CBA Record Nov-Dec 2019

see what I could have been if I had had an opportunity.” This reminded me of my late father who came to the United States from Mexico as a migrant farm worker with very little formal education. My father went on to work in construction, on the railroads, in a steel mill, and in the last 23 years of his working life, in a commercial bakery. Like many Americans he worked incredibly hard, doing strenuous physical work. He did so anonymously, with no acclaim or fanfare. He never did his work in public; he never received a pro bono service award (or an award of any kind); he never had his work noted in a newspaper or in a law journal. He did not benefit frommember- ship in a bar association that helped him in his career, led to great friendships, or rewarding opportunities to help and create opportunities for others. I am very grateful to be a lawyer, a member of a very noble profession. While it is a very demanding, and at times stress- ful job, it is also incredibly rewarding. Some of us get to ply our craft in a court- room, defend clients when their freedom

diversity in the legal profession. CBA membership led to my involvement with the CBA’s charitable arm, the Chicago Bar Foundation. I joined the CBF board and learned about the many great legal aid organizations in our region and how CBA members and CBF supporters help sustain and significantly impact the work of those organizations. Through my involvement in both the CBA and CBF I have made life-long friendships and shared many great experiences with other lawyers who care deeply about their clients, practices, profession, and communities. In this season of thanksgiving, I am grateful to our members for the opportu- nity to serve as your CBA president, and along with our board of managers, to pro- vide the care and stewardship of our CBA. I will be forever grateful that the CBA and CBF not only provided me with opportu- nities that helped me in my legal career, but more importantly, that both the CBA and the CBF have given me the platform from which to help create opportunities for others.

and liberty is at stake, prosecute crimes, structure and negotiate complicated trans- actions, help government run ethically and efficiently, help disadvantaged clients seek access to justice, use our legal training to make laws and public policy, and many other roles that our training allows us to do that benefit society. Because of my parents’ hard work and sacrifices that enabled me to become a lawyer, I have had the opportunity to counsel clients in complicated deals, rep- resent pro bono clients on matters impact- ful in their lives, to serve in a variety of volunteer public service roles throughout my legal career, and now to be a full-time public servant as Illinois Deputy Gover- nor for Education and president of the Chicago Bar Association. I have been a member of the CBA for almost 25 years, and I can truly say that my CBA membership has not only enhanced my law practice, but also my life. I have received critical training and attended many insightful programs. I have been able to engage in many issues impact- ing our profession, especially increasing

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