Justice Mary Ann G. McMorrow was a pioneer in opening opportunities for women in the law. She was greatly admired for her elegance, grace and style over a legal career that spanned five decades.Justice McMorrow, 83, passed away Saturday after a brief illness.Justice McMorrow was the first woman to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court and—as its Chief Justice from September 2002 to September 2005—was the first woman to head a branch of Illinois government. Or, as she put it at her swearing in as Chief, "I am the 115th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois. You will notice after I take off my robe that I am the only one of the 114 chief justices who preceded me that wears a skirt."Justice McMorrow had a remarkable legal career.It began with graduation as the only woman in her class from the School of Law at Loyola University in 1953, continued as the first woman to try felony cases as an assistant Cook County state's attorney and culminated with her selection as Chief by her colleagues on the Supreme Court.She served on the Supreme Court from 1992 until her retirement July 5, 2006. Her tenure as Chief Justice began September 5, 2002 and concluded September 4, 2005.Throughout her career, indeed throughout her lifetime, Justice McMorrow assumed and maintained a strong mentor's role for women who wished to enter and serve in the law. She accomplished this always in graceful fashion, earning the respect, admiration and fondness of colleagues, legal adversaries and ordinary citizens crossing gender lines.

Half way through its two-week campaign from Feb. 18-March 1 to raise one million meals, the Lawyers Feeding Illinois campaign has reached a significant milestone, having raised more than 500,000 meals, according to ISBA President John E. Thies. The campaign, conducted in cooperation with Feeding Illinois, is chaired by Thies’s wife Terry.More than 90 lawyer teams throughout the state have registered to participate, including 28 local, ethnic and specialty bars. In addition, state judges have set up collection boxes in some 20 courthouses to collect non-perishable food items. Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, an event sponsor, is also collecting food at several of its lawyer-members’ offices statewide.Check out the team leaderboard and donate at http://lawyersfeedingil.org/

Don’t miss ISBA’s annual Quincy Regional Event in Quincy on March 8th! Enhance your professional excellence by attending this full-day seminar that gives you the opportunity to update your knowledge in a number of general practice areas with an emphasis on office practice updates. Topics include: mediation and alternative dispute resolution (non-mandated mediation); developments in real estate law; professional responsibility; Supreme Court rules; and risk management issues. Additionally, the program is comprised of two breakout sessions dealing with estate planning, family and domestic relations update, criminal law, elder law, evidence-based sentencing, employment law, and current trends in crime. General practice attorneys with all levels of practice experience will benefit from attending this informative seminar.The program is presented by the ISBA General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm Section and the Adams County Bar Association, and qualifies for 7.0 hours MCLE credit, including 1.0 hour Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval).Click here for more information and to register. 

The Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section and the Illinois State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division invite you to an evening of mixing and networking with Chicago’s legal professionals. Local and specialty bar associations in the Chicagoland area have been invited to join the festivities.Tuesday, March 55:30-7:30 p.m.Haymarket Pub & Brewery, 737 W. Randolph, ChicagoComplimentary appetizers and two drinks for the first 200 attendees. We hope to see you there!All are welcome. RSVP to yls@chicagobar.org.Co-Sponsors Include:Black Women Lawyers AssociationDecalogue Society of LawyersFederal Bar AssociationKorean American Bar AssociationMuslim Bar Association of ChicagoPuerto Rican Bar Association