Law Day 2023

I t doesn’t take a keen cultural ob - server to note that our society and the public discourse are becoming increasingly less civil. Lawyers, who are often comfortable with confron- tation and public speaking, often find themselves prominently reflecting this zeitgeist rather than resisting it. This is understandable. Being a lawyer doesn’t automatically confer on us some im- munity to the forces and trends hap- pening around us. We are as prone as anyone to feel the frustrations of our times, the isolating effects of tech- nology and the instant gratification of expressing off-the-cuff reactions. But while we may not always act better, we do know better. Civility in our profession is not some anachronistic ideal fading from rele- vance. It is a professional code of con- duct we all agreed to follow when we decided to become lawyers because it makes us better lawyers. We are better S ince its inception in 1987, the Black Women Lawyers’ Asso - ciation of Greater Chicago, Inc. (BWLA) has worked to foster civility, community and compassion within the legal profession. We do this through various mentoring, scholarship and community outreach initiatives. Al- though our efforts are generally fo- cused in Chicago, every five years, it has been our tradition to host a national summit inviting judges, attorneys and law students from across the country for an opportunity to engage, encour- age and empower one another and the next generation of lawyers. The theme of the 2023 National Summit March 30-April 1 was “Together, We Soar,” em- phasizing that our potential is limitless when we work to uplift one another. National Summit speakers and hon- orees included Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation and former special adviser to President Barack

Good for us, good for the profession

advocates and better counselors when we are civil to one another. We increase the value of our reputations and the number and quality of our profession- al opportunities when we are thought of well by our peers. We’re also happi - er when we treat others well, and they treat us well in return. Civility is, in short, good for us, good for our clients and good for our profession. And because lawyers daily lay the bricks on which our society is built, our ability to work well with one another, and to provide an example to others, makes that society better as well, even in an adversarial system. If this sounds like a hopeless cli- ché or a truism, remember that this is because the benefits of civility are self-evidently true. We knew all of this when we took the oath to become lawyers. We know it still. We just need to show it a bit more — to ourselves and others. Obama; Janai Nelson, president and director counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; Desiree Ralls-Morrison, general counsel of McDonald’s; Hon. J. Michelle Childs, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeal; Danielle Gray, global chief legal officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance; Loret - ta Lynch, former U.S. Attorney General; Haben Girma, human rights activist and best-selling author; Hon. Ann Claire Williams, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (ret.) and chair of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, and many others. The event was host- ed by BWLA in partnership with other women and local and regional bar orga- nizations from across the country. We celebrated the progress we have made in the profession but also en- gaged in courageous conversations, which are the cornerstone of mutual understanding, civility and respect. We will continue to push forward, together.

Jonathan B. Amarilio President, Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association

Pushing forward, together

Elsa Andrianifahanana President, Black Women Lawyers' Association

CHICAGO DAILY LAW BULLETIN • LAW DAY 2023 37

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