CBA Record

Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago and other area bar associations are co- hosting the 50 th Anniversary Celebration of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts at a Gala Dinner on Thursday, April 30, 2015, in the Grand Ballroom at the Stan- dard Club. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr ., theologian, pastor, and civic leader, will be the keynote speaker at the dinner. Dr. Moss is well known for his leadership of America’s Civil Rights Movement and participated in the Selma, Alabama Civil Rights March with Dr. Martin Luther King. Moss was a close friend of Dr. King, served as regional direc- tor of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and is one of America’s most influential black ministers. In addition, we will also honor Mrs. Juanita Abernathy , wife of the late Dr. Ralph Abernathy at the dinner. Dr. Aber- nathy led the Southern Christian Leader- ship Conference after the assassination of Dr. King. The Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Act also ended unequal applica- tion of voter registration and racial segre- gation in our nation’s schools. The Voting Rights Act, considered by many to be the most effective piece of civil rights legisla- tion ever enacted in the United States, was signed into law by President Johnson in 1965. President Johnson’s daughter Lynda Johnson Robb and her daughter Catherine Lewis Robb will be attending the Gala Dinner and will be recognized for their father’s leadership in the passage of both of these historic Acts. United States District Court Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman and Brenda A. Russell , Director of Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, co-chair this special Chicago celebration. Table sponsors for the Gala Dinner are $2,500 for a table of ten and will receive special seating and recognition in the program. Individual tickets are $125 per person. For more information or to make reservations for the Gala Dinner, contact Tamra Drees at 312/554-2057 or tdrees@chicagobar.org.

MURPHY’S LAW BY TERRENCE M. MURPHY, CBA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Hon. Shelvin Louise Marie Hall of the Illinois Appellate Court (center) was honored with the 2015 Dickerson Award on Tuesday, February 24. The award recognizes minority lawyers and judges whose careers at the bar emulate the courage and dedication of the late Earl B. Dickerson in making the law the key to justice for all in our society. Pictured with Hall are (left) CBA President Daniel A. Cotter of Fidelity Life Insurance Association and (right) Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. Photo by Bill Richert.

T he 2015 Vanguard Awards Lun- cheon will be held on Thursday, April 2, 2015, beginning with a reception at 11:30 a.m., followed by the luncheon at noon. The Vanguard Awards are co-hosted by the Asian American Bar Association; the Chicago Bar Association; Cook County Bar Association; Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois; Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago; and the Puerto Rican Bar Association. The luncheon celebrates diversity and honors lawyers, judges and community leaders whose leadership is making a difference in our city. This year’s honorees include: Anne Shaw from the Asian American Bar Association; U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman , The Chicago Bar Association; Illinois Appellate Court Justice John O. Steele (Ret.), Cook

County Bar Association; Virginia Marti- nez , Illinois Latino Family Commission, Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois; Jim Bennett , Midwest Regional Direc- tor, Lambda Legal, Lesbian & Gay Bar Association of Chicago; Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis , Puerto Rican Bar Association. Join your colleagues from the bench and the bar in honoring these outstanding leaders. Tickets for the luncheon are $65 per person or $650 for a table of ten. For more information or to make reservations, contact CBA Events Coordinator Tamra Drees at 312/554- 2057 or tdrees@chicagobar.org. 50 th Anniversary Gala Celebrating the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts The Chicago Bar Association, Cook County Bar Association, Black Women

20 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015