My Focus for the ISBA

Help Me Build a Better ISBA

It took a global pandemic for us to recognize and acknowledge the precarious nature of work-life balance. It took a global pandemic for us to fully appreciate that the practice of law, synonymous with legal services, relies on economic growth. As a lawyer, a small business owner and a mother of small children, these issues were not lost on me. The legacy of the ISBA, which has been built over the course of 185 years, is the advancement of the profession to the benefit of lawyers and our clients. Our members are leaders—each and every one of us in our own right—who have contributed to that legacy. As such, it is through the ISBA that we can overcome the current challenges with which our members struggle.

Addressing the Needs of Women Attorneys

Women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic emotionally, psychologically, and financially. Before the pandemic, women’s participation in the workforce climbed to over 50%. When the pandemic hit, women’s participation in the workforce dropped to its lowest point in 33 years. Lean In, a non-profit that focuses on women’s career advancement, released Women in the Workplace 2020, which concluded that the pandemic has disrupted workplace advancement for women and potentially is “unwinding years of painstaking process towards gender diversity.” It is imperative that we value women lawyers and their contributions to the profession. We do so by first exploring a modern approach to law firm structure and traditional work hours while maintaining civility and professional courtesy to each other as we adapt. What better place than the ISBA to have this conversation?

Seeking Work-Life Balance for All Lawyers and Their Families

We must also break down the barriers of social norms in law firm culture and reassess our understanding of work-life balance. Society and law-firm culture imposes gender expectations that result in our women lawyers accepting more household and child-rearing responsibilities while, at the same time, meeting or exceeding the hours and workload of their male counterparts. We cannot have equity in the workplace without equity in the home. To that end, we must explore and support policies that acknowledge that male lawyers have a life outside of the firm. We can do this by embracing paid parental leave policies for both men and women. While a host of large law firms have created policies that make parental leave available to both men and women, this does not hit the mark for those of us working in small to mid-sized firms. There should be no stigma or diminished earning potential for tending to the needs of your family, and a growing body of literature overwhelmingly suggests that the benefits of paid parental leave are immeasurable. This is true for both employees and employers. What better place than the ISBA to have this conversation?

Eliminating Workplace Harassment and Discrimination

Throughout my almost 15 years as a member of the ISBA, I have actively sought to eliminate harassment and discrimination in the workplace. I have done so by authoring the Workplace Transparency Act, signed into law by Governor Pritzker in 2019. I have done so by writing and advocating on changes to rule 8.4(g) in the Professional Rules of Conduct. Each and every one of our members deserves to go to a safe workplace where they have the ability to be productive, motivated, and loyal and to succeed. What better place to continue to have this conversation than the ISBA?

Ushering in the Age of Working Remotely

Finally, we need to develop tools and strategies to identify the needs of remote workers at risk for physical and emotional instability. While there are benefits of working from home, the intersection of work and life become ill-defined and can feel isolating. This is new. This is unprecedented. The ISBA has proven itself to be a channel of ideas on new, unprecedented struggles and will continue to be on the forefront of all these issues.

Creating a New “Normal”

The ISBA is a statewide organization with unique geographical challenges, but as Illinois lawyers, we have more in common than what sets us apart. We want our lawyers to succeed. We want our law firms to thrive. We want satisfied clients. We want young, eager lawyers entering the profession knowing that we have their backs. We accomplish this not by striving to get back to “normal,” because “normal” was not good enough. We strive to do better.