2026 Articles

2025 Joint Midyear Meeting Photos February 2026 The Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association proudly co-hosted the 2025 Joint Midyear Meeting on December 11–12 at the JW Marriott Chicago, bringing members of the legal community together for two days of connection and collaboration.

Advocating for Yourself to Better Advocate for Your Clients: The Taboo Topic of Self-Care By Isabella Mazzanti February 2026 Next time you may feel guilty about taking time for yourself and away from work, remember that you cannot be an effective advocate without self-care. In other words, self-care doesn’t compete with hard work, it protects it.

Become an Illinois Bar Foundation Champion By Jessica R. Durkin February 2026 At least twice a year at ISBA Annual and Midyear Meetings, we are pitched by colleagues and the Illinois Bar Foundation to become a “Champion.” But what is a Champion really, and what’s in it for us?

Beyond the Cubicle, Behind the Bruises: Domestic Violence and Women in the Workplace By Judge Megan Goldish February 2026 Employers can play a key role in detecting and protecting against domestic violence, which becomes especially important in the age of COVID when remote work became more dominant. Recent legislation has paved the way for workplace strategies to reduce the impact of DV, but employers can also implement policies to advance this goal.

Editor’s Note By Sandra Blake May 2026 A note from the Editor of Mental Health Matters, discussing Mental Health Awareness Month.

The Gift of Understanding By Susan M. Goldberg May 2026 An anecdote, thinking back to years past: As a child, every year I noticed that there was always one present that remained under our Christmas tree for several days after Christmas. It was a small gift with a tag on it that said “For Luella.” My mother told me that Luella was a woman who was in “a mental hospital."

Lawyers’ Assistance Program: Mental Health By Nicole Sartori May 2026 The Lawyers' Assistance Program is a valuable resource for attorneys, judges, and law students, offering services from assessments, substance abuse to mental health treatments, support groups, and individual counseling.

Seeing the Humanity: Northern Illinois NAMI By Susan M. Goldberg May 2026 Danielle Angilieri, the Executive Director of the Northern Illinois National Alliance for Mental Illness in Rockford, shares her career journey and offers words of wisdom when dealing with persons who may be suffering from mental illnesses.

Why Illinois Juries Should Be Told the Truth: Consequences Instructions and the Insanity Defense By Kulmeet S. Galhotra April 2026 This article has been unpublished so that the author can revise it. Once the revised article has been published, this issue of Mental Health Matters will be resent to subscribers.