2005 Year in Review

Be like Abe

On this date, over 3,000 Illinois new attorneys were sworn into the judicial system statewide. We were fortunate and honored to witness our daughter Jennifer sworn in at Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago along with 1,700 fellow attorneys in attendance. Over 5,000 people were there including parents, husbands and wives and even more interesting were the speakers who also had their own children becoming new Illinois attorneys.

We had no idea of the magnitude of this ceremony and how important the taking of the oath is to the legal profession. None other than the entire Supreme Court of Illinois were in charge of the proceedings. Chief Justice Charles Freeman, Justice Mary Ann McMorrow and Justice Thomas Fitzgerald.Not in attendance were words or phrases or long dissertations we all come to recognize as legal necessities and most often not understood by non-lawyer types (such as us).What we heard from the justices and speakers in their own words was how critical it is for the new attorneys to be honest in their daily work, to have a degree of integrity unmatched by others and to be passionate in the pursuit of excellence in their profession.

We were honored to listen to a fellow parent who's daughter was also being sworn in this day, Mr. Michael Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.Almost any day of the week Mr. Madigan is a news maker in our state but this day he was Michael Madigan, father of a new attorney and we felt as if he were speaking for us as he described his feelings of pride and accomplishment for his daughter's hard work and his sense of wonder as we now watch the next phase of these new attorney's lives.We began to understand the importance of this swearing in and how the entire legal system is based on the principles of honesty and integrity.

There were over 20 speakers, many of whom were at various times politely admonished by Chief Justice Freeman for going over their allotted times. We were unaware the speeches were well over 2 hours in duration as each was eloquent with their thoughts and wishes for this new attorney class of 2005.Not until attorney Mr.Martin R. Castro arose to speak did we realize how passionate these speakers were to their profession and how deeply they cared about these new attorneys.

Mr. Castro patiently explained how he was of Mexican descent, how proud he was of his own accomplishments and how his father and grandfather had influenced him.Mr. Castro spoke of honesty and integrity. But most of all he spoke of "Be like Abe".He had learned of Abraham Lincoln at a very early age and understood honesty was more than a cute phrase associated with Lincoln. Honesty is the only path for freedom, justice and the pursuit of the truth, he wanted these new attorneys to "Be like Abe". He spoke of how as an attorney and later as President, Lincoln practiced and lived his life with a great sense of integrity and again Mr. Castro implored these new attroneys to "Be like Abe".We watched and understood how this immigrant, this fellow American, Mr. Castro, was influenced by an attorney who had also once many years ago taken the oath of a new Illinois attorney.He himself wished to "Be like Abe".Well Mr. Castro, based on listening to your words we believe you have reached that understanding and we believe most of the 5,000 in attendance left the hall that day wishing in some way to "Be like Abe" in their own professions.

Justice Fitzgerald completed the program and in a single and forthlike manner shared his own story of his earlier days as a junior judge in Chicago.He remembered the magnitude of his newly acquired responsibilities and he remembered working with judges he had admired for their integrity and professionalism."Imagine", Fitzgerald said, "how I felt when the indictments were announced that several of these judges were being charged with taking bribes as low as $100 for fixing simple traffic fines".Fitzgerald further explained how these judges (and some attorneys) were now penniless, lost their families, their homes and their right to work in the legal profession."They lost everything for a couple of hundred bucks", Justice Fitzgerald said.They lost all respect for the legal profession and the responsibilities they had been assigned.Justice Fitzgerald in a very plain spoken manner was ever so clear that he wished all these new attorneys to "Be like Abe".

Illinois is a much better state as these new attorneys begin to start their practices and we as parents are very proud of our own daughter and equally proud of how our legal system is in such capable hands.

by Bob Vaughn, theCity1.com
November 12, 2005