Women’s History Month: Women’s Legal Rights from Birth to Death

This event is in person only and will take place at the Chicago Bar Association, 321 S. Plymouth Ct., Chicago, IL 60604.

Join us for the CBA’s annual Women’s History Month Summit which will focus on the various touch points when a woman’s life intersects with the law. The Summit will begin with a networking breakfast and will be followed on substantive programming on topics including: bodily autonomy and access to reproductive healthcare, workplace rights, and estate planning considerations for women. 

9:00am-10:00am: The Future of Reproductive Freedom
Following the 2024 election, where does the U.S. and the State of Illinois stand on reproductive rights? This segment of the program will provide an overview of what’s been done at the state level across the country and in Illinois to protect reproductive health access.
Alison Tanner, Senior Litigation Counsel for Reproductive Rights and Health, National Women’s Law Center 
Emily Werth, Senior Staff Attorney, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois and Lecturer in Law, University of Chicago Law School 
Moderator: Trisha Rich, Partner, Holland & Knight 

10:00-10:15am: Coffee & Networking Break 

10:15am-11:15am: Women’s Rights in the Workplace
This segment of the program will analyze the evolving landscape of laws and regulations that impact women’s rights in the workplace.  Topics will range from parental leave policies to protections for IVF to menopause rights and more.
Cherita Ellens, President and CEO, Women Employed 
Mary M. (Betsey) Madden, Chief Legal Counsel & Ethics Officer, Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) 
Additional panelist TBA
Moderator: Gail Eisenberg, Partner, Head of Employment Practice, Loftus & Eisenberg, Ltd. 

11:15am-11:30am: Coffee & Networking Break 

11:30am-12:30pm: Estate Planning Considerations for Women
Estate planning is important for women due to various factors such as longer life expectancies, potential career breaks for caregiving roles, and evolving family structures. This segment of the program will focus on estate planning considerations specific to women that will empower women to protect themselves and their loved ones for the future.
Jessica J. Birnbaum, Partner, ArentFox Schiff LLP
Moderator: Lauren Novak, Chief Human Resources Officer and Employment Counsel, Corrugated Supplies Company, LLC

To confirm you are ready to participate in an on demand webcast, please take the browser test here: http://eventcenter.commpartner...

Live CBA Committee meetings and seminars will take place via Zoom webinar.  You will click on "view video" and be directly connected to the meeting/seminar on Zoom.  (You will not receive a Zoom link.)

You MUST have Zoom Desktop Client on your Mac or PC to view a live program. If using a mobile device, you must have the Zoom App (available in the App Store or Google Play).

System requirements for Mac & PC can be found here. System requirements for mobile devices can be here.  

Please note that audience members do not need video or audio access.  Audience members are able to submit questions via the chat or Q & A features of Zoom. 

Chat: Open in-meeting chat, allowing you to send chat messages to and send a message to the host, panelists, and attendees (if permitted). Question & Answer: Open the Q&A window, allowing you to ask questions to the host and panelists. They can either reply back to you via text in the Q&A window or answer your question live. 

My client got served with a federal grand jury subpoena, what now? Getting served with a grand jury subpoena is a stressful and confusing time for any who has never had to deal with the federal criminal system.  Often time, decisions need to be quick.  This CLE will provide a broad overview of what happens when an individual or a corporation get served with a grand jury subpoena, constitutional protections afforded to individuals, what initial steps need to be taken, and other important topics to consider when advising your clients.

Speakers:
Vadim Glozman, Principal Attorney, Glozman Law
Sami Azhari, Azhari, LLC 

To confirm you are ready to participate in an on demand webcast, please take the browser test here: http://eventcenter.commpartner...

Live CBA Committee meetings and seminars will take place via Zoom webinar.  You will click on "view video" and be directly connected to the meeting/seminar on Zoom.  (You will not receive a Zoom link.)

You MUST have Zoom Desktop Client on your Mac or PC to view a live program. If using a mobile device, you must have the Zoom App (available in the App Store or Google Play).

System requirements for Mac & PC can be found here. System requirements for mobile devices can be here.  

Please note that audience members do not need video or audio access.  Audience members are able to submit questions via the chat or Q & A features of Zoom. 

Chat: Open in-meeting chat, allowing you to send chat messages to and send a message to the host, panelists, and attendees (if permitted). Question & Answer: Open the Q&A window, allowing you to ask questions to the host and panelists. They can either reply back to you via text in the Q&A window or answer your question live. 

This seminar will highlight key cases, legislative and other developments from 2024 in the ever-evolving world of labor and employment law. Both plaintiff and management perspectives will be explored. Review of recent developments and tips and tricks for success has been a popular favorite, and it provides information that will be useful in your everyday practice. Q&A will follow the presentations. 

SPEAKERS: 
Hon. Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Catherine R. Locallo, Partner, Robbins Schwartz
Elizabeth C. Chavez, Associate, Foote, Mielke, Chavez & O’Neil, LLC 

To confirm you are ready to participate in an on demand webcast, please take the browser test here: http://eventcenter.commpartner...

Live CBA Committee meetings and seminars will take place via Zoom webinar.  You will click on "view video" and be directly connected to the meeting/seminar on Zoom.  (You will not receive a Zoom link.)

You MUST have Zoom Desktop Client on your Mac or PC to view a live program. If using a mobile device, you must have the Zoom App (available in the App Store or Google Play).

System requirements for Mac & PC can be found here. System requirements for mobile devices can be here.  

Please note that audience members do not need video or audio access.  Audience members are able to submit questions via the chat or Q & A features of Zoom. 

Chat: Open in-meeting chat, allowing you to send chat messages to and send a message to the host, panelists, and attendees (if permitted). Question & Answer: Open the Q&A window, allowing you to ask questions to the host and panelists. They can either reply back to you via text in the Q&A window or answer your question live. 

Join the CBA Career Advancement Program and Well-being and Mindfulness Committee for a co-sponsored program, "Lawyers as Partners: Personally, not Professionally."

Studies have shown that lawyers rank high on the loneliness scale. So, on February 20, 2025, as we reflect on how Valentine’s Day was, we’ll hear from lawyer couples, a lawyer matchmaker, and a lawyer wellness advocate to address:
 
- Pros and pitfalls of our legal training on our personal relationships, 
- The wisdom or woes of lawyers pairing with other lawyers, and 
- Work/life priorities and proclivities to enhance overall wellness.

Guest Speakers:
Alexis Crawford Douglas, Partner, K&L Gates
Matthew Douglas, Director at Accruit,LLC, Senior 1031 Advisor at Realogy 1031
Sheila Maloney, Lawyer, Founder & CEO of Life Match LLC
Karen Munoz, Partner, Dolan Law & Co-Chair of CBA Mindfulness & Well-being Committee

Co-Moderators:
Gina Crumble, Supervising Attorney, Cook County State’s Attorney & Co-Chair of CBA Mindfulness & Well-being Committee
Kathy Morris, Under Advisement, Ltds & Featured Career Counselor of the CBA Career Advancement Program

To confirm you are ready to participate in an on demand webcast, please take the browser test here: http://eventcenter.commpartner...

Live CBA Committee meetings and seminars will take place via Zoom webinar.  You will click on "view video" and be directly connected to the meeting/seminar on Zoom.  (You will not receive a Zoom link.)

You MUST have Zoom Desktop Client on your Mac or PC to view a live program. If using a mobile device, you must have the Zoom App (available in the App Store or Google Play).

System requirements for Mac & PC can be found here. System requirements for mobile devices can be here.  

Please note that audience members do not need video or audio access.  Audience members are able to submit questions via the chat or Q & A features of Zoom. 

Chat: Open in-meeting chat, allowing you to send chat messages to and send a message to the host, panelists, and attendees (if permitted). Question & Answer: Open the Q&A window, allowing you to ask questions to the host and panelists. They can either reply back to you via text in the Q&A window or answer your question live. 

Natural Hair and the Law: The Illinois Crown Act

The CBA’s 2024 Black History Month program will spotlight natural hair and the law. Featured speaker, author, Tracy Sanders Rucker, Esq., will be joined by a panel who will share their perspectives on the Illinois Crown Act that went into effect on January 1, 2023, and which prohibits employers and public schools from banning natural black hairstyles, including braids, cornrows, and dreadlocks. It also prohibits employers from discriminating against employees because of race-based hairstyles and hair textures. 

Panelists:
TiShaunda McPherson, Senior Counsel, Loftus Eisenberg
Michael Vernon, Staff Attorney, Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR)
Additional panelists TBD 

Featured Speaker:
Tracy Sanders Rucker, Esq., is an accomplished attorney, author, and speaker. Ms. Sanders Rucker established Natural Hair and the Law, an organization formed to provide publications, workshops, and events addressing legal issues related to natural hair in the workplace and schools. She is author of “Natural Hair in the Workplace: What Are Your Rights?,” which has been featured in Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Essence, Los Angeles Sentinel, Naturally Curly, New Growth Magazine, and Top 100 Magazine. She also wrote another book, “Natural Hair Affirmations."

To confirm you are ready to participate in an on demand webcast, please take the browser test here: http://eventcenter.commpartner...

Live CBA Committee meetings and seminars will take place via Zoom webinar.  You will click on "view video" and be directly connected to the meeting/seminar on Zoom.  (You will not receive a Zoom link.)

You MUST have Zoom Desktop Client on your Mac or PC to view a live program. If using a mobile device, you must have the Zoom App (available in the App Store or Google Play).

System requirements for Mac & PC can be found here. System requirements for mobile devices can be here.  

Please note that audience members do not need video or audio access.  Audience members are able to submit questions via the chat or Q & A features of Zoom. 

Chat: Open in-meeting chat, allowing you to send chat messages to and send a message to the host, panelists, and attendees (if permitted). Question & Answer: Open the Q&A window, allowing you to ask questions to the host and panelists. They can either reply back to you via text in the Q&A window or answer your question live. 

This is a hybrid program with a webcast and in-person option at The Chicago Bar Association (321 S. Plymouth Ct, Chicago, IL 60604). Please indicate if you will attend in-person when registering where indicated. Lunch will be provided for in person attendees.

Topic: Leadership and Litigation: A Conversation with Deputy Corporation Counsel Margaret Mendenhall Casey 

Speaker: Margaret Mendenhall Casey, Deputy Corporation Counsel, City of Chicago

(IL MCLE credit for live webcast only. No MCLE credit for archived webcast.)

Sponsored by:

To confirm you are ready to participate in an on demand webcast, please take the browser test here: http://eventcenter.commpartner...

Live CBA Committee meetings and seminars will take place via Zoom webinar.  You will click on "view video" and be directly connected to the meeting/seminar on Zoom.  (You will not receive a Zoom link.)

You MUST have Zoom Desktop Client on your Mac or PC to view a live program. If using a mobile device, you must have the Zoom App (available in the App Store or Google Play).

System requirements for Mac & PC can be found here. System requirements for mobile devices can be here.  

Please note that audience members do not need video or audio access.  Audience members are able to submit questions via the chat or Q & A features of Zoom. 

Chat: Open in-meeting chat, allowing you to send chat messages to and send a message to the host, panelists, and attendees (if permitted). Question & Answer: Open the Q&A window, allowing you to ask questions to the host and panelists. They can either reply back to you via text in the Q&A window or answer your question live. 

This is a hybrid event with an in-person and a webinar option. Please select the appropriate button when registering if you plan to attend in-person. Event will be held at the Chicago Bar Association, 321 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago IL 60604.

This panel discussion will provide an update on and exploration of the current state of the undue influence cause of action, with a focus on the recent appellate level decisions in Coffman and Hirschfeld. 

Panelists:
Eric C. Dorkin, Clark Hill PLC 
David E. Lieberman, Levin Schreder & Carey Ltd. 

Moderator:
Ray J. Koenig III, Clark Hill PLC

To confirm you are ready to participate in an on demand webcast, please take the browser test here: http://eventcenter.commpartner...

Live CBA Committee meetings and seminars will take place via Zoom webinar.  You will click on "view video" and be directly connected to the meeting/seminar on Zoom.  (You will not receive a Zoom link.)

You MUST have Zoom Desktop Client on your Mac or PC to view a live program. If using a mobile device, you must have the Zoom App (available in the App Store or Google Play).

System requirements for Mac & PC can be found here. System requirements for mobile devices can be here.  

Please note that audience members do not need video or audio access.  Audience members are able to submit questions via the chat or Q & A features of Zoom. 

Chat: Open in-meeting chat, allowing you to send chat messages to and send a message to the host, panelists, and attendees (if permitted). Question & Answer: Open the Q&A window, allowing you to ask questions to the host and panelists. They can either reply back to you via text in the Q&A window or answer your question live. 

The goal of this seminar will be to focus on current expectations and best practice guidelines in practicing adoption law.  Our adoption Judge and Guardians ad Litem will discuss what they expect from practitioners and other hot button topics.  Speakers will also address navigating DCFS adoption cases to best serve clients and their children, the intricacies of special immigrant juvenile status and international adoptions, and the nuances of managing client expectations and needs.

Topics and Speakers:
Expectations from the bench for practicing adoption attorneys, including best practices and other current adoption law topics.
Honorable Maureen Ward Kirby, Acting Presiding Judge, County Division, Circuit Court of Cook County 

Moderated panel of Guardians ad Litem who will address their role in adoption cases and their expectations for practicing adoption attorneys. 
Sheila A. Maloney, Attorney at Law 

Navigating DCFS adoption cases to best serve clients and their children.  
Ashley Reed, Monahan Law Group, LLC 

Current topics related to special immigrant juvenile status and international adoptions.
Cailee J. Alderman, Kogut & Wilson 

Managing client expectations, including Zoom etiquette, the possibility of contested adoptions, resources, and adoption options.
Michelle M. Hughes, Law Offices of Michelle M. Hughes, PC 

Moderator:  
Karin Carli, Greenlight Family Services, Vice-Chair, CBA Adoption Law Committee

To confirm you are ready to participate in an on demand webcast, please take the browser test here: http://eventcenter.commpartner...

Live CBA Committee meetings and seminars will take place via Zoom webinar.  You will click on "view video" and be directly connected to the meeting/seminar on Zoom.  (You will not receive a Zoom link.)

You MUST have Zoom Desktop Client on your Mac or PC to view a live program. If using a mobile device, you must have the Zoom App (available in the App Store or Google Play).

System requirements for Mac & PC can be found here. System requirements for mobile devices can be here.  

Please note that audience members do not need video or audio access.  Audience members are able to submit questions via the chat or Q & A features of Zoom. 

Chat: Open in-meeting chat, allowing you to send chat messages to and send a message to the host, panelists, and attendees (if permitted). Question & Answer: Open the Q&A window, allowing you to ask questions to the host and panelists. They can either reply back to you via text in the Q&A window or answer your question live. 

Join us for as many practice management and technology tips as we can cram into an hour! We’ll cover tips for busy lawyers that include smartphones, office suites, marketing, generative artificial intelligence, websites, Google, security and more! You will leave this session with actionable information that you can put into practice immediately. 

Speaker:
Catherine Sanders Reach, Director of the Center for Practice Management, North Carolina Bar Association

To confirm you are ready to participate in an on demand webcast, please take the browser test here: http://eventcenter.commpartner...

Live CBA Committee meetings and seminars will take place via Zoom webinar.  You will click on "view video" and be directly connected to the meeting/seminar on Zoom.  (You will not receive a Zoom link.)

You MUST have Zoom Desktop Client on your Mac or PC to view a live program. If using a mobile device, you must have the Zoom App (available in the App Store or Google Play).

System requirements for Mac & PC can be found here. System requirements for mobile devices can be here.  

Please note that audience members do not need video or audio access.  Audience members are able to submit questions via the chat or Q & A features of Zoom. 

Chat: Open in-meeting chat, allowing you to send chat messages to and send a message to the host, panelists, and attendees (if permitted). Question & Answer: Open the Q&A window, allowing you to ask questions to the host and panelists. They can either reply back to you via text in the Q&A window or answer your question live. 

Solo/Small Firm Series: Trust Accounting and Credit Card Payments

Managing client funds is a basic component of maintaining your solo/small firm practice. However, statistics show that year after year, mishandling a client’s money is among the most frequent sources of investigation and disciplinary action by the ARDC. For lawyers who want to stay out of trouble, the first line of defense is to understand the provisions of Illinois’ safekeeping of property rule (Rule 1.15) and the record-keeping required by the rule. This seminar will provide a detailed explanation of the key principles in the rule (including relevant past revisions) and the requirements regarding IOLTA and unidentified funds. The program will look at how to use basic accounting techniques to manage a client trust account and comply with the record-keeping requirements of Rule. 1.15. We’ll also examine the ethical considerations of accepting credit cards and other forms of electronic payments from clients. 

Speaker: 
Mary F. Andreoni is Ethics Education Counsel for the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) where she develops and implements the ARDC’s ethics education initiatives, including the ARDC Ethics Inquiry Program and the Illinois Professional Responsibility Institute, where she is also an instructor. She has authored several articles including the ARDC publication, Client Trust Account Handbook, and spoken at hundreds of programs on legal ethics. Prior to joining the Commission, Ms. Andreoni was law clerk to Illinois Appellate Court Justice Mel R. Jiganti and later practiced commercial litigation with the law firm of Peterson & Ross in Chicago. While in practice, she also served as a board member on the ARDC Inquiry and Hearing Boards. Active in the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), she has served on a number of committees and is past chair of the CBA Professional Responsibility Committee (2014-2015). Ms. Andreoni received her J.D. from Loyola University School of Law in Chicago.

To confirm you are ready to participate in an on demand webcast, please take the browser test here: http://eventcenter.commpartner...

Live CBA Committee meetings and seminars will take place via Zoom webinar.  You will click on "view video" and be directly connected to the meeting/seminar on Zoom.  (You will not receive a Zoom link.)

You MUST have Zoom Desktop Client on your Mac or PC to view a live program. If using a mobile device, you must have the Zoom App (available in the App Store or Google Play).

System requirements for Mac & PC can be found here. System requirements for mobile devices can be here.  

Please note that audience members do not need video or audio access.  Audience members are able to submit questions via the chat or Q & A features of Zoom. 

Chat: Open in-meeting chat, allowing you to send chat messages to and send a message to the host, panelists, and attendees (if permitted). Question & Answer: Open the Q&A window, allowing you to ask questions to the host and panelists. They can either reply back to you via text in the Q&A window or answer your question live.