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By: Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism

Blog Authors

2civility
Kendra Abercrombie
Laura Bagby
Penelope Bremmer
Penelope Bremner
Mark C. Palmer
Dan Davies
Erika Harold
Marin McCall
Sloane Oxley-Hase
Jayne Reardon
Julia Roundtree Livingston
Stephanie Villinski

Latest from 2Civility Blog

For two decades, the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism has collaborated with Illinois’ law schools to lead professionalism orientations for first-year law students.
The professionalism orientations, which are held annually at the beginning of law school, introduce 1L students to the principles of legal professionalism and emphasize the importance of these principles in their careers.
Illinois Supreme Court and

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Continue Reading Commission, Illinois Justices and Judges Partner with Illinois Law Schools on 20th Annual Professionalism Orientations for 1Ls (Photos)

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Photo credit: iStock.com
Key points
  • ABA’s Mental Wellbeing in the Legal Profession study found women lawyers reported higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms and lower overall well-being than men lawyers
  • Women also reported high stressors like sleep disturbances, family member issues, and loneliness
  • The report found that the way women experience stress varies across race, ethnicity, disability, sexual

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Continue Reading ABA Research Finds Women Lawyers Report Higher Mental Health Risks Than Men

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Photo credit: Mark Palmer
Next month, I’ll be speaking at the Illinois State Bar Association’s 8th Annual Abraham Lincoln’s Legal Legacy seminar, which explores Lincoln’s legal philosophy and the ways it animated his career in the law and his presidency.
In preparing for this seminar, which is being co-presented by the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission, I have spent

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Continue Reading How to Engage on Polarizing Issues This National Civility Month

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Photo credit: Carla Bender
Our Professionalism Spotlight series highlights Illinois legal professionals who demonstrate the ideals of professionalism in their careers.
In this Professionalism Spotlight, we spoke to Carla Bender, Fourth District Appellate Court Clerk.
In this role, Carla oversees the court’s administrative operations, including case processing, records management, scheduling, and case assignments, and serves as a liaison between the justices, attorneys,

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Continue Reading Professionalism Spotlight: Carla Bender, Fourth District Appellate Court Clerk

From August 4 – 6, 2026, the Commission on Professionalism was thrilled to once again coordinate the annual Jumpstart Orientation, a pre-law school preparation program designed to support first-generation students at Illinois law schools.
The program was created by Judge Ann Claire Williams (Ret.), who served in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. All nine Illinois law schools select

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Continue Reading Commission on Professionalism Welcomes 90 First-Generation Law Students to Annual Jumpstart Orientation, a Pre-Law School Preparation Program

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Photo credit: iStock.com
Key points
  • To thrive, legal teams need lawyers with a variety of personality types, but often don’t understand the differences between introverts, extroverts, and everyone in between.
  • Personality differences are primarily related to how you manage your energy, not confidence.
  • Many law school practices and legal workplaces are designed to support the preferences of extroverts.
  • Becoming aware

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Continue Reading Misunderstood Extrovert, Undervalued Introvert, or Exhausted Ambivert? What Personality Really Means in Legal Workplaces

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Photo credit: iStock.com
Key points
  • To thrive, legal teams need lawyers with a variety of personality types, but often don’t understand the differences between introverts, extroverts, and everyone in between.
  • Personality differences are primarily related to how you manage your energy, not confidence.
  • Many law school practices and legal workplaces are designed to support the preferences of extroverts.
  • Becoming aware

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Continue Reading Extroverted, Introverted, or in Between? How Lawyers Function Differently in Workplaces

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Photo credit: iStock.com
Key takeaways
  • Active listening helps lawyers build trust and better understand clients, witnesses, and colleagues.
  • Questioning assumptions improves decision-making and helps avoid misunderstandings.
  • Creative problem-solving improves when judgment is suspended and ideas are explored before being evaluated.
  • Adaptability and communication help lawyers navigate uncertainty, difficult conversations, and changing circumstances.
  • Human skills like listening, collaboration, creativity, and resilience

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Continue Reading Five Improv Techniques Lawyers Should Use in Their Practices

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Photo credit: Illinois Supreme Court
How would you rate your most recent interaction with the Illinois court system? The Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Judicial Conference want to know.
The Illinois Judicial Branch is requesting feedback from lawyers, their clients, and members of the public about their recent court experiences through the Illinois Circuit Court User Experience Survey.
The survey

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Continue Reading Lawyers and Court Users – Share Your Feedback About the Illinois Court System!

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Photo credit: Howard Ankin
Our Professionalism Spotlight series highlights Illinois legal professionals who demonstrate the ideals of professionalism in their careers.
In this Professionalism Spotlight, we spoke with Howard Ankin, a partner at Ankin Law, the Chicago-based firm he owns with his father and fellow partner, Paul B. Ankin.
Howard focuses his practice on plaintiff’s personal injury and petitioner’s workers’

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Continue Reading Professionalism Spotlight: Howard Ankin, Ankin Law

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Photo credit: iStock.com
Key points:
  • AI can now be used to perform many rudimentary legal tasks that lawyers have traditionally performed.
  • Human skills such as relationship building, problem-solving, leadership, and collaboration — which have always been at the heart of good lawyering — are, therefore, becoming increasingly important.
  • While many of these human skills do not come naturally to lawyers,

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Continue Reading Thriving with AI: Why the Future of Law Is Still Deeply Human

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Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice P. Scott Neville and Erika Harold. Photo credit: Erika Harold
The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism is pleased to announce that Executive Director Erika Harold received the Cook County Bar Association’s (CCBA) Donald Hubert Historical Award. The award was presented on Friday, June 26, at the CCBA’s 112th Installation and Awards Banquet.
The award

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Continue Reading Executive Director Erika Harold Receives Cook County Bar Association Award for Ethics and Professionalism Programming

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Photo credit: Katherine Keefe
Our Professionalism Spotlight series highlights Illinois legal professionals who demonstrate the ideals of professionalism in their careers.
In this Professionalism Spotlight, we spoke to Katherine (Kathy) Keefe, Circuit Clerk for McHenry County, Illinois, where she oversees an office of 53 Deputy Clerks.
Prior to being elected Circuit Clerk in 2008, Kathy had worked in the McHenry County Circuit Clerk’s

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Continue Reading Professionalism Spotlight: Katherine Keefe, McHenry County Circuit Clerk

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Photo credit: iStock.com
Key points
  • Summer internships can help law students gain practical experience while exploring different legal career paths and work environments.
  • Illinois legal professionals share recommendations for getting the most out of summer internships, including leaning into curiosity, honing professional communication skills, and learning from peers.
  • Lawyers emphasize that taking advantage of every opportunity, including those beyond what

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Continue Reading How Law Students Can Make the Most of Their Summer Internship

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Key Takeaways

  • Reverse image search allows lawyers to use an image, instead of keywords, to find instances of that image or similar images online.
  • Free tools such as Google Lens, Bing Visual Search, and TinEye can help uncover valuable information that traditional text searches may miss.
  • Reverse image search has practical applications in intellectual property enforcement, litigation, due diligence, fraud

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Continue Reading How To Search Google With An Image