[caption id="attachment_6355" align="alignright" width="289" caption="Robert Downs"][/caption]
Former ISBA President Robert K. Downs was inducted into the Stetson University College of Law Hall of Fame on October 24 in Gulfport, Fla.
Bob Downs is the founding partner, with his wife, Barbara, in the Chicago law firm of Downs Law Offices, P.C., which focuses on family law. Downs has long been active in politics and the legal community.
Early in his career, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives and spent considerable time, involved with independent political, public interest and consumer cases. He worked with the Church Federation of Greater Chicago creating legal clinics that later became the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation. In 1995, he received the American Bar Association's Family Law Pro Bono Services Award. He also received awards from the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Chicago and Grinnell Colleges, distinguished Alumni Award.
Downs served as President of the Illinois State Bar Association from 2005-2006.
People
-
December 8, 2009 |
People
-
December 8, 2009 |
People
The Chicago firm of Baugh, Dalton, Carlson & Ryan LLC has opened a new office in Phoenix, Arizona. Jamie B. Palfai has joined the firm as partner. Palfai's practice will focus on securities, financial services and regulatory matters in the Western, Southwestern and Mountain Regions of the United States. Visit www.baughdaltonlaw.com for more information.
-
December 7, 2009 |
People
Longtime labor attorney Eugene Cotton passed away last month at his New York home. He was a major figure in the Chicago labor movement -- especially in the stockyards -- as general counsel of the United Packinghouse Workers of American from 1948-1968. He negotiated contracts that guaranteed paid holidays, vacations of up to six weeks, large pay increases and some of the nation's first industrywide pension plans and medical insurance programs. Read the full obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times
-
December 7, 2009 |
People
John P. Deege, 93, passed away last month at his Quincy home. He was born June 26, 1916, in Great Bend, Kan., a son of Fred and Myrtle Ireland Deege. John was an attorney who practiced for over 50 years and retired in September of 2008. He was a graduate of Madison Grade School, Quincy High School, Illinois College at Jacksonville and the University of Illinois Law School. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1944-1946 and from 1950-1952 in the Korean War. Read the full obituary in the Quincy Herald-Whig
-
December 4, 2009 |
People
[caption id="attachment_6252" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Stephen Bell"][/caption] Chicago law firm Grady Pilgrim Christakis Bell LLP announced today that attorney Stephen Bell, one of the founding partners of the Chicago law firm Goldberg Kohn Bell Black Rosenbloom & Moritz, Ltd., has joined Grady Pilgrim as a partner. Bell chaired Goldberg Kohn's Real Estate Group from 1996 to 2007, and served on its Management Committee for many years until his recent resignation. Grady Pilgrim is a Chicago-based law firm founded in October 2008 by four former partners of the Chicago law firm Arnstein & Lehr LLP. Bell received his law degree, cum laude, from Harvard University in 1969 and his A.B.
-
December 3, 2009 |
People
[caption id="attachment_6230" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Peter Birnbaum"][/caption] Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund President Peter J. Birnbaum was elected to the 2009-2010 Board of Governors of the American Land Title Association at the association's annual convention at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, in late October. ALTA is the official trade group of the title industry. Birnbaum is only the second bar-related title company executive to serve on ALTA's board during its 85-year history. Birnbaum will also serve as ALTA's Underwriters Section Representative. Title industry veteran Mark Winter was named ALTA's 2009-2010 new president at the October convention. "I look forward to uniquely representing ATG's nearly 4,000 member attorneys in my new position with ALTA's Board of Governors," explained Birnbaum. "During his 28 years with Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Peter has continually brought progressive ideas, ceaseless energy and strong leadership to his organization and to the broader title industry," commented ALTA's CEO Kurt Pfotenhauer.
-
December 2, 2009 |
People
William C. Butcher, formerly of Melrose Park, passed away on Nov. 28, 2009, at his home in Kent, Wash. Bill was born Jan. 30, 1924, in Rock Island. He married Velma Melton on Jan. 1, 1943, in Chicago. He served in the Army Air Corp in the South Pacific during WWII. He graduated from John Marshall Law School in 1953 and practiced law for 40 years. He enjoyed playing chess, and he loved the Lord. Having retired, Bill and Velma moved to Washington six years ago. Bill is survived by his brother, Ted, and sister, June; his daughter, Mary; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his wife and their daughter, Patricia. Burial will take place 9:00 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 5, 2009, at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Wash. Arrangements by Marlatt Funeral Home in Kent, Wash.
-
December 1, 2009 |
People
[caption id="attachment_6059" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Kevin Slaughter"][/caption] Quarles & Brady LLP is pleased to announce that Kevin Slaughter has been selected to serve on the Board of The Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms. "I treasure the opportunity to give back to the Chicago Committee," said Slaughter. "It has been a tremendously valuable resource to me personally since I was a law student." Mr. Slaughter practices in the Firm's Corporate Services group. His principal areas of practice are corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and technology/e-commerce. He earned his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law and his B.A. degree from Hampton University. The Chicago Committee is the preeminent voice and agent fostering racial and ethnic diversity in the Chicago legal community, impacting the broader legal profession. It sponsors programs for its member law firms, minority partners, associates and law students in order to provide the Chicago legal community with the tools necessary to increase and sustain diversity in Chicago's law firms. Quarles & Brady LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 450 attorneys practicing from offices in Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; Chicago; Naples, Fla.; and Milwaukee and Madison, Wis. Additional information about the firm may be found at www.quarles.com.
-
November 30, 2009 |
People
Longtime attorney John D. Drew died recently at his home in Benton. Drew began his career as an attorney in 1979, and was a member of the Franklin County Bar Association and the Illinois Bar Association. “Many people didn’t realize the pro bono work that John did,” Muir noted. “I’ve had a dozen people tell me over the last few days that John had handled things for them and didn’t charge them a dime.” Read the full obituary in the Benton Evening News.
-
November 30, 2009 |
People
[gallery link="file" columns="2"] Eric R. Pfanenstiel and Evan D. Whitfield were recently named associates at Schiller DuCanto & Fleck. Mr. Pfanenstiel will concentrate his practice on complex family law matters including finance, property division and custody. Mr. Pfanenstiel received his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. While studying at DePaul he received a Certificate in Taxation and the Cali Award for Excellence in Family Law Legal Drafting. He began his career at Schiller DuCanto & Fleck as a law clerk in 2007. Mr. Whitfield was a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic soccer team and received his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, where he earned a Certificate in Family Law. His practice concentrates on complex family law matters including finance, child custody and paternity. Mr. Whitfield joined Schiller DuCanto & Fleck as a law clerk in 2008.
