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EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor-in-Chief
Amy Cook
Amy Cook LLC
Features Editor
Justin Heather
The Quinlan Law Firm, LLC
Summary Judgments Editor
Pamela S. Menaker
Clifford Law Offices
YLS Journal Editors-in-Chief
Jonathan B. Amarilio
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Geoff Burkhart
American Bar Association
Carolyn D. Amadon
Shannon R. Burke
American Bar Association
Anne Ellis
Proactive Worldwide, Inc.
Clifford Gately
Heyl Royster
Angela Harkless
The Harkless Law Firm
Jasmine Villaflor Hernandez
Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office
Michele M. Jochner
Schiller DuCanto & Fleck LLP
Ruth J. Kaufman
Stacey R. Laskin
Illinois Attorney General’s Office
John Levin
Bonnie McGrath
Law Office of Bonnie McGrath
Clare McMahon
Law Office of Clare McMahon
Peter V. Mierzwa
Law Bulletin Publishing Company
Kathleen Dillon Narko
Northwestern University School of Law
Adam J. Sheppard
Sheppard Law Firm, PC
Rosemary Simota Thompson
U.S. Department of Justice
William A. Zolla II
The ZOLLaw Group, Ltd.
THE CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION
David Beam
Director of Publications
Joe Tarin
Advertising Account Representative
CBA RECORD
PRESIDENT’S
PAGE
BY DANIEL A. COTTER
The New Young Lawyers Section
6
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015
“I was young, not dumb
Just wishing to be blinded
By you, brand new
And we were pilgrims on our way.”
–
U2, “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)”
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the
way, and shows the way.”
–John Maxwell
T
his edition of the
CBA Record
is
the Annual YLS Issue. In 2016,
The Young Lawyers Section will
celebrate 45 years of existence. Created to
address the needs and interests of newly
admitted attorneys, it has enjoyed national
prominence, including recognition by the
American Bar Association for best com-
prehensive programming as well as various
service projects. This year is no exception.
I have the privilege of serving you this
year alongside the YLS Chair and a very
close friend of mine, Paul Ochmanek.
Paul has continued the tradition of excel-
lence and has implemented programs that
are amazing and reflect his passion and
dedication to the bar and community.
The theme of this year’s YLS edition, “The
New Young Lawyers Section,” reflects a
continued revisiting of the programs and
services the YLS performs each year to
ensure relevancy to the challenges facing
law students and young lawyers, as well as
the general public. A few of those programs
are outlined below.
Suits for Success
Paul and the YLS implemented this public
service project designed to benefit students
at Christo Rey High School. The YLS
solicited donations of new or gently used
suits, arranged for the dry cleaning of the
suits (at no charge), and then invited the
students to The Chicago Bar Association
for resume reviews by lawyers. After the
resume reviews, each participant was able
to choose one of the suits. Through the
hard work of Paul and his leadership team,
they collected and distributed an amazing
400 suits! This project will benefit many
and prepare them for job interviews and
college interviews.
Future of the Profession
It is no secret that law students graduating
in recent years have seen a decline in the
availability of decent paying jobs, while
at the same time experiencing increased
average student loan burdens and tough
times. Young lawyers are the future of our
profession and the YLS and CBA are doing
everything we can to help address this crisis
in the profession. This year, Paul agreed to
continue the work that Mary Curry began
in her bar year.
During the Future of the Law Week in
February 2015, the YLS hosted a number
of events to address issues such as innova-
tive pricing techniques, expert systems and
knowledge management, and practicing
differently. The week ended with a Future
of the Law Expo.