I think it's still too early to be putting up Halloween decorations....

...but, technically, it is only three months to Christmas Eve. And, taking the long view, the Illinois Latino Judges Association is asking FWIW readers to reserve Tuesday, December 10, for the annual ILJA Holiday Party (to be held this year at Mi Tierra, 2528 S. Kedzie).

Justice John Paul Stevens award winners announced; tickets for October 20 awards luncheon now available

The Chicago Bar Association has announced the it will bestow its 2026 John Paul Stevens Awards on these seven honorees:

• Margaret Benson, Executive Director, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services,
• U. S. Senator Dick Durbin,
• Bob Glaves, Executive Director, Chicago Bar Foundation,
• Mary Robinson, Robinson Stewart Montgomery & Doppke LLC,
• Judge Mary M. Rowland, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois,
• Timothy Tomasik, Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, and
• Andrea L. Zopp, Managing Partner, Cleveland Avenue.

These awards will be conferred at a luncheon on Tuesday, October 20, at the Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Blvd. The event will begin with a reception at 11:30 a.m.; the luncheon will follow at noon.

Tickets for the luncheon are $75 each (tables of 10 are $750). There will also be an Award Program. A full-page ad is 4.25" (width) x 7.5" (height) and costs $500. Ads must be submitted in hi-resolution pdf format and are due by October 6, 2026. To purchase tickets, visit this page on the CBA website. Questions about the ad book, or about the event generally, may be addressed to Michele Spodarek at mspodarek@chicagobar.org.

Early bird pricing ends today for the Advocates Scholarship Dinner

The Advocates Society will hold its Annual Scholarship Dinner and Silent Auction on Wednesday, September 30, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Maggiano's, 516 N. Clark Street. Tickets will be $175 each tomorrow -- but, for today, when early bird pricing ends, tickets are $160.

Presumably, tickets can be obtained by using the QR code in the event poster, above. For those worried that using QR codes may hasten the Robot Apocalypse, tickets can also be obtained by clicking on this page of the Advocates website. As an extra added bonus, persons who click on the link in the preceding sentence can also obtain complete information and descriptions about the many sponsorship opportunities available for this event. Sponsorship charges range from $350 (the Red & White sponsorship) to $1,500 for the Community Leader Sponsorship. Persons interested in donating an item or items to the Silent Auction can email Julia Jensen Smolka at JSmolka@robbinsdimonte.com.

Advocates President Kathy E. Bojczuk told FWIW that the Advocates received "a record number of applications from law students seeking scholarships" this year, and that the group hopes "to raise additional funds so we can provide more scholarship awards this year."

CBA Barristers Big Band concert Saturday, October 17

The Chicago Bar Association's Barristers Big Band will be in concert on Saturday, October 17, at 6:00 p.m., in Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University, 425 S. Wabash. As the above poster suggests, the program will feature the music of Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald.

Tickets will be available at the door, starting at 5:30 p.m. on the date of the performance, for $20 each ($15 for law students andpersons under 18). Meanwhile, discounted tickets are available online, either through the CBA Barristers Big Band webpage or this Eventbrite webpage. (I think you wind up at the same place either way, but what do I know?)

Illinois Italian American Judges Association installation set for September 15

Before this afternoon, I didn't even know there was an Illinois Italian American Judges Association. But there is. And the IIAJA is holding its installation of officers (and playing bocci ball for good measure) on Tuesday, September 15, at Elmwood Park Community & Recreation Center, 4 Conti Pkwy, Elmwood Park. A buffet dinner begins at 5:30 p.m.; bocci starts at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are $100 each. The ticket includes dinner, one drink ticket, and bocci. A ticket and IIAJA dues -- dues are ordiniarily $50 -- costs $140. However, a separate registration is required for bocci.

There are a number of QR code payment options on the flyer, reproduced above. For those squeamish about these abstract dabs, there are buttons offering these same payment options that can be found on the IIAJA website.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will be devoted to future law student scholarships.

ISBA and IBF Presidential Reception set for September 16

The Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Bar Foundation will host a Presidential reception honoring ISBA President 2025-26, Hon. Bridget C. Duignan, and IBF President 2025-26, Lauren N. Tuckey, for their service to the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Foundation, and the legal community, on Wednesday, Septemer 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Hubbard Inn, 110 W. Hubbard Street.

Proceeds of this event will benefit the Illinois Bar Foundation. The IBF’s mission is to ensure meaningful access to the justice system, especially for those with limited means, and to assist lawyers who have fallen on hard times.

Tickets for the event are $75 apiece (and sponsorships are available, starting at $250). The ticket price includes admission, "heavy hors d’oeuvres," and a limited open bar. Tickets and sponsorship information are available at this page of the IBF website.

IJC Installation and Scholarship Awards Ceremony set for September 9

The Illinois Judicial Council will hold its 44th Annual Installation and Scholarship Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, September 9, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Gallery Guichard, 436 E. 47th St. Details are on the event flyer, reproduced above.

Tickets are $165 each and are available at this PayPal link. Sponsorships are also available: Silver - $500, Gold - $1,500, or Platinum - $5,000. (Yes, the poster has a smaller amount for the Platinum sponsorship. It's not my poster. Besides, if you're inclined to quibble on this, maybe you should consider a different - lower - sponsorship level.) Anyway, if I've done it correctly, clicking here, on the desired sponsorship level will take you to PayPal pages dedicated to each of these levels.

CBA Golf Outing set for September 15

The Chicago Bar Association will hold its annual Golf Outing on Tuesday, September 15, at The Glen Club, 2901 W. Lake Ave., Glenview. Here is the posted schedule for the event:

• 10:15 a.m. - Registration Opens
• 10:30 a.m. - Buffet Lunch, Driving Range and Practice Greens Available
• 12:15 p.m. - Call to Golf Carts
• 12:30 p.m. - Golf Start
• 5:00-7:00 p.m. - Cocktails and buffet dinner

It costs $1,600 to register a foursome; logically enough, individual golfers can sign up for $400. There is also a reception-only option; this costs $75. All of these options are available at https://www.chicagobar.org/golf. I will caution you that, when I checked the link to make sure it worked, the tab on my browser came up marked "Golf Outing - Reception Only."

Maybe that was just on my computer... possibly someone heard about the last time I played a round of golf... about a generation ago. It was the parish golf outing, and a bunch of us non-golfers decided to team up so that the little old men carrying oxygen tanks as well as golf bags would feel better about their scores. Anyway, we were out on the course for about forever... other groups kept passing by us... but we made it back to the clubhouse by dusk, if only barely.

One member of the sponsoring group (the Holy Name Society) drew the short straw and was waiting for us. (They did not actually ask the authorities to drag the water hazards looking for us, though that was under active consideration when we turned up.) "Guys," the poor man said, with some considerable exasperation, which was entirely understandable inasmuch as he'd missed dinner and drinks while waiting for us, "didn't you understand this was a best ball tournament?" We did, we admitted sheepishly; it's just that none of us could hit a golf ball as far as we could throw it. It was thereafter made quite clear to all of us that we might help the organization more by not signing up for future golf outings.

Anyway, even if your browser tab is also marked "Golf Outing - Reception Only," you will be able to sign up to play. There's even a link on that page from which you can download a list of sponsorship opportunities (from a $750 hole sponsorship to a $5,000 event sponsorship). Questions about the event, including questions about available sponsorships, should be addressed to Michele Spodarek.

Illinois Bar Foundation Lawyers Care Legacy Reception on August 6

The Illinois Bar Foundation will hold its Lawyers Care Legacy Reception on Thursday, August 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Roanoke Restaurant, 135 W. Madison (2nd floor). The reception will honor the late Warren Lupel, who, among other things, was IBF President from 2002-04. The IBF renamed its Lawyers Care Fund the Warren Lupel Lawyers Care Fund in 2004. (Lupel's obituary may be found here.)

Tickets for the reception are $75 each and, of course, sponsorships are available. To purchase tickets or sponsorships, click here. Proceeds of this event will directly benefit the Illinois Bar Foundation's Warren Lupel Lawyers Care Fund, which provides financial assistance to attorneys and their families during times of crisis.

Another one for the planners out there....

Actually, the date for the Illinois Judicial Council's 44th Annual Installation and Scholarship Reception is only about 60 days hence.

For me, now, no longer engaged in the hurly-burly of a litigation practice, 60 days seems like a fairly spacious interval of time -- and it is: A whole lot of things can happen in 60 days' time. Germany invaded France on May 10, 1940; France surrendered on June 22. That was only 43 days -- 46 if you count all the way to June 25, when the surrender went into effect.

On a more positive note, the gestation period for a litter of puppies or a litter of kittens is also about 60 days, give or take, depending on the breed.

But I am not so far removed from the active practice of law that I no longer recall that, for a lot of lawyers, 60 days is pretty much equivalent to 'tomorrow' for persons in other walks of life. Jones is unavailable for her deposition in the Smith v. Jones case? Get another date... and, by the time everyone compares calendars, the new date is at least 60 days out.

Actually, there was one time... I was on the phone with opposing counsel and she was pressing for the deposition of my client. I don't remember why the client was never available, whether it was a chronic problem, or just a string of unhappy coincidences that he was always unavailable on any of the various dates set for him to be deposed. We were talking about still another date, but now I had a problem: "My wife is expecting, and the date you're proposing is right around her due date."

Opposing counsel was not buying. "No chance I'm falling for that one," she fumed, "you've used this excuse on me before. Last year. Same case. Same deponent."

"Yes," I admitted -- counsel had not misremebered our prior discussions -- "but this is a different baby."

As it happens, my oldest two kids are 15 months' apart.

(In any event, counsel gave in on a longer date and, eventually, we settled the case. I don't remember if we ever did produce the client for his deposition.)

And, of course, such conversations could never, ever happen now -- I'm here recalling events that took place in the 1980s -- which to my ear sounds less terrible than saying that this phone conversation occurred more than 40 years ago -- and certainly the pace of litigation has drastically increased in the intervening years.

But even at the modern, increased tempo, 60 days for lawyers isn't that long at all. I'll try and remember to be less snarky about 'planners' going forward....

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Basket of puppies photo by Chathura Anuradha Subasinghe (@chathuraanuradha)

Decalogue Society Annual Installation & Awards Dinner set for July 29

The Decalogue Society of Lawyers will hold its 92nd Annual Installation and Awards Dinner on Wednesday, July 29, starting at 5:00 p.m., at the Old Post Office, 433 W. Van Buren.

Tickets for the event are $275 each ($225 for Decalogue members). Students can purchase tickets for $36 apiece. Tickets are available at this link.

Judge Lori Rosen will assume the presidency of the Decalogue Society at this event. The DSL will confer the following awards:

• Courage in Advocacy Award: Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton
• Hon. Charles E. Freeman Judicial Merit Award: Judge Timothy C. Evans
• Award of Excellence: Representative Tracy Katz Muhl
• Presidential Citation: Robert M. Karton
• Intra-Society Award: Kim Pressling
• Hebrew University Fellowship Award: Judge Barry Goldberg

And, of course, there are a host of sponsorship opportunities available. A complete list may be found by clicking here. The deadline for sponsorship registration is July 24.

A real opportunity to be heard...

The Chicago Bar Association Chorus is seeking new members. All the pertinent information is contained in the flyer above, including the email address of the contact person, Erin Perkins.

One caveat: If crows flock when you sing in the shower, you may wish to take up bowling instead. The CBA is not promising to provide vocal transformations. Thus, as you will note when you review the flyer carefully, while the CBA Chorus is not requiring auditions, they do tactfully suggest that some previous experience might be helpful... probably for everyone concerned.

Golf outing season is officially upon us... IJC golf outing set for June 18

Our rollercoaster spring continues in Chicago... 80° today... but, after today, maybe no more than 60° until the end of the week.

Nevertheless, golf weather will eventually arrive, and the Illinois Judicial Council is hoping it will be here by June 18.

The cost to participate is $130 per golfer (there is a dinner-only option for $65 per ticket).

There are also sponsorship opportunities: Hole sponsorships are $150 each. An Awards Sponsorship can be had for $1,000. This includes a golf ticket, as well as special acknowledgement during the outing. There are also Bronze ($500), Gold ($1,500), and Platinum ($2,500) Sponsorships, with increasing benefits for each.

The deets, as the kids probably no longer say, can be found by registering for the event. For the technologically ambitious, there is a QR code in the event poster, reproduced above. For those who are as yet wary of those seemingly random dots and squiggles, I can offer this link.

Registrations close TODAY for SWBA, SSBA Judges Night

Details are on the event poster, reproduced above. There are sign-in links on the Southwest Suburban Bar Association homepage and on this page of the South Suburban Bar Association website.

Two upcoming dates for CBA musicians

The above poster is for the Saturday, May 9 concert by the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra and the CBA Chorus at St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron. The program will welcome Lisa Fredenburgh as the newly appointed Director of the CBA Chorus. Details of the program are shown on the event poster.

Advance tickets for the concert are available at this Eventbrite link. Tickets will also be available at the door, starting a half hour before the 7:30 p.m. curtain, but the at-the-door price is $25 each ($20 for persons under 18 or law students).

In addition -- before the concert -- at noontime on Wednesday, May 6, the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra will participate in the CBA YLS Law Week Program in the Daley Center Plaza. The YLS will present its Liberty Bell Award, given each year during Law Week to a non-lawyer who has contributed to the administration of justice, during the program.

The CBASO will contribute musical selections before and after, including Fanfare for the Common Law (composed by CBA member Michael D. Poulos in honor of past CBA Second Vice-President and Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Paul Stevens) and a selection of Sousa marches (yes, including the Liberty Bell March, obviously, although you may know it by another name).

There is no charge to attend the Daley Center event. It being springtime in Chicago, winter coats or sunscreen may be required -- and possibly both, inasmuch as the program is expected to last approximately one hour.

Advocates offer CLE on equitable remedies in Chancery and other divisions, too

The Advocates Society will offer dinner and an hour and a half CLE program at their upcoming general meeting, Tuesday, May 5, starting at 6:30 p.m., at the Copernicus Center, 5216 W. Lawrence. The details and list of speakers is on the program flyer, reproduced above.

The cost (including dinner) is $30 ($20 for Advocates members). Sponsorships are also available, for $100, which also includes dinner and the CLE program. Tickets are available at this page of the Advocates website. The QR code on the poster might work as well; it's just that I never vouch for such things.

Sponsors assert that the program, entitled "Equitable Remedies in ACTION: From Chancery to Other Court Divisions," will, as the title suggests, be of interest to more practitioners than just those who frequent the Chancery courts.

CBA Vanguard Award winners announced; tickets available for April 21 luncheon

The Chicago Bar Association will host the 2026 Vanguard Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, April 21, at the Union League Club of Chicago, 65 W. Jackson.

The luncheon will begin at noon, following an 11:30 a.m. reception.

Tickets are $75 each; tables of 10 are available for $750. Tickets are available at this page of the CBA website.

The CBA and an ever-increasing number of local bar groups present the Vanguard Awards each spring, honoring individuals and institutions who have made the law and legal profession more accessible to and reflective of the community at large. This year's honorees include a California Supreme Court justice, a judge of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, six Circuit Court judges, one retired Circuit Court judge, and one associate judge Short List hopeful. The list also includes the former Chicago Human Relations Commissioner. The complete list of Vanguard honorees (and the bar groups sponsoring each) is as follows:

• Advocates Society
  Judge Diann K. Marsalek


• Arab American Bar Association of Illinois
  Anthony (“Tony”) Michael Abou Ezzi


• Asian American Bar Association
  Ajay K. Mehrotra, Justice Goodwin H. Liu, and the American Bar Foundation
  for work on "Portrait Project 2.0: Asian Americans in the Legal Profession"


• Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago, Inc.
  Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi


• Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago
  Daniel R. Murray


• Chicago Bar Association
  Judge Fredrick H. Bates


• Cook County Bar Association
  Cannon Lambert, Sr.


• Decalogue Society of Lawyers
  Judge Abbey Fishman Romanek


• Filipino American Lawyers Association
  Mark J. Calaguas


• Haitian American Lawyers Association
  Judie Lyn Smith


• Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois
  Judge Koula A. Fournier


• Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois
  Nancy Andrade


• Justinian Society of Lawyers
  Judge Jill Cerone-Marisie


• Korean American Bar Association
  Caroline K. Kwon


• LAGBAC -Chicago's LGBTQ+ Bar Association
  Judge Mary M. Rowland


• Muslim Bar Association of Chicago
  Naheda Zayyad-Hussien


• Puerto Rican Bar Association
  Judge Lucy Vazquez-Gonzalez


• South Asian Bar Association of Chicago
  Avani Patel


• Women's Bar Association of Illinois
  Judge Patrice M. Ball-Reed (ret.)

For a complete list of all past Vanguard Award winners, scroll down to the bottom of this page on the CBA website. There, you will find a link to a downloadable .pdf file showing all Vanguard winners dating back to 1998.

Better buckle up: Barristers Big Band Benefit Ball battle set for April 24

Not a battle royale, but certainly a royal battle: The music of (as Stevie Wonder put it) the King of All, Sir Duke versus the music of the King of Swing, Chicago's very own Benny Goodman -- that's the theme of this year's CBA Barristers Big Band Benefit Ball, set for Friday April 24 at the Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Blvd.

A reception opens the proceedings at 6:00 p.m.; dancing begins at 7:00. Tickets are $80 each. Free dance lessons will be offered. For fast learners, or old pros, there will be a dance contest. And everyone -- present or not -- has the opportunity to bid in a silent auction.

All proceeds of the event benefit the Chicago Bar Association's Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

The silent auction is open now, and new items will be posted for the auction until April 18. To place auction bids, visit app.betterunite.com/bbbbb2026. Event tickets are available from the auction page or at this page of the CBA website.

Did we say April 23? Why, yes, yes, we did -- but things have changed

The new date for the Illinois Latino Judges Association Spring Fling Social is April 30. This is the revised flyer for the event:

Still at Chief O'Neill's Pub, 3471 N. Elston Ave. Tickets and all the details for this event can be accessed through the QR code in the flyer above. Otherwise, seek out a member of the Illinois Latino Judges Association and negotiate with him or her.

ILJA to hold Spring Fling April 23

At Chief O'Neill's Pub, 3471 N. Elston Ave.

I was going to say I'd actually been there... but the website says it's only been open since 1999, so probably not.... There was definitely another Irish pub in that area back in the days when I did frequent such establishments, but I guess I don't remember the name.

Anyway, tickets and all the details are available through the miracle of that QR code in the flyer above. Otherwise, seek out a member of the Illinois Latino Judges Association and negotiate with him or her.