CBA to kick off 150th Anniversary celebrations with Community Legal Fair Wednesday in Daley Plaza

The Chicago Bar Association was founded in 1874. It will officially kick off a yearlong celebration of its upcoming 150th anniversary by hosting a Community Legal Fair for residents of Chicago on Wednesday, May 17 from noon to 2:00p.m. at the Daley Plaza. "More than 40 leading legal organizations committed to improving access to justice and supporting Chicagoland’s legal community will be in attendance," according to the CBA's press release.

There are 20 bar groups named on the event's flyer alone:

But these bar associations are not the only participants in next week's Community Legal Fair. Continuing, now, from the CBA's press release:

“We are proud to gather the community together to commemorate the Chicago Bar Association’s 150th Anniversary, show appreciation to all the legal organizations who fight for access to justice alongside us and inform the public on all the legal resources available from bar associations and legal aid organizations,” said the Honorable Nichole Patton, Circuit Court Judge of Cook County and Co-Chair of the CBA’s 150th Anniversary Committee.

Community members can meet and talk with legal organizations from across Chicago to find out more about available legal resources and opportunities for legal assistance. The event will feature live music from the CBA’s Barrister’s Big Band, food trucks and remarks from CBA’s 150th Anniversary Celebration Co-Chairs the Honorable Nichole Patton and CBA Executive Director Emeritus Terry Murphy, CBA President Timothy Tomasik and CBF First Vice President Kenya Jenkins Wright.

“As the CBA prepares to mark a century and a half of championing justice, building connections, and making an impact, we have much to look forward to,” said Tomasik. “We begin our celebration with the Community Legal Fair, and throughout the year, we'll host special CLE offerings and programming, culminating with a grand celebration on May 10, 2024 in the Great Hall at Union Station.”

For additional information on these activities as well as a timeline of the CBA’s history and impact on the legal community, visit the CBA’s 150th Anniversary website at www.chicagobar150.org.

The Chicago Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Foundation along with the following organizations will participate in the Fair: American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois; CARPLS Legal Aid; Center for Conflict Resolution; Center for Disability & Elder Law; Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights; Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County-Iris Y Martinez; Greater Chicago Legal Clinic; Illinois Legal Aid Online; James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy ; Law Center for Better Housing; Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless; Lawndale Christian Legal Center; Legal Aid Chicago; Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services; Legal Council for Health Justice; Life Span; National Immigrant Justice Center; North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic; PILI/Illinois Free Legal Answers; Shriver Center on Poverty Law; World Relief Chicagoland; Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area; Black Men Lawyers' Association ; Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago, Inc.; Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago; Cook County Bar Association; Federal Bar Association--Chicago Chapter; Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago; HLAI - Serving the Hispanic Lawyers of Illinois; Illinois State Bar Association; Justinian Society of Lawyers; LAGBAC; Muslim Bar Association of Chicago; Northwest Suburban Bar Association; Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois; The Arab American Bar Association of Illinois; The Decalogue Society of Lawyers; and Women's Bar Association of Illinois.