Donald Schiller among DePaul law honorees

ISBA past president Donald C. Schiller was honored Feb. 28 by the DePaul University College of Law during a “Family Matters” award reception at Jenner & Block, Chicago.

Also honored were Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans of the Cook County Circuit Court, and Jenner & Block attorneys James H. Feldman and Tanya J. Stanish.

The event was a benefit for DePaul’s Schiller, DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center, which was established by Donald Schiller’s firm.

The center provides funds each year for about 35 law student public interest placements, conducts annual workshops for 500 at-risk adolescent girls, and maintains a domestic violence court-watching project.

A member of the DePaul Law Dean’s Advisory Council who has received a Distinguished Alumni Award, Schiller teaches divorce practice at the University of Chicago Law School and trial advocacy at the University of Houston Law School.

He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and a Diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers.

Judge Evans was presiding judge of the Domestic Relations Division for five years and presiding judge of the Law Division before his election as chief judge.

His leadership innovations have included establishment of a new Domestic Violence Courthouse, a new mental health treatment court, and expended drug treatment courts. He also administers the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.

Feldman chairs Jenner & Block’s Family Law Practice. He is a Fellow of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and vice chair of the board of Northwestern Univ ersity’s Family Institute.

Stanish has been president of DePaul’s Family Law Center Advisory Board for two years. She also is a Fellow of the Collaborative Law Institute and a member of the ISBA Committee on Legislation.

Minority bar leaders lauded

Five attorneys representing minority bar associations will receive Vanguard Awards during a luncheon Wednesday, April 23, in the Standard Club, Chicago. For reservations at $65, e-mail  tdrees@chicagobar.org.

Honorees are Anita Alvarez of the Hispanic Lawyers, Mark DuPont of the Lesbian and Gay Bar, Calvin Manshio of the Asian American Bar, Patricia Rangel of the Puerto Rican Bar, and Ron Samuels of the Cook County Bar.

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Hillside attorney Alfred E. Gallo, longtime board chair of The John Marshall Law School, will be honored Sunday, April 27, during the Law Day dinner of the Medinah Shriners Legal Committee.

Gallo, a Laureate of the ISBA Academy of Illinois Lawyers, will receive an award for his lifetime contributions to the law and community, and DuPage County State’s Attorney Joseph E. Birkett is the featured speaker.

The event will take place at the Medina Shrine Center in Addison, with a 5:30 p.m. reception preceding the 6:30 p.m. dinner and program. For reservations, call Alan Pearlman at (847) 205-4383.

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Cook County Judge James P. Flannery Jr. was honored as Celtic of the Year on March 17 during the annual luncheon of the Celtic Legal Society of Chicago.

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Champaign attorney Jane A. Hays, managing director of the Downey Group, recently received the 20th Athena Award given by the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce.

President of United Way, Hays is past president of the Champaign County Freedom Celebration and the University of Illinois College of Law Board of Visitors, and a member of the Carle Foundation board.

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The Chicago-based firm of Querrey & Harrow was honored in February as Outstanding Member of the Year by the Mid-West Truckers Association during its annual convention in Peoria.

Partner David L. LaPorte accepted the award, which recognized the firm’s commitment to serving the trucking industry and advising the association. LaPorte serves on the group’s Chicago-area advisory board.

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The Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago received a 2007 Law Day Out-standing Activity Award during the American Bar Association annual meeting in February.

The award recognized the foundation’s Illinois Youth Summit that was held in April 2007 at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.

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Mitchell A. Orpett of Tribler, Orpett & Meyer, Chicago, has been nominated to serve on the American Bar Association Board of Governors as a member at large. The election will be conducted in August in New York City by the ABA House of Delegates.

Orpett has chaired the ABA Section of Tort Trial and Insurance Practice, the Section Officers Conference, and the Committee on Continuing Legal Education.

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Thomas E. Chomicz, a partner in the Tax-Exempt Organizations Practice at Quarles & Brady, Chicago, has been re-elected chair of the Saint Xavier University board and will serve through May 2010.

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Retired Cook County judge Michael S. Jordan of Glenview, a member and past chair of the ISBA Bench and Bar Section Council, has been appointed to the advisory legal council for SHALVA, a social welfare agency for victims of domestic violence.

A principal of Mediation and Arbitration Services, Jordan has served on the ISBA Assembly and Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Council, and is past chair of the Illinois Bar Journal Editorial Board.