The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism is pleased to announce that it will hold its 10th annual Future Is Now: Legal Services conference on Thursday, April 30, 2026. The virtual event will take place from 12 – 4:30 p.m. CDT.
The Future Is Now will explore how professionalism impacts legal excellence and a justice system that works for everyone. A

I was recently asked by the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois to deliver a CLE focused on helping lawyers build resilience after having been bullied.
While I often deliver CLEs on similar topics, the venue was particularly special this time.
The CLE was held at SOUL Harbour

Our Commissioner Spotlight series highlights the Illinois judges, lawyers, and educators who have been appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to serve as Commissioners for the Commission on Professionalism.
These individuals are selected for their commitment to professionalism and contributions to the bar and their communities. During their term, they provide essential support and guidance for the Commission’s work.
This

The number of lawyers in the U.S. is growing. For the first time since 2020, the population of U.S. lawyers increased, jumping to 1,374,720 in 2025, up from 1,355,963 in 2024, according to the American Bar Association’s 2025 Profile of the Legal Profession.
After steadily growing to 1,363,017 in 2020, the lawyer population remained stagnant before dropping in 2024.

The Illinois Supreme Court has approved an order confirming that Illinois will accept transferred scores from the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE) beginning with the exam’s July 2026 administration.
This means that, effective July 2026, the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar (IBAB) will accept transfer passing scores attained on the NextGen UBE as well as the current

Law school education covers writing and thinking like a lawyer, but focuses less time on building future lawyers’ professional identity. I had the good fortune of addressing 64 newly licensed attorneys earlier this month at the Fourth Judicial District Bar Admission Ceremony, which was presided over by Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White.
The ceremony took place at the

Law firms have more than doubled their share of the U.S. office space market since before the pandemic, according to a recent report from the global real estate services company Savills, which explored trends for firms leasing over 20,000 square feet.
Law firms leased 8.3 million square feet in office spaces with over 20,000 square feet through the third quarter

The image on the front of the card was a white lighthouse beaming against an orangey sunset and darkening lake. Although metaphors associated with lighthouses can seem almost overused, they capture the role this person played during an important point in my career—an illuminating presence and a signpost along the voyage. So, I selected the card and began to write.

Our Professionalism Spotlight series highlights Illinois legal professionals who demonstrate the ideals of professionalism in their careers.
In this Professionalism Spotlight, we spoke to Roya Samarghandi, Chief Advocacy and Innovation Officer at the Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF), the charitable arm of the Chicago Bar Association.
The CBF works to increase access to free and affordable legal assistance for people in

An increasing number of aspiring lawyers are taking the LSAT and doing so because they want to help others.
A record number of lawyer hopefuls took the LSAT and applied to law school during the 2024-2025 cycle, even amid significant changes in law school administration, policies, and caps on federal graduate student loans.
The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) asked

Despite reporting the highest employment rate in nearly four decades, Class of 2024 law school graduates did not equally benefit from the strong legal job market.
The “Jobs & JDs: Employment and Salaries for New Law Graduates – Class of 2024” report from the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) found that Asian, Black, Latinx, Native Hawaiian, and

Picture a tool that can quickly summarize dense, voluminous documents in short soundbites. Got your attention?
Recently, a growing number of artificial intelligence (AI) platforms have begun experimenting with turning written content into highly tailored audio. For lawyers, these tools can transform long case opinions, pleadings, or appellate briefs, for example, into audio formats that are easier to absorb during

What do growing law firms in 2025 have in common? They use AI in their practices, according to a 2025 report on technology use in law firms from legal software provider Clio.
The report found that growing law firms have nearly doubled their revenue over the past four years, with only a 50% increase in clients and matters. Shrinking law