Law Week

Ask-a-Lawyer Day – April 29, 2017 (Open to the Public)

Callers will have the opportunity to speak to an attorney for free and receive general legal advice on Saturday, April 29, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., by calling 312-554-2001. Sponsored by the CBA Lawyer Referral Service.

Law Day Public Celebration and Lunch with a Judge
Monday, May 1, 2017 | 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Richard J. Daley Center

Registration is required for Lunch with a Judge. Click here to register.

CBA's Symphony and Chorus will perform musical selections, members of the Chicago legal community and a representative from LYDIA House will give special remarks, and Judge Grace Dickler, Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, will give her personal reflections on the Law Week theme, The 14th Amendment: Protecting Our Children, the Future of Our Democracy.  CBA Member attendees are invited to stay after the celebration for a “Lunch with a Judge” with Judge Raul Vega of the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County in his courtroom in the Daley Center.

Advocating for the Rights of Children: An Overview of Due Process and Equal Protection
Tuesday, May 2, 2017 | 3:00-6:00 p.m.
The Chicago Bar Association or Webcast

IL PR-MCLE Credit
In-person Cost:
$0 for CLE-Advantage Member/$40 Member/$80 Nonmember
Register for in person attendance or webcast attendance, or call 312-554-2056.

Join the YLS as a variety of experts discuss how children's rights have been and continue to be impacted by 14th Amendment jurisprudence, as well as how agencies and organizations throughout Chicagoland function in a variety of ways to ensure that children, especially those that enter the child welfare system, receive the care, services and protections they are entitled to under the law.

Meet the Judges Reception & Liberty Bell Award Presentation
Wednesday, May 3, 2017 | 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Complimentary | Members Only

CBA Headquarters (321 S. Plymouth Ct.,Chicago)
Space is Limited - Click here to register.

Join the YLS for a meet and greet with judges from the Illinois Appellate Court, Federal Court and Circuit Court of Cook County, and to celebrate Law Day (officially May 1). Judge Mark Lopez of the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County will join us as our keynote speaker and will present both The Liberty Bell Award and an award to the winner of the YLS-sponsored Legal Prep Charter Academy essay contest. Attendees will also be encouraged to purchase pinwheels benefitting Prevent Child Abuse Illinois, which will be displayed in a pinwheel garden at the event. Sponsored by LexisNexis.

Legal Workshops with Legal Prep Charter School Students
Thursday, May 4, 2017 | 5:30-7:30 p.m.
The Chicago Bar Association

Do you know your rights? In partnership with the Legal Prep Mentoring Program, the YLS Criminal Law Committee will lead students of Legal Prep Charter School and their mentors in a series of interactive workshops to learn their rights and see how to invoke those rights in real life scenarios.

The Legacy of Brown v Board of Education and the Continued Quest for Equality
Friday, May 5, 2017 | 12:00-1:00 p.m.
The Chicago Bar Association Building or Webcast

In-person Cost:
$0 CLE-Advantage Member/$20 Member/$40 Non-member
Register for in person attendance or webcast attendance, or call 312-554-2056

Professor Sasha Coupet, Associate Professor of Law and Director of Research for the Civitas ChildLaw Center of Loyola University College of Law, will speak about the legacy of the seminal case of Brown v. The Board of Education and where we are now in the ongoing quest for equality.

Liberty Bell Nominations

Consider nominating a non-lawyer for the Liberty Bell Award by April 21, 2017! The award recognizes a member of our community who has rendered service that strengthens the effectiveness of the American system of freedom under the law. Please help us promote the ideals of justice, liberty and the importance of individual and community responsibility. Click here for further details and the nomination form.

Blankets for Babes Drive
Bring blankets, backpacks, and suitcases for children in foster care through Lydia House of Chicago. A drop box in the CBA’s 1st floor bookstore during the month of May and at all Law Week events.

Pinwheels for Prevention
Purchase a pinwheel for $5 for the Law Week Pinwheel garden with with proceeds benefitting Prevent Child Abuse Illinois. Pinwheels will be on display during the month of May in the CBA building lobby. Click here to purchase a pinwheel.

Legal Prep Essay Contest
Students from Legal Prep Charter School will submit essays on the Law Week topic and winners will receive a Visa gift card and be acknowledged at the “Meet the Judges Reception". To volunteer to evaluate essays, email yls@chicagobar.org.

 

The 2017 theme provides the opportunity to explore the many ways that the Fourteenth Amendment has reshaped American law and society. Through its Citizenship, Due Process and Equal Protection clauses, this transformative amendment advanced the rights of all Americans. It also played a pivotal role in extending the reach of the Bill of Rights to the states. Ratified during Reconstruction a century and a half ago, the Fourteenth Amendment serves as the cornerstone of landmark civil rights legislation, the foundation for numerous federal court decisions protecting fundamental rights, and a source of inspiration for all those who advocate for equal justice under law.