The Catalyst
September 2003 VOL. 9, NO. 1
Statements or expressions of opinion or comments appearing herein are those of the editors or contributors, and not necessarily those of the association or section.
(Notice to librarians: The following issues were published in Volume 8 of this newsletter during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003: December, No. 1; March, No. 2.)
Contents
* One of our own to become Bar president
| * | One person's trash is another's treasure... |
| * | Positive changes for femaile trial attorneys in Illinois |
| * | Insights into career moves by women lawyers |
* Collaborative law-- A new way to work the old problem of divorce
By Celia G. Gamrath
Dear Members of the Women and the Law Standing Committee:
As chair of the ISBA Women and the Law Standing Committee, I'd like to welcome you to the 2003-04 bar year. Looking back in time, the committee has had some very talented and enthusiastic leaders, including ISBA Third Vice-President Irene Bahr, Angela Imbierowicz, Kate Kelly, and last year's chair Gilda Hudson-Winfield. Under their leadership, we have worked to study and focus on areas of the law uniquely affecting women and to encourage women in their involvement in the legal community at all levels. As chair this year, I am committed to continuing the excellence of our committee, working to advance the interests of women in the legal profession and the community at large, having our committee publish quality articles in the Catalyst, and providing an opportunity for lawyers and judges to network and visit socially.
For those of you new to Women and the Law, our committee has worked together with women and organizations throughout Illinois to share points of view, effectuate change, and discuss significant issues to women such as glass ceiling issues and gender bias in the courts. One of our ongoing projects is to review the 1990 Task Force Report on Gender Bias in the Courts, which identified gender issues in four substantive areas (domestic relations, criminal justice, civil damage awards, and courtroom dynamics) and recommended specific actions to be taken by the legislature, the judiciary, bar associations, and individuals.
In a preliminary review of the Task Force Report, a subcommittee of the Women and the Law Standing Committee concluded that significant progress has been made in the legislative arena. However, further inquiries are necessary to determine how well the other recommendations have been implemented. To obtain such information and seek input from attorneys, judges, and the general public, the committee conducted a roundtable discussion and written survey with women from around the State in various practice areas. This year we will evaluate the responses and continue to engage in dialogue designed to implement the recommendations of the Task Force Report and to help meet the unmet challenges and goals of the committee.
While women have made considerable progress in the legal profession, there is still much work to be done, and each one of you can make a difference by giving us your input and directing your energies to the work of the committee and betterment of the profession for women. To fully examine the work to be done we ask you to think about and respond to the following questions: What can the Women and the Law Standing Committee do for you? For example, would you like to see more educational programs or professional development programs, and, if so, in what areas? Is there legislation that we can propose or sponsor? Are there issues outside the Task Force Report that should be studied and that you would like to participate in? Please respond to me with your comments at cgamrath@sdflaw.com; I'd like to hear from you!
I would also like to see you become a vital and active part of the committee by participation in our listserv, newsletter, and public service projects, such as Women Everywhere Day and the Y-Me Breast Cancer Race in May of 2004. These types of activities are fun and rewarding and great networking opportunities.
I am extremely proud to be chair of the Women and the Law Standing Committee, and I invite your comments and suggestions. I truly believe that the future of the ISBA and the Women and the Law Standing Committee depends on the outreach we extend to Illinois young lawyers and female judges and practitioners throughout the state. The more involved we become in working to advance the interests of women in the legal profession, the stronger the next generation of women will be in furthering the goals and advancing the leadership of the ISBA.
_______________
Celia G. Gamrath is a partner with the Chicago office of Schiller, DuCanto and Fleck. She concentrates in high-stakes matrimonial law cases and appeals.
One of our own to become Bar president
By Claire A. Manning
Irene Bahr, one of the founders of ISBA's Special Committee on Women and the Law, and a tenacious advocate of women's issues within the legal community, is to become President of ISBA in 2006. She will be the third female president in ISBA's entire history, having been preceded by Cheryl Niro (1999-2000) and Judge Carole K. Bellows (1977-78). Irene, who lives and practices law in DuPage County, will be the first female ISBA president to be elected to the position from outside of Cook County. In addition to being ISBA's first Chair of the Special Committee on Women and the Law, Irene is a past president of the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers. She has been very active in DuPage County and was particularly instrumental in establishing the Child Friendly Courts Foundation that operates the "Safe Harbor" children's room in the DuPage County courthouse. She has received the YMCA Woman of the Year award in the Business category, and has served on the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women.
Irene's involvement in ISBA is also long-standing. After many years of service as a DuPage County representative on the Assembly, she was elected to the Board of Governor's in 1997. On the Board, she served as Secretary and Treasurer. She also served as Board liaison to various ISBA committees, including the Special Committee on Women and the Law and the Administrative Law Section Council, both of which she had previously served as Chair. She is also an active member of the Illinois Bar Foundation.
Irene's interest in women's legal issues dates back to her time at DePaul Law School where she was very active in the women's law caucus. After her graduation from DePaul in 1977, Irene worked for 10 years as an attorney for the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. Upon leaving the Commission, she set up her own solo practice where she specializes in representing liquor retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers and others who interface with the state and local liquor control commissions. Her work also involves litigation of contract disputes, defense of retailers who are accused of violating liquor laws, and negotiations with suppliers. She also has had several cases go to appellate court, where she has argued commercial free speech, due process and equal protection issues.
While many of us are fully aware of the value of Irene's input and participation in the ISBA over the course of many years, few of us are aware of the personal background that helped forge her legal career and service mentality. Raised in a family of t10 on Chicago's southeast side Irondale neighborhood, Irene lived in a Chicago Housing Authority townhouse until she was graduated from high school (St. Peter and Paul) and went off to college. Her father (a Chicago firefighter) and her mother (an Irish immigrant who worked as a school crossing guard) instilled in her the idea that she needed to work for what she wanted and that she needed to value her education. Heeding that advice, Irene worked her way through college, graduate school and law school. She attended the University of Illinois Circle Campus (now, UIC) and majored in secondary education and sociology. She attended graduate school in sociology and, after one and one-half years in graduate school, decided that she wanted to become a lawyer. She attended DePaul and was graduated in 1977.
Irene now lives in DuPage County with her husband, Circuit Judge Robert Anderson, and their three children. Please join our Special Committee on Women in the Law in congratulating Irene Bahr on her well-deserved election and ascendancy to the presidency of the Illinois State Bar Association. We know that she will be a relentless advocate of the practice of law in this State‚--for the benefit of all Illinois lawyers and those we serve.
One person's trash is another's treasure...
By Annemarie E. Kill, Avery Camerlingo Kill, LLC, Chicago
How much used computer equipment do you have lying around the office or at home? Have you been so good about keeping up on technology that you now have several old computers lying in a jumbled heap in your own technological graveyard? Do you have a collection of cell phones that date back to a time when your phone took up half your briefcase?
Well, let us put an end to that right now. The following is a brief list of organizations accepting donations of used computer equipment and used cellular phones. Almost all of the organizations will clear your hard drive to ensure that no one obtains access to confidential information which was once stored there. Your used cell phone will be refurbished and reprogrammed to contact "911." It will then be provided to victims of domestic violence, free of charge, to be used in case of an emergency. The donations may also be tax-deductible, so be sure and obtain a receipt and check with your tax advisor about the deductibility.
So make a call, take a short trip, or fill out an envelope and donate that used hardware. You will get back much-needed space, put an end to your procrastination, and most importantly, provide tools for someone who is truly in need.
Agencies accepting used computer equipment:
United Cerebral Palsy Association
Assistive Technology Exchange Network
7550 183rd Street
Tinley Park, IL 60477
(708) 444-2863
(Computers are donated to schools to help children with disabilities. If you have at least five computers to donate, they will pick them up. Computers must be at least Pentium 1 and in good working condition).
Time Dollar Cross-Age Peer Tutoring Program
1819 W. Pershing
Chicago, IL 60643
(773) 233-4442
(Computers are donated for home use by Chicago Public School students. If you have at least five computers to donate, they will pick them up).
Computers for Schools Association
3642 N. Springfield Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 583-7575
(Computers are donated to schools. If you have at least 10 computers to donate, they will pick them up).
Get Well Gigabytes
6141 North Knox Avenue
Chicago, IL 60646
(773) 283-4484
(Computers are donated to hospitalized children. They are in need of laptops but will accept any type of computer equipment as well as software. Will pick up computer equipment anywhere in the Chicagoland area).
Goodwill Industries
Northpoint Shopping Center
8901 N. Knoxville Avenue
Peoria, IL 61605
(309) 682-1113
(Computers are used in training facilities and employment training participant's homes for improving computer skills. Computers can be dropped off at any attended donation center in the Central Illinois area).
The Hands Foundation
628 North Second St.
Monmouth, IL 61462
(309) 734-5211
(Computers are used to help train adults and children with disabilities. Contact the Foundation to see if they are available to pick up equipment).
Operation Homelink
Contact: ohl@redemtech.com
(Computers are provided to family members of deployed military personnel in the junior enlisted ranks to enable regular email communication between the personnel and their families. Check the Web site <www.operationhomelink.org> about drop-off locations depending on when you do so).
Peoples Resource Center Computer Literacy Training and Access Program
232 N. Gables
Wheaton, IL 60137
(630) 784-9372
(Computers are used to provide basic computer literacy training in neighborhood training sites around DuPage County and are also provided to low-income households in DuPage County).
And for your used cell phones:
The Wireless Foundation "Call to Protect" Program drop-off points:
Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation
1817 S. Neil Street
Suite 203
Champaign, Illinois 61820
(217) 356-1351
Franklin Covey (or any Franklin Covey store)
230 S. Clark Street
Bank of America Building
Chicago, Illinois 60604
(312) 726-0842
Office of Congressman John Shimkus (or any of his local offices)
3130 Chatham Road
Suite C
Springfield, Illinois 62704
(217) 492-5090
Verizon Wireless (or any Verizon Wireless location)
6387 E. State
Rockford, Illinois 61108
(815)395-0150
-or-
5949 North Illinois
Fairview Heights, Illinois 62208
(618)257-9848
(also see <www.wirelessfoundation.org> for other drop-off locations).
Positive changes for female trial attorneys in Illinois
By Bethany K. Biesenthal
There have been many positive changes for female trial attorneys in Illinois. The number of organizations geared toward the advancement of female trial lawyers and female membership in other trial organizations is definitely on the rise. Sandra McMullen, co-chair of the Civil Litigation Committee of the Women's Bar Association, stated that the Committee currently has more than 50 members. The members are given many opportunities, including invitations to attend dinners with various judges and other professionals in the field. Of the 100-150 total members of the Chicago Inn of Court, approximately 30-35 percent are female. The percentage increases when looking only at the younger classes of lawyers, suggesting that the numbers will continue to grow. The Illinois Trial Lawyer's Association, an organization devoted to protecting the rights of the injured through trial by jury, has more than 2,000 members. Approximately 15-20 percent of those members are female. The National Institute for Trial Advocacy, a national trial education organization, recently held its national training session for trial lawyers. This year, 17 of the 45 faculty members were female, including the Program Director.
It seems that this increase in active female trial attorneys is beginning in the law schools. Participation by females in competitive trial advocacy settings has experienced a tremendous change over the past few years. Ken Cunniff, Director of trial teams at The John Marshall Law School, says there has been a "dramatic increase" in the number of female participants in trial team competitions. He said that only 10 years ago, virtually all of the competitors were male. Now, nearly 75 percent of the student participants are female. He also stated that the quality of the women participants is "superb," noting that several of the recent national trial team competition finalists included one or more female participants. Mr. Cunniff attributes this increase to the additional opportunities now available to women in their undergraduate colleges.
Steve Lubet, Professor of Law and Director of Bartlit Center on Trial Strategy for Northwestern Law School, echoes these trends. He stated that a large number of the students in the trial advocacy program are female, which is a significant change from the past. For the last few years, his program has actually had a "very clear majority" of female members. Trial teams from Northwestern have been named national champions three times, and each of those times, at least one team member was female.
Practicing attorneys also look optimistic about the role of female trial attorneys. Kathryn Kelly, an Assistant United States Attorney since 1995, stated that she has not had to face many obstacles or hurdles because of her gender as a trial attorney in federal court. She stated that there is still a majority of men in the courtroom, but that the number of women in federal court has increased. She also noted that at times her gender is a benefit, as a large number of influential female trial attorneys reach out to younger female attorneys in an effort to show the opportunities available and capabilities of female trial attorneys.