Our next regular meeting will be held on  April, 24, 2025 starting at 6pm  at a new and interesting venue, Royalty West Banquets, located at 8675 Archer Avenue in Willow Springs, Illinois.  It is designed like a mediaeval castle, and they serve eastern European food and Czech beer. Following dinner, The Acting Presiding Judge of the Law Division, Judge Kathy Flanagan, will be giving us an update about the status of the Law Division, any anticipated changes, the future use of Zoom for status conferences, motions and contested hearings, the entry of  case management orders, the scheduling of trials, and any other important issues that attorneys should be aware of that practice in the Law Division. Spread the word, and let’s have a large turnout for this meeting and presentation by Judge Flanagan.

The March regular meeting of the BLA will be held at Café Prague Restaurant located at 6710 West Belmont Avenue in Chicago, Illinois  on Thursday,  March 27, 2025 starting at 6 pm.  We will be hosting our annual “Probate Judges Night”, and several judges and staff from the Cook County, Probate Division will giving us an update on recent court decisions, and other important issues that attorneys should be aware of that practice in the Probate Division.  We hope you can attend this event, even if you do not practice in the Probate Division.  The judges and their staff have been providing an informative and interesting presentation for many years at the BLA, and it is always well received by our members.

Our next regular meeting will be held at Grand Duke’s Restaurant located at 980 75th Street in Downers Grove, Illinois on Thursday,  February 20, 2025 starting at 6 pm.  They serve Homestyle Eastern European dishes and beer, and they have a large conference room for our meeting. If you have not been able to attend a meeting for some time, we hope you will join us.   Richard Gleason, a Litigation Counsel with the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, will be giving us a presentation involving the recent sex scandal at Penn State University, and the many conflict of interest and ethical issues encountered by the individuals involved in this scandal.  Everyone who attends this meeting will get 1 hour of CLE ethics credit for this presentation.

Zoom Meeting

Our January 2025 meeting will be held by Zoom. Zoom login information will be sent to all BLA members prior to the Zoom meeting. We hope to see many of you who are out of town and have not been able to attend any recent meetings in person. If you have any questions, please contact Rick Valek at rvalek@stonejohnsonlaw.com. We are pleased to have Rolf Achilles join us during this meeting.

• Rolf Achilles is an independent art and architecture historian based in Chicago, and an Adjunct Associate Professor Emeritus of Art History and Historic Preservation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has organized and curated numerous exhibitions, including the Treasured Legacy (Mucha in Chicago) , and he will be discussing the artwork of Alphonse Mucha during his presentation.

Please join us on Thursday, December 19, 2024 for the annual BLA Holiday dinner and party at Cafe Prague restaurant located at 6710 West Belmont Avenue in Chicago, IL. Drinks will be served at 6pm and a traditional Bohemian dinner will be served starting at 7pm. Everyone is encouraged to bring unwrapped toys which will be distributed to children in need after the event. Special thanks to our member, Michael Jordan, for organizing this event again this year.

Our third regular meeting will be held at Grand Duke’s Restaurant located at 980 75th Street in Downers Grove, Illinois on Thursday,  November 21, 2024 starting at 6 pm. This is the first time one of our meetings will be held at this location. They serve Homestyle Eastern European dishes and beer, and they have a large conference room for our meeting. If you have not been able to attend a meeting for some time, we hope to see many of you at this meeting.  One of our members, Clifford Scott-Rudnick, will be giving us a presentation on “Artificial Intelligence and the Law.” We anticipate that everyone who attends this meeting will get CLE credit for this presentation.

Reception at 6.pm.

Meeting and dinner at 6:30p.m.

The next regular meeting of the Bohemian Lawyers Association of Chicago will feature Judge Thomas More Donnelly of the Commercial Calendar Section of the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County . Following dinner, he will be giving a presentation on recent cases and important issues that attorneys should be aware of, that practice in the Commercial Calendar Section of the Law Division of Cook County.

We have scheduled another Scholarship Reception at the Law Offices at Mayer Brown at their downtown Chicago office located at 71 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL. The event will take place from 5 pm to 7 pm on Tuesday, September 10, 2024. We hope to see many of our past Scholarship recipients and current BLA members at this event.

Our first event this year will be an informal summer gathering at Alter Brewing located at 1170 W 22nd St, Oak Brook, IL on Thursday night July 25, 2024 from 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm. We will have appetizers and drinks as well as a reserved area where we can visit and socialize. This event is a great way for our new members and potential new members to learn more about the Bohemian Lawyer’s Association and enjoy an evening with all of us.

Alpine Banquet House (map)

Official swearing in of the 2024-25 slate of Executive Officers and Board of Managers at Alpine Banquet House in Westchester (featuring a Czech-inspired menu)

Presentation of Scholarship Awards to 2024-2025 Recipients

Presentation of Liberty Awards to Andrew H. Schapiro, Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP and United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic, 2014-2017

Special operatic program presented by Lyric Opera Stage Artists

Please RSVP to Rich Vavra at richard.vavra88@gmail.com by Friday, May 10

Tickets $90

Payment accepted at Installation Dinner in cash or by check made payable to “Bohemian Lawyers Association of Chicago”.

Meeting at Cafe Prague, 6710 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, Illinois

Reception at 6 p.m.

Meeting and Dinner at 6:30 p.m.

We will be joined by Judge Kathy Flanagan, Acting Presiding Judge, Law Division, Circuit Court of Cook County.  Also, Karen Conti, the author of Amazon.com: Killing Time with John Wayne Gacy: Defending America's Most Evil Serial Killer on Death Row eBook : Conti, Karen: Kindle Store and host of the Karen Conti Show on WGN Radio, will be joining us and speaking about her book. 

Meeting at Cafe Prague, 6710 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, Illinois

Reception at 6 p.m.

Meeting and Dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Annual BLA Probate Judges Night. We will be joined by Presiding Judge Daniel Malone and judges from the Cook County Circuit Court, Probate Division.

Sawa’s Old Warsaw

9200 West Cermak Road, Broadview, IL 60155

Reception at 6:00 pm.

Meeting and Dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Our speaker will be our BLA Scholarship winner Monica Pechous, who will give a presentation on Czech and Slovak Legal Structure and Intellectual Property. 

CLE will be available for this presentation. 

Zoom Meeting

Our January 2024 meeting will be held by Zoom. Zoom login information has been sent to all BLA members. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Seliga at jseliga@mayerbrown.com.

• George Drost will lead a presentation regarding the remarkable new book The Quiet Hero: Bridge to Freedom, which is inspired by the memoirs of George’s father, John Anton Drost. 

• We will be joined by Cecilia Rokusek, the CEO of the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, who will tell us about the exciting plans for NCSML’s 50th anniversary this year.

• We are extending a special invitation to our BLA Scholarship recipients from all prior years to say hello and provide an update since you were awarded a BLA Scholarship. 

BLA Holiday/Christmas Dinner

Please join us Thursday, December 14, at the BLA Holiday/Christmas Dinner at Café Prague, 6710 W. Belmont, with drinks at 6 p.m. and dinner beginning at 7 p.m.  We are grateful to Michael Jordan for once again organizing this event.  You are invited to bring unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots. 

Joint Meeting

The Annex
5216 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60630  

6:30pm:  Cocktails & Networking

7:00pm:  Dinner and General Members Meeting
7:30pm: CLE

The Advocates Society and the Bohemian Lawyers’ Association have united to present this CLE program. This program has been approved for 1hr MCLE credit. If you're participating as a member of the Bohemian Lawyers’ Association, kindly register as a non-member and forward the invoice to Rich Vavra at richard.vavra88@gmail.com.

CLE: Dr. Diana Uchiyama from the Lawyers’ Assistance Program (LAP) will be presenting a 1-hour CLE presentation called “Breaking the Cycle: Managing Imposter Syndrome and Perfectionism".

Impostor syndrome (IS) refers to an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be and it has links to maladaptive perfectionism and fear of failure. It can affect anyone no matter their social status, work background, skill level, or degree of expertise. 

Participants in this program will learn: 

• Why lawyers, particularly, early career, women and minorities are a vulnerable population

• The common mental health issues associated with Imposter Syndrome and Maladaptive Perfectionism

• The signs and characteristics associated with Imposter Syndrome and Maladaptive Perfectionism; and

• What you can do to minimize these feelings as you navigate the practice of law and your career as an attorney

Presenter:
Dr. Diana Uchiyama
Executive Director, Lawyer's Assistance Program (LAP)

To register, please use the link below:

Advocates Society - General Meeting & CLE (wildapricot.org)

Meeting at Cafe Prague, 6710 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, Illinois

Drinks at 6 p.m.

Meeting and Dinner at 6:30 p.m.

We will be joined by disability attorney Jeff Rabin, who will be offering a CLE presentation.

Meeting at Alpine Banquet House, 11141 W. Roosevelt Road, Westchester, Illinois

Reception and Cash Bar at 5 p.m. in conjunction with BLA Scholarship Golf Outing

Meeting and Dinner at 7 p.m.

Bohemian Lawyers of Chicago Scholarship Fund with Manifest Films and “Czechs in Chicago” Present the 5th Annual Golf Outing and Dinner

Per Golfer $150, Hole Sponsor $100, Dinner Only $50

Noon - Registration and Light Lunch, Putting Contest

12:30 p.m. - Golf Foursomes - Best Ball Start

Fresh Meadows, 2144 South Wolf Road, Hillside, Illinois

5:00 p.m. - Food and Refreshments (Cash Bar)

Alpine Banquet House, Roosevelt and Wolf Road, Westchester, Illinois

For General/Fees/Hole Sponsorship Information

Please Contact:

Michael F. Jordan, Attorney at Law, (773) 293-1212, attorney@michaelfjordan.com

Please join us for a summer gathering with BLA members and friends at Alter Brewing in Oak Brook. We will have a reserved space on the patio and can move inside in the event of inclement weather.

Official swearing in of the 2023-24 slate of Executive Officers and Board of Managers at Alpine Banquet House in Westchester (featuring a Czech-inspired menu)

Presentation of Scholarship Awards to 2023-2024 Recipients

Presentation of Liberty Awards to Joe Kolar and Prof. Fenyk

Special operatic program presented by Lyric Opera Stage Artists

Please RSVP to Rich Vavra at richard.vavra88@gmail.com by Friday, May 12

Tickets $80

Payment accepted at Installation Dinner in cash or by check made payable to “Bohemian Lawyers Association of Chicago”

Join us for a networking social event hosted by the Bohemian Lawyers Association on May 11, 2023 from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CT. The event will be held at Mayer Brown, LLP, 71 South Wacker Drive (32nd floor), Chicago, IL 60606.

If you are a law student, recent graduate, or newly admitted attorney, this is a great opportunity to meet other new attorneys and experienced attorneys as well. If you are a “seasoned” attorney, this is the perfect opportunity to share your wisdom!

RSVP: There is no cost to attend, but please rsvp to cwilloughby2@niu.edu by May 4, 2023 as all visitors must be registered and check in with a photo ID in the lobby before proceeding to the 32nd floor.

Café Prague

Voting on slate of 2023-24 officers

Location TBD (either Bohemian Crystal or Cafe Prague)

Location TBD (either Bohemian Crystal or Cafe Prague)

Location TBD (either Bohemian Crystal or Cafe Prague)

Location TBD (either Bohemian Crystal or Cafe Prague)

Location TBD (either Bohemian Crystal or Cafe Prague)