- Michael G. Babbitt (deceased) of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP,
- Binal J. Patel, Brian Apel, and Christian T. Wolfgram of Banner Witcoff,
- Douglas Matton of Matton and Werwas, P.C.,
- Magistrate Judge Laura K. McNally and Emily Haus Stone of Loeb & Loeb LLP,
- Reid Schar, Alexis Bates, Hope Tone-O’Keefe, Megan Cahillane, Michael Pearson, Tomi Johnson, and Sara Hickey of Jenner & Block LLP,
- Stacey Lynn Wilkins of Tressler LLP,
- Joseph Dusek of the Law Office of Joe Dusek, LLC,
- David Callahan, Justin Kirschner, Genevieve Zimmerman, and Margaret Babad of Latham & Watkins,
- John Gekas and Nathan Henderson of Saul Ewing LLP,
- John D. Mitchell, Amanda Amert, and Will Weber of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP,
- Jacie Zolna of Myron M. Cherry & Associates, LLC,
- Melissa F. Gold and Timothy Ray of Holland & Knight LLP,
- Heather Benzmiller Sultanian, Natalie C. Chan, Leslie Kuhn-Thayer, Andrew F. Rodheim, Rebecca Lewis Tierney, and Stephen Beemsterboer of Sidley Austin LLP,
- Daniel A. Spira, Emily Woodring, Thomas H. Collier, Jonathan Dussik, and Ian C. Ferrell, also of Sidley Austin LLP,
- Meredith McBride of Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP,
- Naeem Shabbir Nulwala of Legal Aid Chicago,
- Devlin Joseph Schoop of Laduzinsky & Associates, P.C.,
- Andrew Fraker and Joseph Sherling of Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP,
- Pravin B. Rao of Perkins Coie LLP,
- John Gekas and Nathan Henderson of Saul Ewing LLP, and
- Andrew Rima and Rami Fakhouri of Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP.
- Dirksen Lobby – 219 S. Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60610,
- Hamilton & Hennessy, LLC – 53 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 620, Chicago, IL 60604,
- Inspire11 – 1 N. Dearborn St., Suite 1150, Chicago, IL 60602
Students in grades 5-12 from Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin are encouraged to submit art and essays on the importance of the Bill of Rights. Creativity is encouraged.Persons not entering the contest who may nonetheless have a rooting interest in the proceedings are welcome to attend the virtual event on December 4 at 6:00 p.m. Central/7:00 p.m. Eastern. Attendees will also have the opportunity to win prizes.
A grand prize winner from each grade level category will be awarded a $500 cash prize, be able to take part in a virtual event on Wednesday, December 4 with Federal Judges and other legal experts on the enduring rights afforded to Americans by the Bill of Rights, and have their name and submission shared on the websites of the participating United States District Courts. Finalists from each grade level category will receive a $50 prize.
There are four grade level categories: Grade 5-6, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-10, Grades 11-12.
Submissions will be accepted during the fall semester, through 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 1, 2024.
Finalists will be notified by Thanksgiving and grand prize winners will be announced at the virtual event on December 4. A finalist must be present to win the grand prize.
Detailed contest prompts, guidelines, and online submission form can be found here: JudicialLearningCenter.org/bill-of-rights-day.
Teachers: Be sure to tell your students to list you on their submission forms. All teacher names submitted will be entered into a raffle for valuable gift cards. The more students you have enter the more chances you have to win.
Please also note: There is a bulk-submit option for teachers. Contact the Judicial Learning Center through the website for instructions on how to submit for your entire class. Teachers are strongly encouraged to use the bulk-submit option if multiple students are entering.
The present annual salary of the position is $223,836. A United States Magistrate Judge who retires after attaining the age of 65 years and serving at least 14 years, whether continuously or not, shall be entitled to receive, during the remainder of the Magistrate Judge's lifetime, an annuity equal to the salary being received at the time the United States Magistrate Judge leaves office.
- be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years (the Court may, in its discretion, substitute certain other legal experience, e.g., experience as a judge, Magistrate Judge, attorney for federal or state agencies, up to two years experience as a law clerk, for the required period of "active practice of law.");
- be competent to perform all of the duties of the office; be of good moral character, emotionally stable and mature; be committed to equal justice under the law; be in good health; be patient and courteous; and be capable of deliberation and decisiveness;
- be less than seventy years of age; and
- not be related to a judge of the district court.
Classes that submit a winning quote will be awarded, c/o the teacher, a $450 Amazon gift card and a replica of their recommended quote.
- when studying the works of a particular artist, musician, or writer,
- when learning the biography of historic or contemporary figure,
- when examining history, or
- when discussing contemporary issues and current events.
The current annual salary of a United States Magistrate Judge is $223,836. A United States Magistrate Judge who retires after attaining the age of 65 years and serving at least 14 years, whether continuously or not, shall be entitled to receive, during the remainder of the Magistrate Judge's lifetime, an annuity equal to the salary being received at the time the United States Magistrate Judge leaves office. Which is nice.
- be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years (though other kinds of legal experience may also qualify);
- be competent to perform all of the duties of the office; be of good moral character, emotionally stable and mature; be committed to equal justice under the law; be in good health; be patient and courteous; and be capable of deliberation and decisiveness;
- be less than seventy years of age; and
- not be related to a judge of the district court.
The Honorable David H. Coar (Ret.) (committee chair): Judge Coar served as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois for sixteen years, from 1994 to 2010. He had previously served the Northern District for eight years as a United States Bankruptcy Judge and for three years as a United States Bankruptcy Trustee. Judge Coar taught for over a decade at DePaul University College of Law as an Associate Professor of Law and additionally served as Associate Dean. He has also worked in private practice and as an arbitrator. Judge Coar received his B.A. from Syracuse University, his J.D. from Loyola University Law School, and his L.L.M. from Harvard Law School. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps Reserves.
Alejandro Caffarelli: Mr. Caffarelli is a trial lawyer who in 2001 founded the Chicago-based employment law firm of Caffarelli & Associates Ltd., where he continues to practice employment law in addition to serving on the employment law panel of the American Arbitration Association's National Roster of Arbitrators. He is a former President and Board member of the National Employment Lawyers’ Association's Illinois affiliate, as well as a former Executive Board member of the Hispanic Lawyers’ Association of Illinois. In 2014, Mr. Caffarelli was appointed by Chief Judge Rubén Castillo to the Pro Bono Advisory Committee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Since 2005, Mr. Caffarelli has also provided pro bono legal assistance to indigent workers through the ARISE-Chicago community organization, and currently serves on the ARISE Legal Advisory Board. Mr. Caffarelli received his B.A. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
Michael Chu: Mr. Chu is a partner at the Chicago office of McDermott Will & Emery and sits as the chair of the firm’s Racial and Ethnic Diversity Subcommittee. He is also the local head of McDermott’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Chu is the immediate past board chair of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Chicago (2013-2020) and is a former president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (2004-2005). He received his B.S. from the University of Illinois in 1989 and his J.D. from the William and Mary Law School in 1992.
Kevin Conway: Mr. Conway is a partner at the law firm Cooney & Conway in Chicago. His practice focuses on mesothelioma, mass tort, wrongful death, and catastrophic injury cases. He is a fellow of the International Society of Barristers and the American College of Trial Lawyers, and is a past president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. He is also past chairman of the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund, past president of the Celtic Legal Society of Chicago, and a board member for Lawyers for the Creative Arts. He received his B.A. and J.D. from Loyola University in Chicago.
Herschella Conyers: Professor Conyers is the Lillian E. Kraemer Clinical Professor in Public Interest Law and the Director of the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Clinic (CJJC) at the University of Chicago Law School. CJJC represents indigent clients charged with crimes in both Juvenile and Criminal Courts throughout Cook County. Before joining the law school, she served as an assistant public defender, supervisor, and 6th District Deputy Chief in the Office of the Cook County Public Defender. Her work there included conflicts cases and capital litigation. Professor Conyers is also actively engaged in criminal and juvenile justice policy and reform and is currently the Chair of the Juvenile Justice Initiative. She is emerita faculty and former board member of the National Criminal Defense College and continues to lecture and speak around the country. Professor Conyers received her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Chicago.
Edward Feldman: Mr. Feldman is a partner at the Chicago law firm Miller Shakman Levine & Feldman LLP, where he has worked since 1988. His practice focuses on complex civil litigation, civil rights, and professional responsibility matters. He previously served as law clerk to U.S. District Judge Marvin E. Aspen and then worked for two years as a clinical fellow at the Northwestern University Legal Clinic. He has served as an adjunct law professor at Northwestern since 1988 teaching trial advocacy and ethics, and also has taught trial advocacy at the University of Chicago Law School. He is a past Chair of the Chicago Bar Association Professional Responsibility Committee and of the Board of Directors for the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. He received his B.A./B.S. from the University of Illinois and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Betty Y. Jang: Ms. Jang is the founder of BYJ Law LLC, a boutique law firm specializing in general counsel services to emerging growth companies. She previously served as chief legal officer and general counsel at several public and private companies, practiced at a national law firm, was an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, and began her career as an assistant public defender with the Office of the Cook County Public Defender. Ms. Jang is a Member of the Board of Trustees for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Ms. Jang volunteers for various non-profit organizations, is an alumnus of the United State of Women's Galvanize Chicago Program, and has held numerous Board positions in local, state, and national bar associations. She received her B.A. from the University of Illinois and her J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Monica L. Llorente: Ms. Llorente teaches Business Associations, Contract Drafting, and Public Interest Law courses at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She has broad experience in both the private and public sectors. She is an active leader, trainer, and writer in contract drafting and the development of different types of business entities. In addition, she has served as an advocate for and with young people in national campaigns and has represented young people in need in various judicial and administrative proceedings. Ms. Llorente has served in different organizations, including the American Bar Association and the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois. Before Northwestern, she practiced corporate law at Baker & McKenzie in Chicago. She received her A.B. from Duke University and her J.D. from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
Laurie Mikva: Ms. Mikva is a Commissioner on the Illinois Court of Claims, and she also serves on the Board of Directors for the Legal Services Corporation and on the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. Most recently, she was a clinical professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Ms. Mikva previously worked as an attorney at the Illinois Department of Employment Security and the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, and also served as an assistant public defender in the Champaign County Public Defender’s Office and the Office of the Maryland Public Defender, Appellate Division. She received her B.A. from Beloit College and her J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Zaldwaynaka (“Z”) Scott: Ms. Scott is currently the President of Chicago State University, a position she assumed in 2018. From 1987 to 2003, she worked as a federal criminal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, serving in various management positions including Chief of the General Crimes Section. After her service at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she served as Executive Inspector General for the Office of Governor of Illinois (2003-05) and worked as a partner in the Chicago office of Foley & Lardner LLP. She also served for four years as Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Office of the Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago (1983-87). She has taught as an adjunct instructor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, the University of Chicago Law School, and the UIC Law School (formerly John Marshall School of Law). She received her B.S. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and her J.D. from the Indiana University Mauer School of Law-Bloomington.
Carlina Tapia-Ruano: Ms. Tapia-Ruano is the principal and founder of the Chicago office of Tapia-Ruano & Gunn PC. She has practiced in the field of immigration law for over forty years, focusing on family and waiver applications and representation before the Immigration Courts. She is a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and former chair of the Chicago Bar Association Section on Immigration Law. Ms. Tapia-Ruano is a frequent speaker on immigration laws, and is a past adjunct professor at IIT-Chicago Kent School of Law and at DePaul University College of Law. She received her B.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University and J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. She was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States as a refugee.
And there is one further requirement: "All new employees must be fully vaccinated (i.e., at least 2 weeks after last dose) for COVID-19 and, prior to the starting with the Court, present proof of vaccination or submit a request in writing for an exemption to this requirement on the basis of a sincerely held religious belief or medical condition."
- be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years;
- be competent to perform all of the duties of the office; be of good moral character, emotionally stable and mature; be committed to equal justice under the law; be in good health; be patient and courteous; and be capable of deliberation and decisiveness;
- be less than seventy years of age; and
- not be related to a judge of the district court.
The pay is good -- the present annual salary for a United States Magistrate Judge is $205,528 -- and the retirement plan is even better: A magistrate who reitres after turning 65 and serving 14 years in the position, whether continuously or not, gets an annuity equal to the salary being received at the time the United States Magistrate Judge leaves office.
- be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years;
- be competent to perform all of the duties of the office; be of good moral character, emotionally stable and mature; be committed to equal justice under the law; be in good health; be patient and courteous; and be capable of deliberation and decisiveness;
- be less than seventy years of age; and
- not be related to a judge of the district court.
Chief Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued an updated Order last week relaxing certain "normal" practices while the COVID-19 virus continues to alter our daily reality. The full text of General Order 21-0027 can be accessed at this link.
Among other things, the new General Order "suspends Local Rule 5.2(f)" concerning the delivery of courtesy copies to the court after documents are efiled. A judge can request courtesy copies in a specific case.
And Local Rule 5.3(b), which ordinarily requires motions to be "noticed for presentment" is likewise suspended. If a judge requires a hearing, the court will notifiy the paries "of the need, if any, for a hearing by electronic means or in-court proceeding."
Finally, pro se parties can bypass the efiling requirements and simply email their filings to the Clerk's Office if certain requirements (specified in the order) are met.
The District Court will vacate, amend, or extend this Order by year's end, if not before. The Order "does not affect the authority of judges to enter orders in any civil or criminal cases."
A Merit Selection Panel composed of attorneys and other members of the community will review all applications and recommend to the judges of the Court a list of the persons whom it considers best qualified.
- be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years;
- be competent to perform all of the duties of the office; be of good moral character; be emotionally stable and mature; be committed to equal justice under the law; be in good health; be patient and courteous; and be capable of deliberation and decisiveness;
- be less than seventy years of age; and
- not be related to a judge of the district court.
 |
| Photo obtained from linked Sun-Times story |
“I join the legal community in mourning the passing of our friend and my former law professor, George N. Leighton. He served the public in many ways as a Circuit Judge, an Illinois Appellate Justice and a U.S. District Court Judge..
“Judge Leighton came to Chicago in 1946 at a time when an African-American man could neither rent an office downtown nor hail a taxi in the Loop. He made a name for himself as an attorney who fought for voting rights, integrated schools, fair housing and equal access to jury service.
“His fierce advocacy even led to a grand jury indictment against him, in which he was accused of conspiring to incite a riot after an African-American family tried to move into a white neighborhood. Thurgood Marshall represented Mr. Leighton, and the charges were dismissed.
“This is the courage we celebrated when we renamed our criminal courthouse as the George N. Leighton Criminal Court Building in 2012. That day, he said, ‘I practiced law. That’s all I did.’ Well, we all know it was so much more. And we will always remember the man who made it his mission to make sure that the law was equally applied to all.”
A Merit Selection Panel composed of attorneys and other members of the community will review all applications and recommend to the judges of the Court a list of the persons whom it considers best qualified.
- be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years;
- be competent to perform all of the duties of the office; be of good moral character; be emotionally stable and mature; be committed to equal justice under the law; be in good health; be patient and courteous; and be capable of deliberation and decisiveness;
- be less than seventy years of age; and
- not be related to a judge of the district court.
Posts
All Comments
