Celebrating Women Leaders: CLE & AFW Awards Reception (3/26/25)

This in-person event will take place at the Chicago Bar Association, 321 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604.

Join The Chicago Bar Association in honoring women leaders in the law during Women’s History Month 2025. The program will begin with a CLE panel presentation entitled “Celebrating Women Leaders,” which will feature past women presidents of the CBA. They will share strategies for success in leadership, as well as how they were able to overcome barriers to become leaders in a male-dominated industry. The panel will be followed by the CBA Alliance for Women’s annual awards ceremony and reception, where women lawyers who have significantly contributed to the advancement of women in the legal profession will be honored with the Founder's Award and the Alta May Hulett Award. When registering, please select the appropriate button to indicate if you will attend the panel presentation and the awards reception.

Celebrating Women Leaders Panelists

Anita Alvarez, Chief Legal Counsel, Maryville Academy, 2009-2010 CBA President 
Aurora Austriaco, Valentine, Austriaco and Bueschel, 2012-2013 CBA President
Laurel Bellows, The Bellows Law Group, 1991-1992 CBA President
Illinois Supreme Court Justice Joy V. Cunningham, 2004-2005 CBA President
E. Lynn Grayson, Nijman Franzetti, 2021-2022 CBA President
Patricia Brown Holmes, Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila, 2015-2016 CBA President
Terri L. Mascherin, Jenner & Block LLP, 2010-2011 CBA President

Moderator: Judge Nichole Patton, Circuit Court of Cook County

About the 2025 Alliance for Women Annual Awards

Each year, The Chicago Bar Association's Alliance for Women presents the Founder's Award and the Alta May Hulett Award to outstanding women lawyers who have significantly contributed to the advancement of women in the legal profession or other areas, and whose careers exemplify the highest level of professional achievement, ethics, and excellence.

Founder’s Award Winner:
Mary Smith, Vice Chair, VENG Group and American Bar Association Immediate Past President, 2024-2025

Alta May Hulett Award Winner:
Gail Eisenberg, Partner, Loftus & Eisenberg

Thank you Alliance for Women Sponsors:

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.