Vested Interest June/July 2026

Fellow ITLA Members:

I am incredibly proud to be the 73rd President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. 

I have admired ITLA since 1996, when I was a student member of ITLA.  One Saturday that spring, when I probably should have been studying for final exams, I attended my first ITLA seminar. I was amazed that the presenting lawyers, who were competitors with each lawyer in the audience, were sharing their secrets and experiences, and were trying to help their competitors become better advocates.

During the seminar, former ITLA and AAJ President, Gene Pavalon, said that he would share his legal briefs and transcripts with anyone in the audience who requested copies. As a second-year law student, I was not sure this offer applied to me. The following Monday, though, I called the office and the receptionist told me to stop by that afternoon to pick up the materials.

I was hooked on ITLA. I was just a kid from Minnesota, I was the first from my family to go to college, and I was about to become the first lawyer many of my family members would ever know. I had no connections in the Chicago legal community I was trying to break into. 

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