Thank you for being part of the Commission’s legal professionalism community. It has been our privilege to engage with you this year and we hope it will continue!
In the tradition of holiday wish lists, I have compiled a list of three things I wish for each of you in 2025.
1. A sense of belonging.
During the year, the Commission collaborates with many legal and judicial organizations throughout Illinois. Whether through delivering CLEs, facilitating the lawyer-to-lawyer mentoring program, conducting judicial trainings, or participating in bar association events, we partner with others to promote civility, inclusion, and integrity.
Not only is collaboration the most impactful way of achieving noble goals for the profession, but it also fosters a powerful sense of camaraderie and connection that can be described as belonging.
I am grateful to have felt that sense of belonging this year, thanks to so many of you. My wish is that each of you experience a palpable sense of belonging within our profession.
Commission Liaison Illinois Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth M. Rochford and
our Commission staff at Race Judicata.
2. A sense of peace.
Many of the lawyers and judges I meet often seem besieged by worry. Whether it is reaching the correct result in a case, helping a client protect their rights, or caring for an ailing loved one in the face of unrelenting work demands, they worry they may be falling short or running behind.
Mary Oliver’s achingly beautiful poem “I Worried,” which was recently commended to me by one of the esteemed leaders of our profession, perfectly expresses those fears: “I worried a lot. … Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven, can I do better? Will I ever be able to sing.”
The poet then expresses that after recognizing that “worrying had come to nothing,” she “gave it up” and “went out into the morning, and sang.”
My wish is that each of you, despite the weighty responsibilities you shoulder, would be able to experience the sense of peace of recognizing that you are doing your best. You are enough, and you have done enough. And that you would be able to set aside that depleting sense of worry and step into the morning and sing.
Embracing the peace of a sun salutations yoga class at dawn.
3. A sense of wonder.
Amidst the repetition of routine and busyness of work, it becomes easy to miss moments of seeming magic—when something innovative, beautiful, or inspiring transfixes our attention, even for an instant, and compels in us a sense of wonder.
Instead of fleeting respites from an otherwise mundane day, those moments can alter and uplift our perspective and infuse it with vitality.
I have experienced those moments this year in several ways: walking along Lake Michigan and looking over Chicago’s majestic skyline, listening as a law student shared the adversity she overcame before entering law school, and hearing a powerful speech by a judge on the role dignity plays in building confidence in the justice system.
Admiring the beauty of Chicago, even on a cloudy day.
These moments infused in me a sense of wonder at the remarkable world we live in and the inspiring people who occupy it. They were just as important as hitting send on a critical email, as they made me a better thinker, leader, and lawyer.
My wish is that each of you will experience many of these exquisite moments in 2025 and that they will lead you to approach your life and work with a renewed sense of wonder.
Happy Holidays,
Erika
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