ISBA News

Richard D. Felice, a lawyer in private practice in Wheaton, was installed as president of the Illinois State Bar Association at the organization’s 138th Annual Meeting on Friday, June 20 at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wis. View photo galleries from the Annual Reception and the Annual Installation Dinner.

During his year as president, Felice will place special emphasis on three projects. The first is the formation of a Task Force on the Impact of Law School Debt on the Future of the Profession to address the tremendous challenges facing new lawyers, including staggering law school debt and a stifling job market. The task force “will study in depth the concept of practice-ready new lawyers and consider constructive changes to law school curricula,” he said.  Second district appellate Justice Ann Jorgensen will chair the committee.

The second initiative is the formation of a Solo and Small Firm Practice Institute Series, offering educational programs to solo and small firm practitioners in five settings throughout the state. Working with other stakeholders in the practice of law, the institute will provide a variety of programming to help lawyers enhance their practices.

ISBA President Paula H. Holderman says goodbye and looks back on her presidential year.

Lori G. Levin, a Chicago criminal defense lawyer in private practice, will receive the 2014 Matthew Maloney Tradition of Excellence Award presented by the ISBA General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section Council at the organization’s 138th Annual Meeting on Friday, June 20, at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wis.

For 23 years, Levin was a prosecutor in the Cook County State Attorney’s Office where she tried many felony and civil cases before juries. In 2003, she was appointed by the Governor and served six years as executive director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, an agency dedicated to improving Illinois criminal justice. She also chaired the Illinois Integrated Justice Information Implementation Board and the Task Force to Update the Model Domestic Violence Protocol.

Within the ISBA, she has chaired two standing committees and been an officer on others. She is committed to continuing legal education for lawyers and is a sought-after educator and lecturer on topics that include criminal justice, juvenile justice, child visitation, elder rights and mental health issues. In addition, she was on the governing council of the American Jewish Congress.

In her nomination, Melissa Olivero, member of the ISBA Standing Committee on Women and the Law, wrote that Levin “sets the standard in delivering high quality legal services as a solo practitioner” and that she “embodies the very qualities of Matthew Maloney himself: professionalism, excellence and service.”

 

Mary F. Petruchius, of Sycamore, a private practice lawyer in Sycamore, will receive a 2014 Board of Governors Award from the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) at the organization’s 138th Annual Meeting on Friday, June 20, at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wis.

As the 2013-14 chair of the ISBA’s Standing Committee on Women and the Law, Petruchius is being recognized for her efforts to promote women as lawyers. Under her leadership, the ISBA presented or co-sponsored seven events, including a networking breakfast at Southern Illinois University School of Law; a “30 Female Blackstones” event at Winston & Strawn in Chicago, and two programs in March during Women’s History Month in both Chicago and at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. The committee also co-sponsored a reception in the fall during a meeting of the National Association of Women Lawyers Foundation.