Vanguard Awards

Vanguard AwardsThis 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.






2023 Vanguard Awards Luncheon
May 2, 2023, 11:30 - 1:15 pm
The Union League Club Chicago, 65 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604
$75 per person | $750 table of 10 |Tickets for the event are sold out, please contact CBA Event Coordinator, Michele Spodarek (mspodarek@chicagobar.org), to get added to the waitlist. 

2023 Honorees:

Steven M. Elrod
The Decalogue Society of Lawyers

Hon. Ramón M. Escapa (posthumously)
Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois

Alexander Z. Fiedotjew (posthumously)
Advocates Society

Sandra A. Frantzen
Arab American Bar Association of Illinois

Hon. Jasmine V. Hernandez
Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago

Marisel Hernandez 
HLAI - Serving the Hispanic Lawyers of Illinois

Nathalina A. Hudson
Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc.

Rachel Huan Kao 
Chinese American Bar Association

Hon. Freddrenna M. Lyle
Cook County Bar Association

Samera Syeda Ludwig
Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago 

Hon. Mary Cay Marubio 
LAGBAC, Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association

Dina M. Ninfo      
Women’s Bar Association of Illinois

Binal J. Patel 
South Asian Bar Association of Chicago

Hon. Nichole C. Patton
The Chicago Bar Association

History of Vanguard Award Recipients    (Word doc).