Judicial Evaluation Committees looking for new members

Both the Chicago Bar Association and the members of the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening are looking for help.

The CBA is looking for members to serve in the Investigation Division of its Judicial Evaluation Committee. Current members need not reapply; interested newcomers should download this application from the CBA website and return it to Therese Kurth by fax at 312-554-2054 or by email at tkurth@chicagobar.org by May 15.

Members of Alliance bar groups looking to volunteer for a JEC should contact Alliance Administrator Joyce Williams at 312-920-4676 or email her at jwilliams@isba.org.

The CBA says that this is one of its busiest years in a long time; there are a lot of persons interested in becoming a judge (full disclosure: I have applied for associate judge).

The CBA also says JEC investigators "will learn a great deal about the legal profession while assisting in the JEC's mission to improve the Cook County judiciary." To this I would add -- as long-time FWIW readers already know -- a great many current judges were, at one time, members of one or more judicial evaluation committees. If you are interested in becoming a judge some day (i.e., not in 2016) service on a JEC would (in addition to providing a useful service to the local bench and bar) provide an opportunity to learn more about the judicial selection process and, perhaps, forge connections that may be helpful in someday realizing your own ambitions.