All sitting and retired members of the Illinois Supreme Court will be presented with the first annual “Harold Sullivan Award for Judicial Excellence” at the joint Midyear Meeting of the Illinois Judges Association (IJA) and Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) on Friday, December 10, at a 12 noon luncheon, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, 301 E. North Water St. Created by IJA President Lewis M. Nixon, a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, the award was named in memory of the late Judge Harold Sullivan to salute the men and women who serve or have served with distinction on the state’s highest court. Judge Sullivan, who died earlier this year, was instrumental in helping expand the IJA in size and influence. Current justices who will be honored are Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride, Charles E. Freeman, Robert R. Thomas, Rita B. Garman, Lloyd A. Karmeier, Anne M. Burke and Mary Jane Theis. The retired, living justices who will receive the award are Benjamin K. Miller, James Heiple, John J. Stamos, Mary Ann G. McMorrow, Moses Harrison II, John L. Nickels, S. Louis Rathje, Thomas Fitzgerald and Phillip Rarick. Judge S. Gene Schwarm, Chief Judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, will receive the IJA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.  Judge Schwarm, who has served as chairman of the Conference of Chief Judges since September 2006, is also chair of the Illinois Supreme Court Judicial Mentoring Committee and co-chair of the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council. Keynote speaker at the luncheon will be trial attorney, best-selling author, television anchor and legal analyst, Rikki Klieman, who has earned a sterling reputation as one of the nation’s most thoughtful legal authorities.

[caption id="attachment_15966" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Front, left to right: Scholarship Recipients Jennifer Weston, Nicholas J. Liadis and Janet Soave.  Rear, left to rigth:  Chicago Alumni Chapter Scholarship Chair Hon. Julie-April Montgomery; Committee Member Sharon Hunt; Recipients Sierra Marie Falter, Megan Liston and Julie Pirtle; Chicago Alumni Chapter President Michele M. Jochner."][/caption] The Chicago Alumni Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity recently held its 2010 Justice Daniel P. Ward Law Student Scholarship Dinner.  The Chicago Alumni Chapter annually awards scholarships to deserving law students, named in honor of the late Daniel P. Ward, who served the profession in a number of distinguished positions: Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, Cook County State's Attorney, and Dean of DePaul University College of Law. Justice Ward was a model for the Fraternity's mission of service to the student, the school, the profession and the community, which is exemplified by this year's six recipients, who received a total of $5,000.  $1,000 Awardees: Nicholas J. Liadis, DePaul University College of Law; Janet Soave, Loyola University School of Law.  $750 Awardees: Megan Liston, The John Marshall Law School; Jennifer Weston, Northern Illinois University College of Law.

The Illinois Judges Foundation will recognize the lifetime achievements of its founding president, Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis, during a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, in the Walnut Room of the Hotel Allegro, 171 W. Randolph St., Chicago. “All of the good that the foundation has accomplished to date can be traced back to this great public servant,” said Cook County Judge Jesse G. Reyes, the current president. “We want to celebrate and honor our first president.” A jurist for 27 years after a decade as a public defender, Justice Theis served on the Cook County Circuit Court from 1983 to 1993, and then on the Illinois Appellate Court until Oct. 26, when she was sworn in to fill the Supreme Court vacancy of retiring Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald. As president of the Illinois Judges Association in 1997-98, Justice Theis was instrumental in the formation and inaugural leadership of its charitable foundation. She also has been president of the Appellate Lawyers Association, and has served on the governing boards of the Chicago Bar Association and Illinois State Bar Association. Advance reservations for the Dec. 2 reception, at $75 per person, may be made through Dec. 1 by calling (312) 554-2008 or accessing www.ijafoundation.org and clicking on Future Events. Admission on the evening of the reception will be $100 per person. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be available.

The deadline for audition applications for Lawyers Rock Legends at Buddy Guy's Legends has been extended to Nov. 12. Do you think you’re good enough to play at the famous Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago? Now's your chance to prove it!  We are seeking talented lawyers who moonlight as musicians (either as a solo performer or in a band) to participate in our Lawyers Rock Legends concert event on Thursday, February 3rd, 2011. We have extended the audition application date (originally November 1st) to November 12th.   The winning bands/performers will be announced at a special press conference at the ISBA/IJA Joint Meeting on Friday, December 10th. Those bands will be featured from 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.