CBA Record September-October 2021

Y O U N G L A W Y E R S J O U R N A L Y O U N G J O U R N A L

The Power of One for the Public Good By Kenneth Matuszewski T he ripple effect is a powerful phe- nomenon. Dropping a small pebble into a body of water generates

and public service throughout my legal career. At first, I started small and stayed within my practice area of intellectual property. I drafted portions of patent applications through the Chicago-Kent Patent Hub and contracts or copyrights for Lawyers for the Creative Arts. But as I realized just how crippling the lack of access to justice was for some communities, I started to pursue opportunities outside my comfort zone. For example, I worked on settlement conferences for prisoners’ rights cases and employment discrimina- tion cases through the Northern District of Illinois’ Settlement Assistance Program; and I also advised pro se litigants on how to respond to complex discovery disputes as well as motions for summary judgment at the Hibbler Memorial Pro Se Assistance Program. Initially, working in practice areas outside my own was difficult. Yet I soon realized that resources were out there to help, including other volunteers, just as law school taught me to problem solve in a wide variety of contexts. To this day, I still volunteer with all these organizations as a pro bono attorney whenever I can. These experiences contextualized the founding of the Racial Justice Coalition last year. After years of watching hor-

rors play across television and computer screens, I knew that I had to do something to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial justice. With my co-founder, Chastidy Burns, we started small. Initially, we focused on providing educational events about upcoming legislation, such as the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, and included other local bar associations in important discussions about racial justice. This later expanded to panels addressing police reform and organizing pro bono clinics that helped senior citizens of color obtain powers of attorney and public benefits. Most recently, our work has con- tinued through empowering law students and attorneys to become Legal Observers at protests. At the time, the RJC did not know just how much our pebbles of work would ripple from Chicago to the national stage. Then, in December 2020, the American Bar Association invited us to draft a reso- lution proposing that the federal govern- ment ban no-knock warrants. While once again I neither had much experience with the legislative process, nor background in no-knock warrants, I knew that I could research and write. Together with a fantas- tic team of volunteers, the RJC drafted a

ripples far beyond the point of impact. But this effect is not limited to the natural world. It has been observed in computer science, economics, sociology, and, most importantly, in public service. One person’s actions, no matter how small, may ripple far beyond the person or community served; in some instances, it may even create a tidal wave of social change. Since childhood, I have felt called to use my talents and abilities to help others. Before I entered law school, this ranged from tutoring other students and teaching music lessons to spending multiple school breaks rebuilding homes in New Orleans, LA and Joplin, MO. Despite barely know- ing how to use a power drill, much less how to lead a group of volunteers or how to apply proper educational pedagogy, I jumped headfirst into these opportunities. As I later discovered, I was not only able to learn the skills I needed on the job, but also how to combine that knowledge with my other abilities to produce a unique impact on the lives of those in the the communi- ties I served. The same can be said about pro bono

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