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The Chicago Alumni Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity recently awarded $5,000 in scholarships to students from several Chicago-area law schools.  The scholarships, named in honor of former Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Daniel P. Ward, recognize students who have outstanding records of academic excellence and community service, in furtherance of the fraternity's mission of service to the profession and the public. Photo: Phi Alpha Delta Chicago Alumni Chapter Justice Michele Jochner (far left) congratulates the recipients of the Chapter's Justice Daniel P. Ward Scholarship. Seated left to right: Natalie Lange (Dooley Chapter - Northern Illinois University Law School), Desiree Lauricella (Lincoln Chapter - The John Marshall Law School).  Standing: Michele Jochner, Daniel Powell (Lincoln Chapter), Michelle  Reed (Webster Chapter - Loyola University School of Law), Patrick Callahan (Story Chapter - DePaul University College of Law), and Sean Corsini (Lincoln Chapter).

Streator attorney Richard J. Berry, 57, died in a two-vehicle crash last night. Berry was first licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1977 and has been with the firm of Myers, Berry, O'Conor & Kuzma, which has offices in Streator and Ottawa. Berry's firm issued a statement expressing their sense of loss on Thursday morning. "The firm of Myers, Berry, O'Conor & Kuzma, Ltd. has lost a valued partner and friend in Richard J. Berry. Mr. Berry was a vigorous litigator dedicated to upholding the rights and interests of his clients. He will be missed, as will the passion he brought to all he did." Click here to read the obituary in the Ottawa Times.

D. Glenn Ofsthun, 85 of Barrington, died Dec. 9 at Brighton Gardens, Hoffman Estates. Visitation will be held on Thursday, Dec. 17, from 3-8 p.m. at Brust Funeral Home, 135 S. Main, Lombard. Mr. Ofsthun will be lying-in-state on Friday, Dec. 18, from 10 a.m. until time of funeral service at 11 a.m. at Presbyterian Church of Barrington, 6 S. Brinker Road. Internment will be held at White Memorial Cemetery, Barrington. Born in Minneapolis in 1924, Mr. Ofsthun spent his childhood in Duluth, Minn., and his summers on the family farms in Morton, Minn. He graduated valedictorian of Denfield High School in Duluth in 1941 and received a scholarship to Harvard University. During his undergraduate years, he served in the Army Air Force Meteorology program in 1943 and then in the Army Airway Communications System. When WWII ended, he completed his undergraduate degree and continued on scholarship to Harvard Law School, graduating in 1950. Mr. Ofsthun met his wife, Audrey, and married in 1951. The Ofsthuns lived in Chicago until 1955 when they moved to Mount Prospect. In 1960, they moved to the Barrington area to raise their four daughters. Glenn enjoyed golf, fishing and travel. He worked at the law firm of Lord, Bissell & Brook from 1950 until 1956 where he specialized in will, tax and corporate law, and managed complex litigation and bankruptcies. He spent the rest of his career at Rooks, Pitts, Fullager and Poust, both as a senior partner and then as the managing partner, where he specialized in corporate and business law, including counsel for several large U.S. and multi-national companies. He was perhaps the only U.S. lawyer to manage a case in front of the House of Lords in London. Mr.

Bruce R. Johnson, a member of the Illinois bar since 1967 and most recently of Johnson & McCaa LLC, in Portland, Maine, has started a new firm, Johnson & Associates, in Dover, New Hampshire. Johnson & Associates will open its doors for business on January 4, 2010. The practice will focus on estate and business succession planning and will continue to serve Mr. Johnson's Illinois, Maine and New Hampshire clients.