MCBA COMMITTEES: If you would like to join one of our committees, please fill out the form below and you will be contacted regarding your interest. If you have any questions about any of our committees, you may contact the appropriate committee chair. Their email addresses are linked below.
- Bench-Bar - Judge Paul Lawrence and Todd Miller, Committee Co-Chairs. The Bench-Bar Committee facilitates communication between the bench and the bar and work to anticipate problems or friction for a more efficient operation of courtrooms and economize client expense.
- By-Law Amendments - Hunt Henderson, Committee Chair. The By-Law Amendments Committee considers, reviews and revises (when appropriate) proposed amendments to the association's bylaws from time to time, and advises the association's officers, board of governors, and members in regard to such proposals.
- Continuing Legal Education (CLE) - Todd Miller, Committee Chair. The CLE Committee is tasked with planning CLE programs for monthly luncheon meetings as well as more specialized, half-day programs for the bar. Committee members craft topics and ideas, find qualified speakers, and coordinate the events. Affordable CLE credits is one of the primary benefits of bar membership.
- Consumer Law - Dan Deneen, Committee Chair.
- Corporate Counsel - Erin Donaldson, Committee Chair. The Corporate Counsel Committee was formed to help better integrate the local in-house/corporate counsel (“in-house counsel”) into the McLean County Bar Association. The purpose of the Committee is to design programming that helps in-house counsel gain more benefit from their membership in the Bar. In addition, the Committee also works to tap into the vast base of legal knowledge that local in-house counsel possess in order to present and exchange this information to private practitioners and the community. Finally, the Committee seeks to build networking opportunities between local in-house counsel and private practice attorneys.
- Criminal Law - Brendan Bukalski, Committee Chair.
- Family Law Committee - Michael Fenger and Katharine Gonzalez Committee Co-Chairs. The Family Law Committee is a voluntary association of attorneys who strive to improve the practice of family law in McLean County. The committee is devoted to promoting professional and ethical conduct, creating a collegian relationship among family law practitioners, maintaining effective interaction with the courts, and sponsoring continuing legal education in the area of family law.
- History/Memorial - Brendan Bukalski and Julia Davis, Committee Co-Chairs. The McLean County Bar Association History and Memorial Committee meets on a quarterly basis to discuss past and resent memorials of deceased bar members; video interviews of retiring bar members and others who have reached retirement age; archival issues for bar history, including storing bar history in the cloud drop box; community outreach and partnerships. The committee makes efforts to preserve and protect the rich history of the McLean County Bar Association for future generations. Over the past several years, interviews have taken place via audio and video with seasoned and experienced bar members to assist in preserving real perspectives of bar members as to the practice of law in McLean County. As technology changes, the committee strives to continue to preserve the records for future generations.
- Law Day - The Law Day Committee plans the annual luncheon and related activities associated with Law Day, including the presentation of the Community Service Award and Lincoln Award of Excellence.
- Lawyers In The Classroom [LITC] - Jennifer Patton Committee Chair. The Lawyers in the Classroom Committee is dedicated to serving the legal community and the communities of McLean County by providing opportunities to schools in McLean County to have volunteer attorneys present on subjects of law and the practice of law. Over the years, our volunteers have presented on subjects ranging from an introduction to the practice of law to kindergartners to specific questions regarding constitutional law for high school students to a mock trail of Romeo and Juliet that made local news. Our goal is to promote the practice of law and the respect and passion that we have for the legal profession to our youth with the hope that they will become future leaders in the legal profession.
- Mentoring - Jaime Ganschow and Angela Skinner, Committee Co-Chairs.
- Mock Trial - Matthew Koetters, Committee Chair.
- Nominations - Katy Kraft and Gina Wood, Committee Co-Chairs.
- Pro Bono - Carrie Haas, Committee Chair.
- Real Estate - Brian Garwood and Tom Hundman Committee Chair. The mission of the Real Estate Committee is to increase the proficiency of the real estate practice for the betterment of the general public and the members of the bar association.
- Scholarship - Adrian Barr, Committee Chair. The Scholarship Committee awards the $2,500 MCBA Community Service Scholarship to a second or third year law student with strong ties to McLean County (or its surrounding communities) and a demonstrated commitment to legal aid work, pro bono activities, or community service. The committee updates all forms, publicizes the scholarship, reviews all the applications, and selects a winner. The chairperson invites the winner to the MCBA Annual Holiday Luncheon for the presentation of the scholarship.
- Social - Michael Butts and Karl Bauchmoyer Committee Co-Chairs. The Social Committee plans and coordinates a variety of events for bar members throughout the year. Social events facilitate a more collegiate bar atmosphere by encouraging members to get to know each other outside of an adversarial context.