CBA Record April-May 2017

8 / 52

It has been said that the presidency a
leader plans bears no resemblance to
the presidency that actually takes place.
I used to think that was likely the result of
poor planning or poor execution. I now
know that it’s because something called
“real life” gets in the way.
There are many things that I thought
I knew a year ago which I now know dif-
ferently–or view differently–after a year of
serving with the honor of “President, Chi-
cago Bar Association” following my name.
What an amazing year of unexpected
events and opportunities it has been.
When my year began last summer, I
talked about increasing our efforts to pro-
mote access to justice by introducing some
of the 90% of citizens who cannot afford
legal services to the thousands of Chicago
area lawyers who are either unemployed or
have made some prog-
ress on that front–specifically launching a
limited scope representation committee
and including limited scope representation
as part of our lawyer referral service.
But last summer, there was so much
that had yet to happen in our world which
would impact the upcoming bar year.
There were so many events on the horizon
of which nobody knew.
Nobody knew that Justice John Paul
Stevens would honor us with his presence
at the Stevens Awards Luncheon–per-
haps his final visit–at a time when his
beloved Cubs were headed for a World
Series. Nobody knew we would have the
opportunity to present him with a banner
that hung over Wrigley Field during the
1932 World Series, a game Justice Stevens
attended as a child.
On a related note, nobody knew that
weeks after the World Series Champion-
ship, Cubs Executive Vice President Mike
Lufrano would join us for a fantastic CBA
event to discuss “All Things Cubs.”
Nobody knew that Donald Trump, the
Presidential candidate, would make public
statements questioning the integrity of a fed-
eral judge, thereby necessitating our public
response in support of the Rule of Law.
Nobody knew that Donald Trump
would win the election, then issue an
Unconstitutional Executive Order impos-
ing a sweeping travel ban on several pre-
dominantly Muslim countries. This forced
us to host a national news conference, with
several affinity bar groups, condemning
Trump’s action, and again proclaiming the
Rule of Law.
Nobody knew that Chicago would
experience a record number of homicides
in 2016, prompting us to take several
actions in response. We welcomed Police
Superintendent Eddie Johnson as our
guest to speak to members about the police
department response to this issue.
We launched an anti-violence commit-
tee and task force to address these issues on
a permanent basis.
continued on page 45
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
BY DANIEL M. KOTIN
Who Knew What This Year
Would Bring?
The Chicago
Bar Association
OFFICERS
President
Daniel M. Kotin
Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, LLC
First Vice President
Judge Thomas R. Mulroy
Circuit Court of Cook County
Second Vice President
Steven M. Elrod
Holland & Knight LLP
Secretary
Jesse H. Ruiz
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Treasurer
Maurice Grant
Grant Law LLC
Executive Director
Terrence M. Murphy
Assistant Executive Director
Elizabeth A. McMeen
BOARD OF
MANAGERS
Ashly I. Boesche
Alan R. Borlack
Judge Maureen E. Connors
Mary K. Curry
Judge Thomas M. Durkin
Judge Timothy C. Evans
Judge Shelvin Louise Marie Hall
Robert F. Harris
Patricia Brown Holmes
Matthew T. Jenkins
Michele M. Jochner
Kathryn Carso Liss
Pamela S. Menaker
Paul J. Ochmanek Jr.
Eileen M. O’Connor
Nigel F. Telman
Frank G. Tuzzolino
Andrew W. Vail
Allison L. Wood
8 APRIL/MAY 2017