BEST REGIONAL ATTENDANCE EVER

NAWJ held the most well-attended regional conference in its history - the Midwest Leadership Conference in Chicago August 27-29. Regional Conference co-chairs, Judges Cheryl Cesario, Jane Craney and Sophia Hall, put on an incredible event, with three outstanding educational panels presented to record crowds. Two of these programs were co-sponsored by our frequent partner, the American Judicature Society (AJS), one of which ('Ethics Jeopardy') was moderated by American Judicature Association President Gordon L. Doerfer. Thoughtful and perceptive remarks by Scott Turow were also a highlight of the conference. The riveting focus of the event, of course, was the Keynote Speech by our great friend Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered at a luncheon attended by over 370 people, thanks in large part to the extraordinary work of the Chicago Friends Committee, co-chaired by Leslie Davis, Linda Listrom, Kathy Roach and Lisa Tchen. Scholarship Committee co-chairs, Jackie Lustig and Judge Nina Puglia, presented the first-ever Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Award to DePaul University law student, Allegra Cira. The two receptions could not have been more spectacular - one for the food and the views in the building where Judge Susan Fox Gillis makes her home, and the other for Justice Ginsburg's attendance with her family and her wonderful offer to engage in a wide-ranging 'conversation' with me and the assembled judges.