2,225 gain admission to 'very noble' profession

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1 Sign Out Front Page Trial Notebook Case Summaries In the News Calendar Photo of the Day Courts New Suits Public Notices Jobs Search Advanced Search Site Map Customer Care Contact Us LB Company Order A Document Sullivan's CourtBriefs Jury Verdict LB Seminars Lawyer Services FeedBack By: Marina Makropoulos Eric M. White took an oath while holding his 9-month-old son, Henry Roanji White, during Thursday s swearing in ceremony of new lawyers at McCormick Place West. November 05, 2010 Vol.156, Issue 217 Print Friendly Page to a Friend Request A Reprint 2,225 gain admission to 'very noble' profession By Maria Kantzavelos Law Bulletin staff writer Ten years ago, almost to the week, Lauren M. Davalle was a 15-year-old in a hospital, reeling from the news that her heart was so damaged that she would need a transplant. On Thursday, Davalle, a 2010 graduate of The John

2 Marshall Law School, was among some 1,672 women and men who had recently passed the bar exam and were admitted to the roster of Illinois attorneys during a ceremony at McCormick Place West. Davalle said that as she stood among the sea of incoming lawyers to take the attorney's oath, which was administered by Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman, she couldn't help but think of how she had made it through the rigors of the past three years of law school and of the past 10 years of life with her new heart. For her, a heart donor's death meant: "I knew I had to make something of my life," Davalle said in an interview following the bar admission ceremony. "I was thinking it took the three years in law school to get there, but also the past 10 years," Davalle said. "It was really humbling to know where I was 10 years ago, and where I am now." A total of 2,225 new lawyers were admitted to the bar at various locations throughout the state on Thursday. With the newly admitted class, there are now about 89,500 licensed Illinois lawyers. At the ceremony in a grand ballroom in Chicago, Freeman was joined on the dais by fellow Justices Anne M. Burke and Mary Jane Theis, who replaced the recently retired Chief Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald on the court. Theis, in her first bar admission ceremony as a Supreme Court justice, welcomed the new lawyers on behalf of the court, and offered some advice about what it means to be a professional. She highlighted three key components: competency, and the "scholarly" profession's requirement of continuing legal education; civility; and service. "I would hope you'd remember this: rudeness, personal attacks, incivility that doesn't win cases. Judges hate it; juries hate it. Incivility is not just bad manners, it's bad lawyering," Theis said.

3 "Ultimately, civility is grounded in respect for the court and for the rule of law." The service component to the legal profession, Theis said, means that being a lawyer is more than just producing a product. "Clients come to us at the worst times of their lives: there's been a death, an accident, a crime, someone's financial future is at stake. We take their lives in our hands as surely as any doctor does," Theis said. "The service that we provide is being able to take people from times of crisis and to bring them to peace." Above all, Theis told the new lawyers: "Keep searching for justice. I urge you to seek meaning in your work. If you do that, I promise you that you will find joy in this wonderful profession." Retired Cook County Associate Judge Lawrence P. Fox presented the motion to admit the new class of Cook County lawyers, which included his daughter, Kathryn Fox, who headed to the swearing-in ceremony of a new class of Cook County assistant state's attorneys after taking the attorney's oath that same day. Pointing out that he has reaped many personal rewards in his 12 years of presiding over specialized courts designed to provide substance abuse and mental health treatment to felony offenders as an alternative to prison, Fox urged the new class to seek out opportunities in the law that can provide "exceptionally rewarding human experiences." "There can be no better experience in life than to be a part of something so significant in another person's life," Fox said. "An opportunity for such personal and professional gratification through the law is available to all of us as lawyers. It is my sincere hope that all of you here today will be blessed with the good fortune of finding that opportunity." Cook County Circuit Judge Geary W. Kull; Jeffrey E. Martin of the personal-injury law firm of Levin &

4 Perconti; Chicago personal-injury attorney Richard F. Pellegrino of the Law Offices of Romanucci & Blandin; and Burton S. Odelson of Odelson & Sterk Ltd. in Evergreen Park, seconded the motion to admit. Kull, whose daughter, Jessica, was among the class of new lawyers, offered his congratulations "on behalf of all the proud parents in this room." Also among the new class were Martin's daughter, Shauna; Pellegrino's son, Michael; and Odelson's stepdaughter, Lauren Davalle. Odelson urged the new lawyers to engage in pro bono work and give back to their communities, saying that his stepdaughter has been giving back as an organ donation advocate through the years since she was given a "second chance at life." "She learned what you will learn in the legal profession, and that is: To be successful is not just earning a lot of money and representing a lot of clients," Odelson said. "The ultimate measure of success is what you give back to the society that allowed you to be here today." Pellegrino told the new class to remember the three Golden Rules. "No. 1: If it's not right, don't do it. No. 2: If it's not true, don't say it. And No. 3: Don't ever forget one and two." Martin told the new lawyers to "do our honored profession proud." "Don't listen to those people who try to blame lawyers for society's problems. We don't make the problems, we solve them," he said. Representatives of various bar groups also welcomed and congratulated the new lawyers, including Chicago Bar Association President Terri L. Mascherin, and Indian-American Bar Association President Manish K. Mehta. Mascherin told the new lawyers that the certificate they would receive at the end of the ceremony to

5 commemorate their admission to the bar is, "not merely a license to bill your clients. That certificate is the badge of admission to a very noble and old profession." "In the United States, only two professions are commonly spoken of as being callings. We speak of ministers being called to the church or called to the pulpit, and we speak of lawyers being called to the bar," she said. "That means something, because to be called to the bar is to be called to serve our fellow man and woman. "Listen for your call, new lawyers," Mascherin said. "When it comes, give freely, and surely you will make a life worth lived." Bar admission ceremonies also were held in the state's four other judicial districts. [email protected] Home Trial Notebook Case Summaries In the News Courts Jobs Public Notices Calendar 2010 by Law Bulletin Publishing Company. Content on this site is protected by the copyright laws of the United States. The copyright laws prohibit any copying, redistributing, or retransmitting of any copyright-protected material. The content is NOT WARRANTED as to quality, accuracy or completeness, but is believed to be accurate at the time of compilation. Web sites for other organizations are referenced at this site, however the Law Bulletin does not endorse or imply endorsement as to the content of these web sites. By using this site you agree to the Terms, Conditions and Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.

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