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Y O U N G L A W Y E R S J O U R N A L
42
JULY/AUGUST 2016
CBA YOUNG
LAWYERS SECTION
Chair
Kathryn Carso Liss
The Law Offices of Jean Conde PC
First Vice-Chair
Jonathan B. Amarilio
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Second Vice-Chair
Brandon E. Peck
Peck Ritchey LLC
Member Service Manager
Shawna S. Boothe
Schiff Hardin LLP
Public Service Manager
Alexander M. Memmen
The Memmen Law Firm, LLC
Project Officer
Octavio Duran
Bekkerman Law Offices
Project Officer
Paraisia Winston Gray
Secretary/Treasurer
Carl M. Newman
City of Chicago Department of
Law
YLS Journal
Co-Editors in Chief
Oliver A. Khan
Arnstein & Lehr LLP
Nicholas D. Standiford
Schain, Banks, Kenny & Schwartz,
Ltd.
Assistant Editor
Elizabeth Babbitt
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
YLS Director
Jennifer Byrne
Protecting Our Children
By Kathryn Carso Liss
YLS Chair
I
n keeping with tradition, every chair
of the YLS develops a unique theme
and corresponding programs for their
bar year. The past YLS chairs have all
done excellent jobs during their respective
bar years and, through their leadership,
provided a lot of insight and guidance for
which I am thankful. This past bar year
finished strong and successfully focused on
The Complete Lawyer, under the leader-
ship of Matt Passen. The year prior, Paul
Ochmanek effectively implemented his
theme of Open Opportunities by develop-
ing new programs in line with his theme.
Mary Curry’s year was Future of the Legal
Profession and Natacha McClain led the
YLS in the program Get Involved in Your
Community. The list continues with addi-
tional impressive initiatives spanning more
than 40 years.
The theme this bar year is
Protecting
Our Children.
Children are one of the
most vulnerable groups of people in our
society as their voices are often not heard.
As a family law attorney, I strive to hear the
child’s voice with the goal of doing what
is in the child’s best interest. Often I see
children who are withdrawn, depressed or
angry, perhaps as a result of their parents’
extreme anger towards each other, abuse by
a parent or loved one, and/or neglect by a
parent or loved one. Fortunately, there are
good advocates out there for these children.
Child advocates need not be attorneys.
They can be counselors, volunteers, teach-
ers, mentors, doctors, etc. Unfortunately,
some children do not have advocates due to
a lack of awareness or funding. There needs
to be a larger discussion of support for
parents who are struggling with the stresses
of parenting so that these children do not
suffer abuse or neglect. By helping parents
succeed at being parents, their children
directly benefit. These are important issues
that should be discussed and addressed in
our community.
This bar year, I plan to collaborate with
Chicago organizations that serve abused
and neglected children as well as victims
of child trafficking. Specifically, the YLS
will work with Chicago Alliance Against
Sexual Exploitation (CAASE) in present-
ing a seminar to various organizations
throughout Chicago this bar year. The
YLS will have speakers from CAASE and
Heartland Alliance discuss domestic and
international child trafficking and sexual
exploitation during Human Trafficking
Awareness Week, which will occur in Janu-
ary 2017. The YLS will also create a week
of programming in the spring of 2017 to
raise awareness for child abuse protection.
Regarding the YLS’s public service
programs, the YLS will continue to work
with Legal Prep. The YLS will also continue
many of its successful public and member
service programs including the Pro Bono
Fair, Wills for Heroes, Serving our Seniors,
E-Mentoring and Texas Hold’em. Addi-
tionally, the YLS is planning several family-
friendly events such as a Cubs game, a
boat cruise, and a pie-making competition
slated for September 2016.
I am honored to be the YLS Chair and
to lead a dedicated and talented group
of young lawyers. Our officers this bar
year are: Jonathan Amarillo, First Vice-
Chair; Brandon Peck, Second Vice-Chair;
Alex Memman, Public Service Manager;
Shawna Boothe, Member Service Manager;
Carl Newman, Secretary/Treasurer; Parai-
continued on page 48