Editor's Note
The decision to select Chicago Lawyer's "Person of the Year" became a very challenging decision because of the many great candidates we received. Anyone could make a case for any one of the nominees to become this year's "Person of the Year."
So, why did we choose George Leighton?
If you don't know Leighton's story then you must check out the collection of memories that members of the legal community shared about him.
If society had a say, Leighton never would have become a lawyer. Black men from humble upbringings did not become successful Chicago lawyers at the time when he started his career. But he defied the odds and became a legendary, accomplished attorney and judge. We wanted to make sure that our readers acknowledged him and the tough road he took to become a lawyer.
There is so much talk today about improving diversity, but when Leighton began practicing law none of that was discussed. In some regards, the completely opposite mentality existed — where bigotry and racism sadly prospered. As each of us faces adversity or people who don't want us to succeed we can look to Leighton and think about the strength and the determination he possesses. I know that I take his life and his career achievements as inspiration and a reminder that no one can put us down and stop us from our dreams. And that is why he is our magazine's 2011 "Person of the Year."
You may notice that our December cover looks a little different. We usually have the actual person being celebrated on the cover. That was not possible because Leighton recently moved to Massachusetts and could not return to Chicago for the photo shoot. We took photos of three people he's inspired as well as used photos of him from throughout the years.
For the past year and a half, Amanda Robert has been a reporter for both the magazine and the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. She recently became assistant editor after Stefan Schumacher moved on to other endeavors. She will continue to occasionally write, but she is no longer our regular magazine writer. We recently hired Roy Strom. If you get any calls from Roy please return them. He's excited to be covering the legal community so please welcome him to this interesting world.
In this issue, Amanda wrote about lawyers who sit on boards of Chicago organizations. I've noticed that if you name a nonprofit or a large company, at least one lawyer sits on its board. Amanda found a number of lawyers who do this and talked with them about why they volunteer their time. She found that, in many cases, it's because of a personal connection.
Along those same lines, freelance reporter Robert Loerzel wrote about Equip for Equality and how lawyers and law firms donate their time to this organization. He describes the work the organization and the volunteers do on a daily basis.
And a colleague from Leading Lawyers Network suggested awhile ago the idea of writing a story about the art that hangs on law firm walls and how lawyers decide what type of art to purchase.
We have many wonderful columns in this month's issue. Our "Closing Argument" column by Margo Wolf O'Donnell at Vedder Price is a great example of what I hoped this column would be when I created it several years ago. I wanted it to be a place where lawyers share life lessons they've learned about being a lawyer. It's wonderfully done. If you would like to write this column on a given month please let me know. It's 900 words and the author changes each month. It's a great way to reflect on your career and pay it forward to the next generation of lawyers.
Attorney Meg Benson wrote her annual "Pro Bono" holiday carol column. She turns traditional tunes into messages about the importance of doing pro bono work. It's always fun.
Beginning in 2012 we will be profiling a different legal innovator each month — those people in the legal community who act outside the box to change the legal community for the better. This could be at a law firm level, a Chicago law community level or even nationally or internationally. If you know of any people you'd like me to consider for this yearlong series, please let me know.
Also, we're doing a special holiday subscription deal for Chicago Lawyer and the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. It's a give-the-gift idea. If you renew your subscription then you can give the gift of a subscription to either the Law Bulletin or Chicago Lawyer. Visit www.lawbulletin.com/gift or find the post card in this month's magazine.