Established in 2000, the award recognizes lawyers and judges who best exemplify Justice Stevens’ legacy of pro bono and public service in his career and his commitment to ensuring our justice system is fair and accessible for everyone in the community. An active member of the CBA during his long residence in Chicago, Stevens retired from the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010 after 35 years of service and died in 2019.
“We are so proud to honor this phenomenal, diverse group of lawyers and jurists with the John Paul Stevens Awards,” said CBA President Ray J. Koenig III. “Each has impacted our legal community and city through their leadership and generous service to The Chicago Bar Association, The Chicago Bar Foundation, and our community. They exemplify the ideals our profession and community work to uphold.”
Here are the biographies of this year's Stevens Awards winners, as provided by the CBA:
- Dan L. Boho is a lifelong Chicagoan who attended undergrad and law school at Loyola. He has practiced with Hinshaw & Culbertson since his start as a summer associate when the firm consisted of two Chicago area offices through its growth to 25 offices nationally. He served on the Executive Committee for 33 years and is in his 35th year as a practice group leader of the personal injury defense practice nationally. He is a Fellow of the top three national trial organizations: The American College of Trial Lawyers, which he also served as State Chair, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and ABOTA. Locally, he has served as President of the Trial Lawyers Club of Chicago and later as President of the Illinois Society of Trial Lawyers. In the CBA, Dan has served as a volunteer General Counsel, Board Member, and Officer. He served as volunteer General Counsel and Vice-Chairman for the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the General Assembly for the IBA. Dan is a national trial lawyer in his practice, having tried cases from coast to coast in State and Federal Courts. He has acted as trial counsel for the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, the Chicago Bears, and the Chicago Fire. He was lead defense counsel in the 69 West Washington fire case with 300 depositions and the John Hancock case with 150 depositions. He also represented the producer of the Indiana State Fair in its stage collapse litigation. He has served on the Board of PILI and the Heartland Alliance and was Board Chairman for the Polish American Association.
- Patricia Brown Holmes is a Managing Partner at Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP. A former state court judge, experienced prosecutor, and defense lawyer, Patricia is renowned for impeccable judgment, brilliant strategy, and sage counsel. She is a trusted advisor to clients facing high-stakes commercial disputes and litigation, class actions, investigations, and white-collar criminal matters; environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) issues; and reputational crises. She is the first Black woman to manage and have her name on the door of a national law firm that is not women- or minority-owned. Before serving as an associate judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, she was an assistant U.S. Attorney and an Assistant State’s Attorney. She is the Past President (1997-1998) of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. and the Past President (2015-2016) of The Chicago Bar Association. Often described as a force of nature for her boundless energy and powerful presence, she has received countless accolades for her professional excellence and dedication to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession. Recently, she was honored with the Chambers USA 2023 Diversity & Inclusion Outstanding Contribution Award, the American Constitution Society Abner J. Mikva Award, the Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Philanthropic Award, the ABA Diversity Leadership Award, and named to the CCBA Hall of Fame. She is the Co-Chair of the National Football League Diversity Advisory Council.
- Daniel M. Kotin is a founding shareholder and trial lawyer in the firm of Tomasik Kotin Kasserman. He handles personal injury and wrongful death cases in transportation, product liability, medical malpractice, and construction. In 2017, he completed his term as President of the Chicago Bar Association, became involved in the National Conference of Bar Presidents, and was elected to its Executive Council. He has also been selected for the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers fellowships. He sits in the House of Delegates for the American Bar Association and serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. He is an American Board of Trial Advocates member and has served as President of The Society of Trial Lawyers. He serves as the Immediate Past President of the prestigious Chicago Inn of Court. At the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, he is a member of the Board of Managers. In addition, he has been appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to serve on the Hearing Board of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission and to its Committee on Character and Fitness. He is on the faculty at Loyola University School of Law, where he teaches a course in Civil Procedure and served as a National Mock Trial Team coach. He was the President of the Board of Governors for Loyola Law School and serves as the co-chair of its Circle of Advocates.
- Professor Ann Lousin was born and reared in Chicago and received a B.A. from Grinnell College in 1964. She studied in Heidelberg for a year and then returned to study at The University of Chicago Law School. Shortly after receiving her J.D. in 1968, she was a research assistant at The Sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention. She was a staff assistant to the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives for the next four years, including being Parliamentarian of the House from 1973 to 1975. Upon joining the faculty of The John Marshall Law School in 1975, she began teaching both commercial law and constitutional law. She currently teaches Sales Transactions, Contracts, and Illinois Constitutional Law. Outside the law school, she has served in several governmental positions, notably Chairman of The Illinois State Civil Service Commission. She has also served on charitable boards and lectured abroad. Within the legal community, she has been the Chairperson of The Armenian Bar Association and is a founding member. She is especially active in The Chicago Bar Association, which she has served for fifty years, including three terms as Chair of the Constitutional Law Committee. In 2009, she was elected to The American Law Institute. Acknowledged as an expert on the Illinois Constitution, she wrote The Illinois State Constitution: A Reference Guide and writes columns for The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.
- Mary Smith is President of the American Bar Association (ABA) and is the first Native American woman in this role. She is an independent board member and former CEO of the Indian Health Service. She currently serves on the board of PTC Therapeutics, Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company, and HAI Group, a leading member-owned insurance company for the affordable housing industry. She is also Vice Chair of the VENG Group, a national consulting firm. She served on the senior team of the Civil Division at the United States Department of Justice and as General Counsel at the Illinois Department of Insurance. Earlier in her career, she served in the White House as Associate Counsel to the President and Associate Director of Policy Planning. She served in a senior role at Tyco International (US) Inc. and as Special Counsel & Estate Trust Officer at the Office of Special Deputy Receiver. She was a Partner in the Chicago office of Schoeman, Updike & Kaufman, a women-owned firm, and an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, D.C. In bar activities, she is a past ABA secretary and was the first Native American to serve as one of 13 commissioners on the Commission on Women in the Profession. She has held leadership positions in both the ABA Section of Litigation and the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Responsibility. She also served as an ABA representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. She served on the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents and is a past president of the National Native American Bar Association. She was co-chair of the Litigation Section in the District of Columbia Bar Association and also served on the Board of Managers for the Chicago Bar Association. In her civic activities, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of Chicago, the International Women’s Forum, and the National Association of Corporate Directors. She founded and serves as President and Chair of a foundation named after her mother and grandmother, respectively, the Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation, to train Native American girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
- Barry Taylor is the Vice President for Civil Rights and Systemic Litigation at Equip for Equality, where he has worked since 1996 to advance the human and civil rights of people with disabilities in Illinois. At Equip for Equality, he has overseen many individual and systemic disability discrimination cases, including successful federal ADA suits against the National Board of Medical Examiners, the Chicago Police Department, and the Chicago Transit Authority. He is currently counsel in six class actions, including lead counsel in Ligas v. Eagleson, a class action on behalf of people with developmental disabilities who are seeking community services. Over 20,000 people with disabilities have received community services as a result of the three community integration class actions. He has been the Chairperson of the Disability Rights Consortium, Chairperson of Season of Concern, Chairperson of the Legal Committee for the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, Chairperson of the Chicago Bar Association’s Legal Aid and Mental Health and Disability Law Committees, and Co-Chairperson of the Chicago Bar Association’s Pro Bono Week. He has served on the Governor’s Task Force for Employment and Economic Opportunity for People with Disabilities, the Disability Court Access Committee for the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts, the Board of the Public Interest Law Initiative, and Senator Dick Durbin’s Judicial Selection Committee. In 2001, Chicago Lawyer Magazine named Barry one of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 to Watch.” Barry is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Chicago Law School, where he teaches Disability Rights Law. He was the AIDS Project Attorney in the Midwest Regional Office of Lambda Legal, working to advance the civil rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. His caseload included a successful challenge to discriminatory inquiries by the Chicago Public Schools on teacher applications. From 1988-1993, Barry was a litigation associate at the Chicago law firm of Peterson & Ross. He is a 1988 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, where he also received his undergraduate degree in 1985. Barry and his husband, Marv Pollack, have two children. They have been active at the Francis W. Parker School, where Barry facilitated the SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) program for six years.
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