On behalf of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Journal applauds the following recipients of the ISBA’s 2023-24 award program for their outstanding contributions to the practice of law and for their service to local and statewide communities.

For more information visit ISBA awards page.

Newsletter Editors Service Award

5 years of service. Jay Schleppenbach (Dechert LLP), Alternative Dispute Resolution; Bernard Peter (Bernard G. Peter Law Firm PC), Corporate Law Departments; and Ethel Spyratos (Wyzant Inc.), Legal Technology.

10 years of service. Jennifer Bunker Skerston (Law Offices of Reilly & Skerston, LLC), Trusts & Estates.

20 years of service. Cameron Clark (Law Offices of Cameron B. Clark PC), Workers’ Compensation Law.

Austin Fleming Newsletter Editor Award

Raymond Reott, founder of Reott Law Offices, LLC, is an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the ISBA’s Environmental Law Section Council. For more than 20 years, he has published approximately 100 editions of the Environmental Law newsletter. He was also the general editor of the ISBA’s successful two-volume publication, “Environmental Law for Non-Environmental Lawyers.”

John C. McAndrews Pro Bono Service Award

Under 10 years of experience. Donna Davis, associate general counsel for the University of Illinois Foundation, for her longstanding commitment to the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI), including assisting PILI with testing and launching its virtual Sixth Judicial Circuit Self-Represented Litigant Help Desk. She continues to be PILI’s go-to volunteer. She serves on the board of the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois, volunteers with the iRead iCount program, and supports nonprofit pediatric cancer research.

Over 10 years of experience. Judge David Butler, a retired associate circuit court judge in the McLean County Circuit Court, has continued to serve his community by taking on pro bono cases through Prairie State Legal Services (PSLS). Since he began volunteering in 2019, he has spent more than 630 hours serving 347 clients. He also assisted in establishing an eviction help desk at the courthouse, training other volunteers, and mentoring new PSLS attorneys.

Law firm or corporate law department with fewer than 25 attorneys. Butler Giraudo & Meister, PC, for its outsized impact through its pro bono acceptance of individual case referrals from Prairie State Legal Services (PSLS). The firm also has played a central role in helping to create the 10th Judicial Circuit’s pro bono divorce clinic. Members of the firm are also deeply involved in the community, including serving on the 10th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee, attending the annual Spring Pro Bono Social to encourage pro bono work, and attending an annual golf outing that raises raise money for PSLS and other causes.

Law firm or corporate law department with more than 25 attorneys. Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP is committed to providing pro bono legal services to nonprofit and community organizations, low-income individuals, and public-interest causes. One of those areas is the Seventh Circuit’s pro bono program, where Taft attorneys had a significant victory in 2023 and are now also handling the case on remand. Along with its appellate work, Taft secured two victories in important zoning cases supporting nonprofit and community organizations. Taft has also taken on pro bono immigration cases, representing asylum-seekers in their applications before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Taft has been a valuable partner of the Public Interest Law Initiative through its volunteer work with Illinois Free Legal Answers. During the past bar year, Taft attorneys have provided more than 2,000 hours of pro bono services.

Joseph R. Bartylak Memorial Legal Services Award

Over 10 years of experience. Jennifer Luczkowiak has, for the past 15 years, helped members of the public in need, first in California and now in Illinois. She started her career serving homeless and runaway youth as an Equal Justice Works Fellow in Silicon Valley after graduating law school. Beginning in 2012, she served as staff attorney and then managing attorney in the Legal Help for Homeowners Project at Prairie State Legal Services (PSLS), where she supported hundreds of families facing foreclosure. Since 2016, she has served as director of resource development at PSLS overseeing PSLS’s $22 million annual budget.

Carole K. Bellows Women of Influence Award

Rebecca Berlin Melzer, founder of Berlin Melzer Law LLC, for her zealous involvement in women-based organizations and as a mentor for many individuals. She is the cofounder of Lady Lawyers Who Lunch (LLL), a group of Illinois women lawyers with ownership interests in their law firms and who support other lawyers, create and collaborate on continuing legal education programs with other organizations, advocate for sexual-harassment victims, and mentor new women lawyers through a group LLL started named Associate Lady Lawyers. She is also a founding member of FLASH, a group of women lawyers that combat sexual harassment in legal workspaces. Additionally, Rebecca is a long-time executive board member of SHALVA, which supports women recovering from domestic abuse. Rebecca has also represented numerous domestic abuse victims on a pro bono or low bono basis in their family law cases.

CLE Distinguished Service Award

Pamela Kuzniar, an attorney with Women’s Divorce & Family Law by Haid and Teich LLP, for her extensive service to the ISBA’s LawEd programming since 2008. She has coordinated, moderated, or spoken at more than 80 ISBA CLE programs for the ISBA’s Family Law Section. She incorporates innovative presentations methods and the topics covered address every area and issue in family law. A supporter of her nomination stated that she creatively designs each CLE program “with the goal of expanding each participant’s knowledge of the law and improving each attorney’s ability to analyze cases and create strategies designed to facilitate a reasoned expedient result for families.”

Brick Van Der Snick, for frequently serving as coordinator, speaker, and moderator for the ISBA’s Traffic Laws and Courts Section for more than 25 years. He works closely with the Section Council in selecting topics and is always mindful of creating a timely seminar with topics of interest. He has identified newer attorneys and brought them in as CLE speakers, gaining newer and more diverse speakers and members for the ISBA. His are also among some of ISBA’s best attended and viewed CLE programs, whether live or via the ISBA’s Free On-Demand catalog. He uses innovative formats in planning his programs and tailors them for basic and advanced needs.

CLE Achievement Award

Stephanie Tang, assistant professor of law at Baylor University School of Law, for making significant contributions to the ISBA’s CLE programming, especially for the Young Lawyers Division and the Family Law Section. She provides quality information that hones skills practitioners will use every day. A supporter of her nomination noted that “[f]or each of the CLE [events] that Stephanie has presented, she has spent a significant amount of time, above and beyond that which is required.”

Richard H. Teas Legislative Support Award

Sandra Crawford, owner of Law Crawford, P.C., for her very active involvement in collaborative law in Illinois. She served as the chair of the Alternate Dispute Resolution Section Council where she worked on proposed legislation to codify minimum credentialing and standards for mediators in Illinois. Her efforts to bring collaborative law to Illinois began around 2012 when she traveled several times to Springfield to gather sponsors for the Uniform Collaborative Act Bill and then to testify at the committee level in support of various collaborative law bills after their introduction. She analyzed and contributed to what eventually became the Collaborative Process Act (750 ILCS 90/1 et seq) and its predecessor the Uniform Collaborative Law Act.

Roz Kaplan Government Service Award

Lynn Patton, an Illinois state employee since graduating from law school in 1990, for her long public service in state government—most notably in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General leading its Opinions Bureau. She has been active in ISBA itself as editor of the Local Government Law newsletter and for many years as a key producer of the Ethics Extravaganza.

Civics Education Award

Hon. Michael Robinson, a Human Rights Commission administrative law judge, for his involvement in the ISBA’s High School Mock Trial Invitational. As a judge for the trials, he exhibited patience, legal knowledge, and a sense of humor that helped to enhance the learning experience for the students. He had been volunteering since the mid-2000s. (We are saddened to report that Michael, who also was a member of the Illinois Bar Journal Editorial Board, passed away in April.)

Hon. Mark Facchini, a civil law judge for the 22nd Judicial Circuit, for his presentations at high schools in McHenry County. In addition to his handling of full dockets in his courthouse, his outreach efforts have enhanced civics education for many students.

Hon. Melissa Olivero, an administrative law judge for the National Labor Relations Board, for her work on the Standing Committee on Law Related Education for the Public and for making presentations at schools, especially through the ISBA’s Lawyers in Classroom program. She also serves on the standing committee’s civic education subcommittee and coaches a mock trial team.

Law Student Division Public Service Award

Alexis McCain, a student at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, for her numerous leading roles, including her work in the pro bono legal clinic where she assisted with expunging criminal records and arguing in court to defend clients. She is an active law student member of the ISBA’s Young Lawyers Division. She also is a member of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), which promotes social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion at the UIC School of Law. Recently, she was selected to moderate a panel discussion at BLSA’s Annual Black Legal Summit, a program that explores issues affecting Black attorneys and the legal profession. She has been an active member of the UIC Student Bar Association, where she currently serves as its representative to the ISBA and sits on the SBA’s Anti-Racism Committee, where students discuss complex diversity issues with faculty members.

Young Lawyer of the Year Award

Outside Cook County. Hannah R. Lamore, a partner with Mahoney, Silverman and Cross, LLC, for showing dedication and perseverance in the practice of law from her earliest days as an attorney. She treats every case with the same amount of importance. She has been active in the ISBA since law school and has completed several programs sponsored by the ISBA, including the Fred Lane’s Trial Techniques Institute and the inaugural Leadership Academy. Hannah is a member of the ISBA’s Civil Practice and Procedures Section Council and serves as editor of Trial Briefs. She will become chair of the Young Lawyers Division for the 2024-2025 bar year. She has served on the Solo & Small Firm Conference (SSFC) planning committee and was a 2023 SSFC presenter. She is the immediate-past president of the Will County Women’s Bar Association, serves on the board of directors of the Boys and Girls Club of Joliet, is active in local chambers of commerce, and is a graduate of the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry Community Leadership School.

Cook County. Judith Conway, an attorney with Cooney and Conway, is an excellent trial attorney who represents victims in personal injury and wrongful death cases in all stages of litigation. She has secured tens of millions of dollars in settlements for wrongful-death and survival-action cases in Illinois. She has been chair, vice chair, secretary, social chair, and CLE coordinator for the ISBA’s Young Lawyers Division (YLD), among other contributions. She helped guide the YLD out of the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing new practices that ensured members felt included and connected. She is a member of the Illinois Bar Foundation (IBF) board and hustles to ensure IBF events are well attended and have significant fundraising. She has been an active member of the ISBA’s Tort Law Section Council, acting as secretary and CLE coordinator. She is a cofounder of the Michigan Law Alumni Club of Chicago, and is on the board of St. Agnes of Bohemia School in Chicago. She also has been an active member of the American Bar Association, the Notre Dame Club of Chicago, the Chicago Federation of Labor, Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation’s NextGen Leaders in Philanthropy, and St. Ignatius College Prep Young Lawyers Networking Group.

Excellence in Legal Education Award

The Health Advocacy Clinic at the Northern Illinois University School of Law, for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to the “whole client.”

The Community Enterprise & Solidarity Economy Clinic at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, for its innovative transactional nature and for filling previously unmet needs of students and clients.

Community Leadership Award

Hon. Jill Rose Quinn, a Cook County Circuit Court domestic relations judge, for being a beacon not only for people who are transgender but for all marginalized people, and for bringing diversity and understanding to the judiciary. She has been a member of and mentor for Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association board of directors for many years. When she won her judicial election in 2020, she became the first openly elected transgender public official in the State of Illinois and the third openly transgender judge in the country. She also is a leader in Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community and broader legal community.

Diversity Leadership Award

Hon. Azeema N. Akram, an administrative law judge for the Illinois Human Rights Commission, for her demonstrated record of public service as a judge, government lawyer, and disabilities advocate. She has a demonstrated history of volunteerism, including: her leadership work with Disability Lead and as a chair of its program committee; the Diversity Council of DePaul College of Law; as a member on the board of directors for the Red Clay Dance Company; a member of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association; and a member of the City of Chicago Airport Accessibility Advisory Committee concerning people with disabilities.

Matthew Maloney Tradition of Excellence Award

Diana Law, who practices in estate planning, retirement planning, guardianship, and probate and is also the Kane County Public Guardian and Administrator, for sharing her professional expertise through service to bar associations and through speaking engagements and publications. Diana serves her community outside of the legal profession as well. She gives back to her community through additional board service and volunteer opportunities.