Access to justice; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and the practice of law in Illinois.

I am humbled and honored to serve as the 146th president of our great Association. I’m looking forward to a very busy year as president, with a mix of new ideas; continuing programs started by my predecessors; and renewing our commitment to collegiality, friendship, and fellowship among our membership as we come out of the pandemic.

Access to justice

Addressing the need to expand access to justice almost seems to be a cliché these days. But I can assure you, every ISBA president must deal with issues faced by the flood of litigants into our judicial system. Many litigants have little or no access to affordable legal assistance; meanwhile, judges are overwhelmed by the volume of self-represented litigants and should have the ability to engage our members who can and want to assist these folks. I don’t see working to enhance access to justice as a chore, but rather as an opportunity to serve the public by assisting self-represented litigants and our judges, while at the same time creating new and innovative income sources for our members.

Two years ago, the ISBA created and implemented the innovative Rural Practice Initiative (RPI), designed and intended to address the lack of lawyers in large rural areas of our state and to place lawyers in these rural “legal deserts.” I’m pleased to announce that as president, I will be expanding the RPI and its mission of bringing lawyers into underserved communities by including urban areas where legal deserts also exist. The RPI will continue its work in our rural communities while expanding its focus to the legal deserts that exist in poor urban neighborhoods throughout the state, from Quincy to Danville, Rockford to Cairo, and other Illinois communities that currently lack lawyers and access to affordable legal services.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

One of the key elements of the expanded outreach to urban legal deserts will be to work with our friends in the legal services community and minority and affinity bar associations to facilitate real solutions to access-to-justice challenges that poor and marginalized communities experience daily. This initiative will also afford us an opportunity to reach out to minority and affinity bar colleagues as we enhance and strengthen our bonds with them. It is my hope that greater outreach will also lead to more opportunities for CLE programs, social events, and professional interactions.

As the premiere bar association in Illinois, the ISBA is in a unique position to become valued allies of, and partners with, these groups as we find common ground, better serve our members, and earn their dues dollars. I will also be renewing our commitment to the ISBA’s Leadership Academy so that we will be able to attract new leaders of our association from these and other associations.

Striving for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in these initiatives and in every aspect of what we do as an association have been and will remain a focus of mine. We will be proceeding with the review of the DEI assessment begun under Immediate Past President Anna Krolikowska and implementing recommendations from this effort. I want to thank my good friend Anna for her foresight and initiative in recognizing the need for a DEI assessment so that real and substantive change can be achieved. We will continue to pursue policies and programs that will enhance our past efforts to assure our current and future members that the ISBA does not merely welcome and appreciate them, but values them and their communities and is a place they can call home.

The practice of law

It is my intention that the ISBA continues to pursue new sources of clients for members and new opportunities to develop sources of income—restrained only by our creativity and the Rules of Professional Conduct. My fellow ISBA officers and leaders recognize that the pandemic changed the practice of law, in some ways irrevocably. We at the ISBA need to be at the forefront of paradigm changes in the practice of law. I believe the ISBA is uniquely situated to facilitate new ways and means to benefit those in need of legal services and the lawyers who assist them.

We have historically fought, and will continue to oppose, efforts to approve nonlawyer ownership of law firms and grant nonlawyers the right to provide legal services that our members are uniquely educated, trained, and equipped to provide. In doing so, we pledge to continue to protect the public’s right to high-quality, accessible, and affordable legal services.

An integral part of this effort will be a review of the ISBA’s member services, such as our CLE programs and our lawyer referral service. It is essential that the ISBA’s programs and policies provide the best value for our members’ dues dollars. Of course, if it ain’t broke, we’re not going to fix it just to try something new. But I do believe that systemic review is necessary to maintain the highest quality of services, which our members are entitled to expect.

My wife Sue and I look forward to meeting you all in person as we travel throughout Illinois visiting our local constituent associations during the upcoming year. I personally thank all of you for the incredible honor of serving as your president.

So many challenges await.