25 years a lawyer, 25 years on bench
In his quiet and special way, Ronald S. Davis has contributed significantly to bench and bar associations, and other law-related organizations during his 50 years of practice.
A 1958 graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law who will be honored next month as an ISBA Senior Counsellor, Davis has been a lawyer in private practice and a Cook County associate judge for exactly 25 years each.
With Jesmer & Harris in his early career, Davis was a solo practitioner from 1960 until 1973, and a partner in Knouff, Ley & Davis before his 1983 appointment to the bench.
Currently assigned to the Law Division, he has presided over more than 350 jury trials and his decisions have been affirmed in 42 of the 47 cases that went to the Appellate Court.
Exceptionally active in the ISBA, Davis has served on the Assembly for a total of 14 years, including time on the Board of Governors from 1991 to 1994.
A member of the Bench and Bar Section Council for nine years, he was its board liaison for two additional years. He serves currently on both the Tort Law Section Council and Civil Practice and Procedure Section Council.
Other activity has included the Traffic Laws and Courts Section Council, the Committee on Media Law, the Special Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law and the Special Committee on Computers in the Courtroom, which he chaired.
Davis also has been an ISBA-appointed member of the Lawyers’ Assistance Program board. For his participation in interventions and peer assistance training, he received the John Powers Crowley Award in 2002.
Vice president of the Jewish Judges Association, Davis serves on the Decalogue Society Board of Managers and was a North Suburban Bar Association board member for many years. In September, he received a Senior Jurist Award from the Illinois Judicial Council.
Also active in the Chicago Bar Association, Davis has chaired its committees on Tort Litigation, Civil Practice, Continuing Legal Education, and Medical-Legal.
His civic activities include volunteering at the Whitehall Nursing Home and in the North Shore Congregation Israel Food the Homeless program.