Shout-Outs and Thank-You-Fors

Last week I was brainstorming ideas as to what to put in this Docket column, and I was wracking my brain for some new statute or anything else riveting in the legal com- munity. Then it dawned on me that something I probably haven’t given enough attention to is putting into words the appreciation, shout-outs, and attention that should be given to the Chairs of our Committees. I also happen to have the perfect platform to give it. This column.

This inspiration recently came to me after attending the installation of our newest 19th Circuit Court Judges: Judge Ditton, Judge Joanem, and Judge Manak. Their installation was the first time that I had the distinct honor of presenting the robes. During the ceremony, a selected family member or friend gave remarks about each judge, and then, of course, the judges made their own remarks. I know the event was livestreamed and many people were there in person as well, so I won’t repeat what everyone said, but the underlying theme among the speeches was “thank you.” They were thanking others for being role models or for pushing them to be better people and lawyers. There were thanks for their loyalty to the practice of law and legal community. Throughout the entirety of the installation I am not sure that there was another word used more than “thank you.” And so that is what I’m going to do right now by giving out thanks and shoutouts to some well-deserved committee chairs.

If you’re not part of the Civil Trials and Appeals Committee, then you may not know that Terry Mueller is serving as the chairperson along with co-chair John Steigauf, and this is their first year of serving in these positions. Terry and John have done a fantastic job of securing some amazing speakers that are of interest to the members

BY TARA R. DEVINE PRESIDENT

of their committee and beyond. On February 18, Terry was able to secure a presentation by attorney Josh Koskoff. Koskoff represented the Sandy Hook families who were devastatingly impacted by the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. He discussed the settlement reached with the gun manufacturers and did a great job explaining the history of gun manufacturing, exceptions to certain immunities, and the evidence he was able to collect and persuasively argue to get a settlement for these family members.

Terry and John were also able to secure a very busy Patrick Salvi to speak at their upcoming March committee meeting regarding the very recent record-breaking $363 million dollar Sterigenics trial and subsequent settlement. So, this is a shout-out to Terry and John for doing a fantas- tic job in their first year for this committee.

Another committee chairperson who deserves special thanks is Mandi Florip, who is new to the LCBA and a new committee chair. Mandi has done an excellent job chairing the Local Government Committee and brings a wealth of talent and organizational skills, because she also serves as the Executive Director of the Lake County Municipal League and practices local governmental law. The Local Government Committee is going to do a joint New Elected Officials Training with the Lake County Municipal League in May—keep a lookout for it.

As I dictate this article I can already tell that I will likely forget to thank someone and their contributions, but the good news is I still have a couple more Docket columns to make up for it.

I would like to say thank you to Karissa Anderson and newly elected Judge John Joanem of the Community Outreach and Diversity Committee for their efforts. For years, they have presented so many opportunities for their members and for the LCBA generally, such as the Professional Clothing Drive and the Chili Cookoff and Food Drive. They have so many events and opportunities that it is hard for me to call out all of them, but their commitment to this Committee should not go unnoticed.

I need to thank the Docket editorial board (Steve Rice in particular) for putting up with my consistently late submissions and the amount of grammar and spelling corrections that likely goes into each one of my articles before it hits print.

I need to thank the chairs of the Family Law Committee, Craig Mandell and Michael Strauss, for being such an active committee, for doing such a great job in organizing their seminar, and for hosting an amazing holiday party last week for their members. Their parties and seminars are not to be missed!

I would like to thank Don Tyer and Sarah Raisch for leading the Criminal Law Committee, even though Sarah betrayed the entire Committee by becoming a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney (how dare she)! The work that they’ve done up until this point has been outstanding and I have no doubt that Don Tyer and his new co-chair, Caryn Barone, will continue their great work for the rest of the year.

As for the Judicial Selection and Retention Committee, a big thank you to Tom Campe for serving as the chairperson of this important body. He has devoted a significant amount of time to scheduling, coordinating, and conducting judicial candidate interviews over the past few months.

A big thank you to Patrick Brady and Divina Ayala for chairing the Young and New Lawyers Committee. They have done a great job organizing events early on and planning outings, such as the Cubs game this past fall, which was well attended and enjoyed great weather. They are currently working on a Meet the Judges event for April—stay tuned!

Over at Trust and Estates, Kathryn Shores and Kathleen Georgevich have done a great job with their in-person meetings, seminar, and all of their speakers, and have been very successful in keeping their committee members engaged.

Jenn Carrol and Vanessa Seiler of the Debtor/Creditor Committee lead a small (for now) but mighty committee that meets regularly. Jenn and Vanessa are invested in expanding committee participation, which no doubt under their direction will continue to grow.

A big shout-out to Katrine Fleishman and David Alexander for their work with the Real Estate Committee. They are currently busy planning their upcoming seminar, on top of the meetings and CLE offerings they have already completed this past year.

I would also like to take a moment to thank Lorena Hernandez, Administrative Assistant to Chief Judge Mark Levitt, who helps behind the scenes and lets me know where and when I should be as it relates to courthouse activities. And, of course, a big thank you to Chief Judge Levitt who graciously includes me as LCBA President in so many of these installations and ceremonies.

Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about the LCBA Board members, or Greg, Jose, and Nancy. I’m going to save another column for them because I still have a few more to go!

Lastly, thank YOU for reading The Docket and this article in its entirety!

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