John Marshall Alumni Association President Bill Bates (left) and Freedom Award luncheon Chairman Steve Yonover (second from right) congratulate honorees (from left) Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans, Joy Cunningham, Dorothy Li, Judge Cheryl Johnson, Philip Crihfield, Judge Themis Karnezis, Yonover, and Richard Colombik.

The John Marshall Law School 2002 Freedom Award luncheon drew nearly 500 people to honor Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and six Distinguished Service Award recipients.

Evans, a 1969 graduate of John Marshall, was presented the Freedom Award in recognition of his public service career in the judiciary, the legal profession and the Chicago community.

Evans recalled walking through the doors of John Marshall "with enthusiasm, high hopes and few worries," despite what America was facing in the civil rights movement and the Viet Nam war.

Evans recalled the bonds he made at John Marshall, with Professors Claude Carr, Bob Nye, Joe Gordon, Tom Hynes, Ron Domsky, Jack Ingram, Palmer Edwards and Gil Johnston and his classmates, including Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Fitzgerald, Larry Drury, Walt Williams and Len Amari.

"My experience with them molded me. We focused on a legal system with everyone treated equally, and disputes would be settled amicably and fairly," Evans said. The John Marshall Law School also taught him that the study of law was rigorous, but it was in pursuit of a high and noble calling.

"My quest is a graceful one, so far," Evans said, as he continues to believe in assisting people. "I'm simply a symbol. A representative of the bench and bar and those who toil each day…for all people, for all time."

Evans was joined on the dais by Distinguished Service Award recipients 1980 alumnus Richard Colombik, a CPA and tax attorney who founded Colombik & Associates in Schaumburg, and is president of International Tax Associates; Philip Crihfield, a 1971 graduate and an intellectual property attorney with Sidley Austin Brown & Wood; 1982 alumna Joy V. Cunningham, senior vice president and general counsel for Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Also, 1983 alumna Judge Cheryl Johnson, a member of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the criminal Supreme Court of Texas; Judge Themis Karnezis, an alumnus of the class of 1970 and justice of the Illinois Appellate Court; and Dorothy In-Lan Wang Li, associate dean of library services.

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Birkett Addresses Criminal Justice Clinic Class

John Marshall alumnus Joseph Birkett (left), DuPage County State's Attorney, was welcomed to John Marshall by (from left) student Lance Northcutt who clerked in Birkett's office, Clinical Professor Eileen Halpin, and Associate Dean John Corkery. Birkett was a guest speaker in the last Criminal Justice Clinic class of the semester.

Stephen Brooks Receives CBA Special Recognition

Professor Ronald Domsky (left) and Professor Kathryn Kennedy (right), director of the Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits, congratulates Stephen Brooks (center), on receiving special recognition from the Chicago Bar Association Federal Taxation Committee. Brooks, a January 2002 graduate, received the honor as the highest-ranking tax student at John Marshall.

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Newly appointed Associate Dean Dorothy Li (center) accepts the Distinguished Service Award from Steve Yonover and Celia Gamrath, co-chairs of the Freedom Award luncheon.

The board of trustees of The John Marshall Law School has promoted Dorothy Li to associate dean of library services in recognition of her many years of service to the law school, its library, and its international programs.

Li was born in Shanghai, China, and raised in Taiwan. She received a law degree from National Taiwan University, emigrated to the United States and continued her education earning a degree in library science and an M.B.A. from Dominican University. She has taught and lectured at colleges and universities in the United States and China.

She has been a member of the John Marshall staff since 1992 serving as an associate professor of law and director of library services at The John Marshall Law School and Chicago Bar Association Joint Library.

Li has served as president of the Asian-American Law Librarian Caucus of the American Association of Law Libraries, and president of the Midwest Chapter of the Chinese American Librarians Association. In 1994, the Chicago Association of Law Libraries presented her with the Agnes and Harvey T. Reid Award for Outstanding Contribution to Law Librarianship.

Li has used her heritage and language skills to the benefit of The John Marshall Law School. Today she also serves as coordinator for China Affairs. She has assisted Dean Robert Gilbert Johnston in his efforts to build a partnership with the People's Republic of China State Intellectual Property Office. Her work with Dean Johnston, starting with a 1993 trip to China, has led to great inroads into the Chinese legal community.

The first delegation from the State Intellectual Property Office arrived at John Marshall in 1994, and the exchange of John Marshall Law School faculty and Chinese attorneys has been strengthened through a number of initiatives. John Marshall has trained 50 SIPO attorneys. In 2000, John Marshall initiated an LL.M. program in intellectual property law for Chinese attorneys. The law school presented LL.M. degrees to 14 attorneys in a special Beijing ceremony in January 2002.

Li has also coordinated John Marshall programs for Chinese attorneys through the Chicago Sister Cities Program and the U.S. State Department.