Pageants, Professionalism, and Power (03/19/26)

This in person event will take place at The Chicago Bar Association (321 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604). Networking reception immediately following.

Join us for an engaging discussion on, “Pageants, Professionalism, and Power: Unexpected Lessons for Lawyers from Pageantry,” followed by a networking reception.

Take a behind-the-scenes look at how the skills our panelists developed through pageantry have shaped their success in legal careers.  

Discover how to apply techniques of the pageant trade—such as confident public speaking, maintaining composure and civility under pressure, defying biases and stereotypes, and overcoming imposter syndrome—to your legal practice and the legal profession.

These transferable skills can elevate your performance in oral arguments, trial work, negotiations, business development, and other high-stakes professional legal settings.

Speakers:
Miss Alabama prelim competitor
Judge Nichole C. Patton, President, The Chicago Bar Association

Miss America 2003
Erika Harold, Executive Director, Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism

Panelists:
Judge Amanda Byassee Gott
Breana Bagley
Stephanie Barber
Heather Neaveill
Gail Schnitzer Eisenberg
Kristine M. Schanbacher

This program is co-sponsored by The Chicago Bar Association, the CBA Alliance for Women, the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, LexisNexis and Carlson Dash.

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.