Chicago Area

Law Day provides members of the legal and educational communities with a special opportunity to work together in promoting a greater understanding and appreciation of law and the legal system among school students. This year an event was held on May 2 at John Marshall Law School.

Michael Anton Murer, 74, of Homer Glen and Begur, Spain, died Monday, April 30, 2018. He was born September 3, 1943, in Joliet to Sergio Arthur and Helen Eileen (nee Bolos) Murer. 

He was a graduate of Purdue University and Georgetown University Law School. In his early career, Mr. Murer practiced law and served as a public defender. In 1985, he and his wife, Cherilyn, founded Murer Consultants, Inc., one of the nation's leading health care, regulatory, and management consulting firms, where he served as managing partner. They retired in January of 2017. 

Julian Berman, 96, died Thursday, April 19, 2018, at his home in Glenco, Ill. He was born on August 26, 1921, in Milwaukee, Wis., to parents Ezra and Francis (Heyman) Berman. 

Following his graduation from the University of Wisconsin, he enrolled in the Navy's Officer Candidate School in 1943. As a lieutenant, he served on the destroyer USS Conner, which saw action in several major invasions in the Pacific theater. After the war, he received a law degree from the University of Wisconsin under the G.I. Bill. 

Richard S. Ratcliff, 86, died Tuesday, March 6, 2018, in Holland, Mich. 

A native of Oak Park and River Forest, Dick graduated from Oak Park High in 1948. In high school he developed his love of language and writing, and excelled in athletic activity, winning an award his senior year for best defensive guard in Cook County. He attended University of Michigan on a football scholarship and stayed for seven years, earning a bachelor’s degree in economics and a law degree. 

Dick met Patty Cullen on spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. They grew up three blocks from each other and were two years apart at Oak Park High School, but did not meet until Dick was in law school and Patty was teaching in Indianapolis. They married on April 14, 1956.