CBA Record October 2016

42 / 60

L AWY E R S ’ A S S I S TA N C E P R O G R A M
ANNUAL DINNER
NOVEMBER 3RD
For more information contact LAP at
312-726-6607 or visit .
JUDGE OF THE YEAR
Judge Robert J. Anderson, 18th Judicial Circuit Court
VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR
Robert Kelleher, Michelle Owen, Ruta Stropus
M I CHAEL J . HOWLETT JR . AWARD
Illinois Bar Foundation
EXECUT I VE D I RECTOR ’ S AWARD
Michael Cortina
The Equal Rights Amendment:
Why it Still Matters and How it
will Affect our Future
Monday, October 31, 12:00 –2:10 pm
Location: The Chicago Bar Association,
321 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604
Experience Level: Basic
MCLE Credit: 2.0 IL-MCLE Credits
Presented by: CBA/WBAI Joint Task Force on
Women & Aging, CBA Alliance for Women, YLS
Women in the Law & ISBA Standing Committee
onWomen and the Law
Join our panel, composed of legislators and
legal scholars, for a timely program that will
analyze the ERA & address many topics related
to it, including:
• Origin of and advocacy for the ERA as a
means to address gender inequities.
• Results of previous efforts to pass the ERA
here and in other states, & an update on
the ERA Bill passed in the Illinois Senate and
introduced in the Illinois House.
• Who will benefit-and how-if the Amend-
ment becomes part of the U.S. Constitution.
• Rationales voiced by ERA proponents and
supporting data
• Objections that have been raised to its pas-
sage and data available to support and to
counter those objections.
• Procedural steps necessary to pass the ERA
now.
Participants: Heather Steans, Illinois State
Senator; Lou Lang, Illinois State Representative;
and Larry Suffredin, CBA Legislative Counsel;
Cook County Board Commissioner, 13th District;
and Of Counsel, Taft. Additional speakers an-
nounced at
42 OCTOBER 2016
Christopher Elmore, an alumnus of the Justice
Entrepreneurs Project, helps individuals and
families as they seek to come and stay in the
United States.
you may save a life or drastically improve
a person’s circumstances.
Pro bono cases can seem to be some of
the more difficult cases to take. The cir-
cumstances leading to a person’s inability
to afford legal representation make their
lives challenging enough, but add to those
circumstances a significant legal obstacle,
and they can reach a breaking point of
despair. Many times those circumstances
make working for the client difficult logis-
tically and emotionally.
I have made several trips as a volunteer
attorney to the detention facilities that
hold mothers and their children. Seeing a
baby in what amounts to a “jail setting” is
disturbing, and working with mothers who
share stories of rape, domestic violence,
murdered family members, and threats on
their lives is an overwhelming and surreal
experience. However, I find my law license
has never been put to better use than when
helping these clients.
I have benefitted significantly, person-
ally and professionally, in doing pro bono
work with these women and children
seeking asylum. As a result of volunteering
in the detention facilities, I met some of
the best attorneys in my field of practice.
I now have direct access to them when I
need mentorship or guidance. On the first
trip, I roomed with a stranger, with whom
I have since started a non-profit, VIDA
(Volunteer Immigrant Defense Advocates),
that provides legal services to underserved
areas of eastern Tennessee.
I traveled across the country to perform
some of my pro bono work, but you can
find many pro bono opportunities without
leaving Chicago. Pro bono work is the best
thing I did for my career, and it can be for
you too.