This special award honors the individuals and institutions who have made the law and legal profession more accessible to and reflective of the community at large.  This award us given out each Spring and is a celebration that gathers organizations of lawyers from across the Chicagoland area. 

2026 Vanguard Awards Luncheon will be held on April 21, 2026 at the Union League Club of Chicago. 11:30 a.m. reception, followed by 12:00 luncheon. Purchase tickets below.

2026 Vanguard Award Honorees

Advocates Society
Judge Diann K. Marsalek 

Arab American Bar Association of Illinois
Anthony (“Tony”) Michael Abou Ezzi 

Asian American Bar Association
Ajay K. Mehrotra, Justice Goodwin H. Liu, and the American Bar Foundation
for work on "Portrait Project 2.0: Asian Americans in the Legal Profession"

Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago, Inc.
Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi

Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago
Daniel R. Murray 

Chicago Bar Association
Judge Fredrick H. Bates 

Cook County Bar Association
Cannon Lambert, Sr. 

Decalogue Society of Lawyers
Judge Abbey  Fishman Romanek 

Filipino American Lawyers Association
Mark J. Calaguas 

Haitian American Lawyers Association
Judie Lyn Smith 

Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois
Judge Koula A. Fournier 

Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois
Nancy Andrade 

Justinian Society of Lawyers
Judge Jill  Cerone-Marisie 

Korean American Bar Association
Caroline K. Kwon 

LAGBAC -Chicago's LGBTQ+ Bar Association
Judge Mary M. Rowland 

Muslim Bar Association of Chicago
Naheda  Zayyad-Hussien 

Puerto Rican Bar Association
Judge Lucy Vazquez-Gonzalez 

South Asian Bar Association of Chicago
Avani Patel 

Women's Bar Association of Illinois
Judge Patrice M.  Ball-Reed (ret.)

Questions? Contact Michele Spodarek at 312-554-2124.

History of Vanguard Award Recipients  (PDF).