Chicago Area

ISBA Laureate Mary Lee Leahy passed away Wednesday in Chicago. She was 72. Leahy was best known for winning the U.S. Supreme Court case Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois – which banned most political hiring. She passed away in her Chicago condominum following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Here is the bio from her 2001 Laureate induction: Two years after she graduated from law school in 1966, Mary Lee Leahy was principal attorney in the first of several landmark cases she has won in her distinguished career.

Pickering versus Board of Education, argued in the U.S. Supreme Court, established the right of public employees to publicly criticize their employers.

Perhaps her most familiar case – Rutan – was a class action decided in 1990 by the U.S. Supreme Court. It established the right of public employees to support or not to support a political party or candidate for public office without being denied promotion, transfer, recall from lay-off and employment due to a political patronage system. As the saying goes, "this changed everything."

The ISBA Young Lawyers Division held its annual Holiday Party on Dec. 7 at the Cubby Bear in Chicago. The YLD Holiday Party has raised over $350,000 for the Children’s Assistance Fund over the past 14 years.

Schuyler, Roche & Crisham, P.C. this week welcomed one of the Chicago area’s most highly respected real estate, land use and zoning legal teams to its ranks with the addition of John J. “Jack” George (shareholder), Chris A. Leach (partner) and Kathleen A. Duncan (Associate), all formerly of Daley & George.

“I’ve always had great respect for the quality of people at Schuyler, Roche & Crisham, many of whom I’ve known personally and worked with over the years,” said George. “Their ethical standards and knowledge of the law are exceptional, and the business group’s expertise in employment and tax law and commercial litigation in particular is a perfect complement to our practice. Chris, Kate and I have been together a long time, and I’m confident we’ve found a great new home at Schuyler Roche.”

Few if any major commercial developments in the Chicago area over the last two decades have taken place without Jack George’s legal involvement. The former Assistant Attorney General and Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago has established a reputation over the course of his 40-year legal career for his work ethic and case preparation, as well as a unique ability to successfully find common ground in the goals of the developer and the concerns of the community.

Effective January 8, 2013, and until further order of the Court, the Hon. Michael B. Hyman, Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, is assigned to duty in the Appellate Court, First District, to the position formerly held by the Hon. Nathaniel J. Howse, Jr., who was elected to the Appellate Court. Judge Hyman shall occupy the rotation position in the Third Division formerly held by the Hon. Marcus R. Salone.