Columbia attorney Stephen C. Buser is current president of the Monroe County Bar Association. Call him at (618) 281-6336 for information about future activities. Other officers are Vice President Andrea Crowder Khoury, Secretary Stephanie Gardner and Treasurer Clay St. Clair.
Peoria County Bar
Young lawyers of the Peoria County Bar Association will conduct a Halloween blood drive on Thursday, Oct. 28. Call (309) 674-6049 for an appointment.
Puerto Rican Bar
Cook County assistant public defender Beatriz Santiago was installed as president of the Puerto Rican Bar Association during its recent 10th anniversary gala. Three law student scholarships were presented in memory of Diego Rangel.
Sangamon County Bar
The annual dinner of the Sangamon County Bar Association will be held Thursday, Nov. 18, at Panther Creek Country Club. Call Shirley Vinson, (217) 753-6365.
South Suburban Bar
New officers of the South Suburban Bar Association will be elected during a dinner meeting Wednesday, Nov. 17, at the Glenwood Oaks Restaurant, Glenwood. Immigration lawyer William S. Schiller will speak. Call Vice President Tom Edwards at (708) 957-1500.
South/Southwest Bar
The South Suburban and Southwest Bar Associations will conduct a joint Judge's Night dinner Wednesday, Oct. 20, at the Rosewood West Restaurant in Crestwood. Supreme Court Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald is the guest speaker. Call (708) 371-4930.
U.I. College of Law
Homecoming activities at the University of Illinois College of Law will begin with a reunion reception and dinner on Friday, Oct. 29, in the Pedersen Pavilion. Brunch will be served at the law school on Saturday, starting two hours before the kickoff of the Illinois-Iowa football game. Call (217) 333-2628.
Women's Bar of Illinois
Women with Vision Awards will be presented during the annual joint professional dinner of the Women's Bar Association of Illinois on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at the Mid-Day Club in Bank One, Chicago. The WBAI will hold a reception for new lawyers on Tuesday, Nov. 16. Call (312) 341-8530.
Workers' Comp Lawyers
The Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association will hold a quarterly luncheon meeting and program on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at Harry Caray's Restaurant, Chicago. Call President Karen Talty at (312) 645-0606.
Paralegal Association plans anniversary dinner, seminar
Evanston attorney Katherine A. Greenwood will be keynote speaker for the 32nd anniversary Illinois Paralegal Association dinner at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, in the Union League Club of Chicago.
An adjunct professor at the Loyola University School of Law, Greenwood will speak on "Procrastination Nation," why people procrastinate and how to stop the cycle.
The dinner will conclude the first day of the association's annual two-day educational seminar. Call (815) 462-4620 for registration details and other information.
The IPA will conduct a Food Drive for the Holidays from Nov. 1 to 12, after which contributions will be delivered to the Great Lakes Naval Airbase for distribution to families of military personnel on duty in the Middle East.
Canned goods, other non-perishable items, money and grocery store gift certificates may be brought to the seminar or dropped off at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, Chicago, or Baker, Baker & Krajewski, Springfield.
John DeLaurenti was judge, arbitrator, conservationist
Retired 3rd Circuit judge John L. DeLaurenti, an avid Southern Illinois conservationist, died Aug. 28 at age 71 in his Pocahontas home.
A 1961 graduate of the Valparaiso University School of Law, Mr. DeLaurenti had served for two years as an Air Force lieutenant, flight instructor and Strategic Air Command bomber pilot. He was a judge advocate general in the Air Force Reserves until 1983, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
Staff legal counsel and vice president of Germania Savings and Loan Association in Alton from 1963 to 1967, Mr. DeLaurenti also had private practices in Greenville and Piedmont, Mo. He was Bond County state's attorney from 1968 until 1972, when he became a judge.
In 1980, a negative campaign against the retention of another judge resulted in Mr. DeLaurenti losing his retention by eight-tenths of one percent. He was appointed resident judge of Bond County in 1982 and served until 2000. He had been active in private mediation and arbitration services.
A member of the governors' committee to select a state tree in 1990, Mr. DeLaurenti served two terms as a delegate to the Illinois Conservation Congress and was a member of the Southwestern Illinois Resource, Conservation and Development Committee on Urban Sprawl.
Salvatore Abbene
Chicago attorney Salvatore Abbene died in September at age 78. He was a 1959 graduate of The John Marshall Law School.
Favil David Berns
Northlake attorney Favil David Berns, senior partner in Favil David Berns & Associates, died Sept. 20 at age 78. He was a past president of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers and the Decalogue Foundation.
A 1952 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, Mr. Berns had an engineering degree and was employed by the General American Transportation Corp. while studying law.
He was a special trial counsel for the Chicago Property Owners Association and general counsel to the Northlake Chamber of Commerce.
Survivors include a son, Louis Aaron Berns, of the law firm.
Robert Bryant
Chicago attorney Robert E. Bryant died June 23 at age 94. A 1941 graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, he was ordained in 1969 as a gospel minister and he received a master's degree in public administration at Roosevelt University in 1979.
During World War II, Mr. Bryant served as special counsel to the Chicago branch of NAACP and became an authority on extradition law. His involvement in a 1964 job discrimination case before the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commission led to subsequent affirmative action programs.
Michael Davis
Michael Davis of Evanston, a retired partner in Lord, Bissell & Brook, Chicago, died Sept. 7 at age 65 of a heart attack, subsequent to treatment for colon cancer. He was a legal adviser and libel counsel to Paddock Publications, publisher of the Daily Herald.
Born in Ireland, Mr. Davis immigrated to the United States at age nine. He graduated in 1965 from the Georgetown University Law Center and was an officer in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps for three years.
Mr. Davis joined Lord, Bissell & Brook in 1969 and became a partner five years later. He was chief operating officer for 12 years and a member of the executive committee before retiring in 2002.
After retiring, Mr. Davis formed Milburn Search Partners, a recruiting organization for law firms and corporations. He was elected to the Paddock board in April.
Aaron Director
Retired University of Chicago Law School professor Aaron Director, a founder of the field of law and economics, died Sept. 11 at age 102 in his California home.
Born in Charterisk, Russia (now the Ukraine), Mr. Director immigrated to the United States at age 12, speaking only Yiddish. He studied progressive politics at Yale University and taught labor history in Oregon before entering graduate school at Chicago.
Although he lacked a law degree, Mr. Director was appointed to the law school faculty in 1946 after working for the Department of War and Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., during World War II.
Founder in 1958 and editor of the Journal of Law and Economics, Mr. Director retired in 1965. He moved to California but continued to teach at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and Howard University.
John Francis Drac
John Francis Drac of Whiting, Ind., director of the Chicago-Kent College of Law Library from 1957 to 1981, died in September. He had a law degree from Charles University in Prague and a master's degree in library science from Columbia University.
Mary Rose Eisenstein
Retired attorney and teacher Mary Rose DeStefano Eisenstein, formerly of Oak Park, died in August at age 95 in California.
Ely Hefter
River Grove attorney Ely Hefter, formerly of Chicago, died in August at age 84. A veteran of military service during World War II, he was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1949.
Russell James
Retired Peoria attorney Russell L. James died Sept. 15 at age 90. A 1939 graduate of the Valparaiso University School of Law, he shared a law office with his brother, Kinsey Russell, for many years.
Michael King
Retired assistant Cook County public defender Michael J. King died Sept. 26 at age 54 of liver cancer in his home. Plagued since birth with spina bifida, a single kidney and a club foot, which was amputated, he developed bladder cancer in March 2003.
A 1978 graduate of the Lewis University Law School (now Northern Illinois University College of Law, Mr. King joined the public defender staff in 1979, served in the Felony Trial Division and was appointed to the Murder Task Force in 1985.
Richard O'Connell
Retired Quincy attorney Richard P. O'Connell died Sept. 2 at age 75 in Blessing Hospital. A 1955 graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law, he practiced in Adams County for more than 40 years.
Mitchell Overgaard
Mitchell Jersild Overgaard of Homewood, a founding partner in Overgaard & Davis, died Sept. 26 at age 73. He retired in 2000 and was of counsel to the law firm, which has offices in Chicago, Flossmoor, Barrington and Arlington Heights.
A 1957 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, Mr. Overgaard served in the Army Counter Intelligence Corps for three years. He was a Homewood village trustee from 1965 to 1969 and from 1985 to 1995. A commissioner of the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District from 1969 to 1977, he served as president.
Mr. Overgaard was a past president of the Family Service and Mental Health Center of South Cook County, and he chaired the Homewood Civil Service Committee. He served on the boards of the Community Bank of Homewood-Flossmoor, the Homewood Youth Council, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and South Star Services.
Bill Slater
Bill J. Slater, a retired 4th Circuit judge, died Sept. 2 at age 82 in his Pana home. He was a 1949 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law after Army service during World War II.
Mr. Slater practiced with Hershey & Bliss in Taylorville and later with William H. Amling in Pana. He became Pana city judge in 1955, an associate judge in Christian County in 1964 and a circuit judge in 1970. He was chief judge of the 4th Circuit from 1973 until he retired from the bench in 1981.
Mr. Slater resumed private practice in Pana until 1984 with George J. LaCharite and his son, David W. Slater, who now is a 4th Circuit associate judge.
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