The upcoming bar year will include face-to-face gatherings.

As I was sworn in last month as your 145th ISBA president, I was filled with an enormous sense of optimism. Optimism about turning the corner on the pandemic, which impacted all of us in such profound ways. Optimism about courthouses fully reopening and the wheels of justice turning efficiently again. Optimism about lessons learned from the pandemic and continuing to use technology to best serve our clients. Most especially, optimism about the plans we have for this bar year and the prospect of gathering together and greeting one another face-to-face. For my first President’s Page column, allow me to share specific reasons why I think “optimism” will be a major ISBA theme for the next 12 months and beyond.

COVID-19 dues credit

As you all hopefully know by now, the ISBA has found itself in the enviable position of being able to provide all current, regular dues-paying members with a 15 percent dues credit for the 2021-22 bar year. While the 2020-21 bar year was challenging in myriad ways, the lack of travel and transition from in-person to virtual meetings resulted in significant programmatic savings for our association. Our ISBA Board of Governors strongly felt a large portion of these savings should be returned to members for their loyalty during the pandemic. More information about the Covid dues credit. If you’ve yet to renew your dues for the coming year, I urge you to promptly do so!

ISBA Business Institute

Throughout the coming year, we are scheduling a series of programs under the banner of the ISBA Business Institute. The institute’s programs are designed to help new and experienced practitioners enhance their business skills and acumen. Topics covered will include: marketing services to clients; essentials for starting a practice; using business decisions to increase profits; and capitalizing on change. Each program will last 90 minutes and feature top-tier presenters. The first event, How to Make Clients Aware of Your Services, will be held virtually on July 30 and registration is free to all ISBA members. Please stay tuned to ISBA communications for more details about Business Institute events, and get ready to take your practice to the next level.

Networking

At long last, we finally have an in-person event scheduled this fall. On Sept. 23, we will gather at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle for an outdoor Member Appreciation and Recognition Reception. I am whole-heartedly looking forward to seeing as many members as possible—in person! And what better place to reunite than at this beautiful setting. Registration will be available later this month.

For our downstate members who can’t attend the event in Lisle, we will host our second in-person Member Appreciation and Recognition Reception downstate this fall. Please stay tuned for upcoming announcements about this event.

Midyear Meeting

I’d like to briefly mention that we currently plan to hold an in-person Midyear Meeting this December in Chicago. The health and safety of members will be our primary concern and all health guidelines in effect at that time will be followed. As additional details about the Midyear Meeting take shape, they will be shared with members via regular ISBA communications channels.

In closing, while I was hoping to be sworn in as ISBA president, surrounded by my fellow members, friends, and loved ones last month, this simply was not an option. I was nonetheless thankful for the intimate ceremony held for me at the Illinois Supreme Court building in Springfield and would like to thank Chief Justice Anne Burke and the Supreme Court justices for graciously welcoming us. It was a small taste of much brighter days ahead, when we’ll be seeing more and more of each other face-to-face.