A cultural event, "Backstage at the Lyric Opera," has been scheduled at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16, by the Chicago chapter of the American Corporate Counsel Association. The 4 p.m. tour will be followed by dinner in the Tower Club of the Civic Opera Building. Family members are invited to attend.
Decatur Bar
Decatur Bar Association members will participate in a Christmastime social reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 8, in the Demirco Building offices of Samuels, Miller, Schroeder, Jackson & Sly.
DuPage County Bar
Drop-off boxes for new, unwrapped toys are located at the DuPage County Bar Association and at The Carlisle in Lombard, where, DCBA members will have a holiday luncheon Friday, Dec. 3. Donations will be distributed at the Family Shelter and Ray Graham Association. Call (630) 653-7779.
Judicature Society
Bylaws for a new state chapter of the American Judicature Society, and a slate officers and directors, will be presented during a reception for Illinois members at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9, in the Mississippi Room of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel.
Justinian Society
"Il Ballo di Natale," the annual Christmas dinner dance of the Justinian Society, will take place Saturday, Dec. 18, at the Drake Hotel. A 6:30 p.m. reception and 7:30 p.m. dinner will be followed by ballroom dancing to music of the Big Band Era. Reservations are being taken by William P. Dana, (708) 246-4781.
Justinians - DuPage
The DuPage County chapter of the Justinian Society will hold a Christmas reception and dinner, starting at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 7, at the Danada House in Wheaton. Call President Richard D. Felice, (630) 682-1811.
Justinians - Kane
The Kane County chapter of the Justinian Society has scheduled a holiday gathering at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, at the Villa Verone in Geneva.
Lake County Bar
The annual holiday open house of the Lake County Bar Association will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, at the 7 N. County St. office. Call (847) 244-3143.
McHenry County Bar
Melissa J. Cooney of Crystal Lake has succeeded Camille Goodwin as president of the McHenry County Bar Association. Other officers are Carl Gilmore, first vice president; Charles Weech, second vice president; Frank Gosser, secretary, and Joel Berg, treasurer.
North Suburban Bar
U.S. Attorney Scott Lassar will speak to members of the North Suburban Bar Association during a dinner meeting Tuesday, Dec. 14, in the Terrace Restaurant at Wilmette Golf Club. Call President Gail Vierneisel, (847) 724-6479.
The NSBA also will make its donation of children's gifts to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. Items will be collected at the 2nd Municipal Courthouse in Skokie through Dec. 14.
Northwest Suburban Bar
A new Women of the Bar section of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association has held three organizational meetings to get acquainted and exchange ideas. For details, call Mary Schlott, (847) 259-8205.
Peoria County Bar
The annual Peoria County Bar Association Christmas party will take place Thursday, Dec. 16, at the Hotel Pere Marquette. A 5 p.m. reception and 7 p.m. prime rib dinner will precede traditional festivities. Call (309) 674-6049 by Dec. 8.
Sangamon County Bar
A holiday "smoker" reception of the Sangamon County Bar Association will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16, at D. H. Brown's.
Southwest Bar
Bernadette Garrison Barrett will succeed Michael B. Barrett as president of the Southwest Bar Association during its Christmas dinner dance Saturday, Dec. 4, at the Beverly Country Club in Chicago.
Other incoming officers are George Arnold, vice president; Christopher E. Lawler, secretary, and John Z. Toscas, treasurer. Call Bernadette Barrett at (708) 371-8500 for reservations.
West Suburban Bar
Patrick J. Moran has been slated for president of the West Suburban Bar Association next year. He will succeed Judge Susan M. Coleman on March 4 during an installation dinner.
Other slated 2000 officers are Enid L. Kempe, first vice president; David J. Heyer Jr., second vice president; Dennis M. Sheen, executive secretary; Edward J. Anderson, recording secretary, and Jac A. Cotiguala, treasurer.
Will County Bar
The Will County Bar Association holiday party will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, at the Chicago Street Bar and Grill in Joliet. Music will be provided by T-Bird Huck and the Blues Busters. Call (815) 726-0383.
Workers' Comp Lawyers
A Christmas party at the Museum of Science and Industry has been scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, by the Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association. Call Vice President Paul W. Schumacher, (312) 645-0606.
The WCLA annual membership meeting and election officers and directors will take place at 12 noon Friday, Dec. 17, at the Union League Club, Chicago.
Diocese cites Serritella for values in workplace
Chicago attorney James A. Serritella came as close to sainthood as a lay person might, when he was honored in October by Cardinal Francis George for assistance to the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.
Serritella, a former member of the ISBA Board of Governors, received one of two Rerum Novarum awards presented to lawyers by St. Joseph Seminary of Loyola University during an Oct. 19 dinner. The other went to former Cook County assessor Thomas C. Hynes.
The first Rerum Novarum was issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 as a papal encyclical on labor and the dignity of workers. Other popes have continued the tradition and expanded its principles to include the rights of workers to organize and to receive living wages.
The archdiocesan outside legal counsel for almost 30 years, Serritella was called "an example of a layman who brings the gospel values to the workplace" by Rev. James Presta, president of the seminary.
A partner in Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, the honoree serves on his firm's management committee and directs its health, education, religious and social service practices.
A 1971 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, Serritella has a master's degree from the university's Committee for Analysis of Ideas and the Study of Methods. He has a degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and an honorary doctor of laws degree from North Park University.
Serritella founded the Center for Church-State Studies at the DePaul University College of Law in 1983, and he chairs its advisory committee. He founded the Center for Migration Studies in New York in 1960 and is editor of the International Migration Digest.
A Charter Life Fellow of the Illinois Bar Foundation and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, Serritella has served on the boards of Chicago Metro History Education Centers, Mundelein College, St. Xavier College, St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, the North American College in Rome and the International Academy for Religious Freedom.
He is recognized nationally as a key architect of the Chicago Archdiocese's benchmark policies on sexual misconduct by clergy, and he was lead attorney for Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, who was vindicated in 1994 of a false charge.
A letter from Cardinal Bernardin, before he died, was included in a U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief Serritella filed in 1997 in a case on assisted suicide and religious freedom.
The court ruled that states have the right to forbid assisted suicide, as Serritella had argued in his brief on behalf of the Catholic Health Association and the Mormon Church.
Hyman Abrams
Retired Chicago attorney Hyman Abrams died in November at age 91. A 1932 graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law, he was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1933 and retired in 1996.
James Babcock
Joliet attorney James E. Babcock died Nov. 12 at age 59. A 1965 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, he had practiced with Robson, Masters, Ryan, Brumund & Belom and more recently was a partner in Wright & Babcock.
Jay Bovilsky
Connecticut attorney Jay E. Bovilsky, formerly of Chicago, drowned at age 55 while vacationing in Hawaii in November. A teacher in a New Haven school from 1969 to 1978, he attended the Northwestern University School of Law and Yale Law School.
Mr. Bovilsky was a New Haven city administrator from 1978 to 1980, and had been a partner in Cummins & Lockwood since then.
Anthony Donat
Batavia attorney Anthony F. Donat, retired founder of Donat & Donat, died Oct. 24 at age 85 in a Geneva hospital. A 1942 graduate of the George Washington University Law School, he was a Navy lieutenant and amphibious forces trainer in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Admitted to the Illinois bar in 1946, Mr. Donat opened a practice in Batavia in 1951. He also was a special investigator for the Office of Price Administration, an adjudicator for the Veterans Administration and an assistant Illinois attorney general.
Mr. Donat chaired the Batavia Plan Commission, and was vice president and secretary of the First National Bank of Batavia. A former quarterback for Illinois College, he was a member of the Illinois College Football Hall of Fame.
Survivors include two sons who were his law partners: Peter M. Donat and Walter J. Donat.
Edward Jackson
Chicago attorney Edward S. Jackson, a resident of Arlington Heights, died Nov. 2 at age 82 after a heart attack in his office. A 1952 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, he had served in the Army adjutant general's office during World War II.
Mr. Jackson concentrated in representation of not-for-profit agencies, such as the Salvation Army, the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, orphanages and a home for unwed mothers.
J. Lawrence Keshner
Judge J. Lawrence Keshner of the 3rd Circuit, a member of the ISBA Board of Governors, died Nov. 6 at age 61 after a stroke in his Godfrey home. See story on page 1.
Leonard Kohl
Chicago attorney Leonard F. Kohl died Oct. 29 at age 67 of heart failure during a trip to Cedarburg, Wis. Despite failing eyesight, he continued to practice with help from his wife and friends.
After Army service, Mr. Kohl graduated in 1957 from the DePaul University College of Law. A football scholarship student in college, he was a volunteer coach for two Catholic prep schools.
Robert Levy
Retired Chicago attorney Robert H. Levy died in November at age 90 in Jupiter, Fla. A veteran of military service during World War II, he was a graduate of The John Marshall Law School.
Mr. Levy taught at Roosevelt University and in Florida after retirement at Palm Beach Community College, Indian River College and South College.
Nicholas Maniscalco
Chicago attorney Nicholas F. Maniscalco died Nov. 6 at age 54 of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. A graduate of Mathey Law School in Atlanta, he was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1971 and the Illinois bar in 1974.
A successful defense attorney in Atlanta, Mr. Maniscalco relocated to Chicago in 1979 to help care for his father. He was a longtime member of the Justinian Society and the Men's Burgio Society.
William McGrath
Wheaton attorney William J. McGrath Jr. died in October at age 74. He was a 1953 graduate of the Loyola University School of Law.
David Mendelsohn
Chicago attorney David H. Mendelsohn died Oct. 14 at age 86 of cancer. A 1935 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, he was a code breaker in the Army during World War II.
James Nudelman
Retired Chicago attorney James H. Nudelman, a resident of Boca Raton, Fla., died Oct. 13 at age 89. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1936.
Nicholas Pecora
Retired attorney Nicholas A. Pecora of Arlington Heights died Nov. 13 at age 70 in his home. A 1953 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, he was chief of small issues and interpretation for the Securities and Exchange Commission in Chicago until his retirement in 1992.
Gerald Trautman
Gerald H. Trautman, retired president of the Greyhound Corp., died Oct. 25 at age 87 of kidney failure in a Phoenix, Ariz., hospital. A resident of