randy Mehrberg , Co-Managing Partner of Jenner & Block LLP… Mary Smith was awarded the 2026 Hun tington Her Hero Lifetime Achievement Award at the New York City Bar Association during the International Law Conference on the Status of Women on the International Day of Women Judges… Kilpatrick added Jeremy L. Buxbaum as counsel to the firm’s trademark, copyright, and advertising practice… Lathrop GPM added Bradley Dlatt to its Tort, Insurance & Environ mental Practice Group… News from Aronberg Goldgehn: Anne Cooper, Amy Gibson , and Jennifer Kuzminski were named to Crain’s Chicago Business 2026 Notable Women in Law; Ralph Dado was named a 2026 Lawdragon 500 Global Leader In Crisis Management; and Jake Kaczynski was welcomed as a member of the firm’s Business Law and Transactions, Taxation and Busi ness Planning, Private Equity, Venture Capital and Emerging Companies, and Banking and Finance practice groups. Amundsen Davis elevated Patrick Richel , a member of the Construction Service Group, to partner… Riley Safer Holmes added former federal prosecutor Jason A. Julien as a partner to its commercial disputes and litigation and white collar investigations and compliance practices… David Scriven-Young joined the law firm of Gould & Ratner as a partner and practices in corporate, litigation, environmental, human resources and employment, and construction… Corboy & Demetrio partner Chad Kasdin has been admitted into The Society of Trial Lawyer… Juan Thomas , Clifford Law Offices, was elected to the ACLU of Illinois Board of Directors, and Gregory M. Beck was hired as a partner to the firm… Lissette Ortegon , staff attorney for the Center for Dis ability and Elder Law, was appointed a member of the Board of Admissions to the Bar by the Illinois Supreme Court. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias received the Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Philanthropic Award at the Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth Spring Awards Celebration and Rita Planera , Corboy & Demetrio, received the My Hero Award. Condolences: To the family and friends of Appellate Court Justice Gino L. DiVito and Helen R. Rogal .

Strength in Practice: Self-Defense & Mental Well-Being for Legal Professionals June 9, 2026 | 3:00-5:00 p.m. | In-person Only at the CBA | 1 IL Mental Health PR-MCLE Credit See fees and registration at Learn.ChicagoBar.org. This two-hour course equips attorneys and judges with essential knowledge and skills to enhance their personal safety, both inside and outside of the office and courtroom.

CBA RECORD 21