Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism Commissioner Trisha M. Rich was sworn in as the Chicago Bar Association’s 2023 – 2024 Secretary at the organization’s Annual Meeting on June 29, 2023.
The Annual Meeting celebrated the CBA’s 150th anniversary, recognized the outgoing 2022 – 2023 officers and board members, and welcomed the 2023 – 2024 officers and board members.
In addition to Ms. Rich, the following individuals were sworn in as 2023-2024 officers: President Ray J. Koenig III, First Vice President John C. Sciaccotta, Second Vice President Kathryn Carso Liss, and Treasurer Nina Fain.
“Trish is a national leader in professionalism and legal ethics and an invaluable advisor to the Commission,” said Martin Sinclair, Chair of the Commission on Professionalism. “On behalf of the Commission, I would like to congratulate Trish and the 2023 – 2024 officers on this honor. We look forward to continuing our strong collaboration with the CBA around building a more civil, inclusive, and effective legal profession.”
Ms. Rich has served on the Commission on Professionalism since 2017. She is currently the Chair of the Audit & Finance Committee.
Ms. Rich is an attorney in Holland & Knight’s Chicago and New York offices, the national co-chair of the firm’s Legal Profession Team, and a member of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice. She also serves as a Professional Responsibility Partner for Holland & Knight’s Chicago office. Her practice focuses on legal ethics and professional responsibility matters and complex commercial litigation.
Ms. Rich founded and coordinates the Attorney Defense Initiative, the nation’s first privately sponsored pro bono initiative that focuses on assisting impaired lawyers facing disciplinary charges, and is the president of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers.
She is an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law, where she teaches legal ethics and professional responsibility, has previously taught legal ethics at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and has been a guest lecturer at the University of Michigan Law School.
Ms. Rich is a member of the Ethics Commission of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, which adjudicates ethics complaints involving the agency’s governmental officers and employees, and the Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois. She has argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and was designated as a National Institute of Trial Advocacy Master Advocate in 2023.
Ms. Rich is also a member of the Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee, Illinois Judges Foundation Auxiliary Committee, Chicago Inn of Court, Lawyers Club of Chicago, and ABA’s Center for Professional Responsibility.
She has received numerous awards including the Northern District of Illinois Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service, the Chicago Bar Association’s David C. Hilliard Award for Outstanding Committee Service, the Chicago Bar Association’s Milton H. Gray Award for Outstanding Project Leadership, and the Chicago Bar Foundation’s Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award.
Ms. Rich was also a recipient of Crain’s Chicago Business’ 40 Under 40 and Law Bulletin Media’s 40 Under Forty recognition, has been twice named to Crain’s Chicago’s Notable Women Lawyers list, was in the 2021 class of Leadership Greater Chicago, and was named a “Rising Star” by Illinois Super Lawyers magazine.
She received a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, and an M.A. in Philosophy and a BBA in Business and Economics from Western Michigan University.
“Trish Rich, President Ray Koenig, and the rest of the 2023 – 2024 board members and officers will serve as excellent stewards of the Chicago Bar Association’s mission,” said Erika Harold, Executive Director of the Commission on Professionalism. “I look forward to partnering with them over the coming year and thank Past-President Timothy Tomasik and the outgoing officers and board members for their outstanding leadership and service to the lawyers of Chicago. Finally, congratulations to the CBA on its 150th anniversary and all that it has done to promote integrity and professionalism in the legal profession.”
About the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism
The Illinois Supreme Court established the Commission on Professionalism under Supreme Court Rule 799 to promote integrity, professionalism, and civility among the lawyers and judges of Illinois, to foster a commitment to the elimination of bias and divisiveness within the legal and judicial systems, and to ensure those systems provide equitable, effective, and efficient resolution of problems for the people of Illinois.
The Commission achieves this mission through professional responsibility CLE, lawyer-to-lawyer mentoring, legal professionalism programming, educational resources, and more. To learn more, visit 2Civility.org and follow us on Twitter @2CivilityOrg.
Press Contact
Laura Bagby, Communications Director
312-363-6209
laura.bagby@2civility.org