The Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago

Est. 1934

The Catholic Lawyers Guild is a Chicago-based bar association that is organized to promote the social, intellectual, temporal and spiritual welfare of its members.


Welcome from our 2023-2024 CLG President!

James Murray

News from the Community



Event Recap

CLG’s Interfaith Panel on the Practice of Law & Religion: Can Your Occupation Be Your Vocation?

On Wednesday, April 6th, Judge Ed Washington II, Guild President, led an interfaith panel discussion on the intersection of faith and the law. This panel examined the age-old question: Does a lawyer’s faith impact their practice of law? Can it? Should it? The panel included Fr. Greg O’Meara, S.J., attorney Reem H. Odeh, and attorney Jonathan D. Lubin. Over 80 members of the CLG community joined!

Learn more about our panelists here.


From NPR

Illinois Is The 1st State To Tell Police They Can’t Lie To Minors In Interrogations

Senate Bill 64 makes anything said or done during restorative justice practices privileged information. (Restorative justice involves meetings among offenders, victims and others in the community with the goal of identifying and repairing the harm and moving forward.)


From Catholic Star-Herald

Martyr symbolizes church’s condemnation of the mafia

Italian judge Rosario Livatino, who was killed by the Mafia in Sicily in 1990, was beatified on Sunday, May 9, 2021, the last stage before possible sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.


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Prayer

Providing opportunities for reflection and union with God has been a crucial part of the Guild’s life, accomplished through retreats, days of recollection, and the Red Mass.

God has been a crucial part of the Guild’s life, accomplished through retreats, days of recollection, and the Red Mass.

Service

Some notable services provided by the Guild have been pro bono service to immigrants at the request of Cardinal Samuel Stritch in the 1960s and Cardinal Joseph Bernardin in 1970s , the hearings on sexual abuse conducted at the request of Cardinal Francis George in 2002, and our recent adoption of the Catholic Charities Legal Clinic as a service opportunity for our members.

Celebration

Annually we organize the Red Mass at Holy Name Cathedral, the Mass that has opened the Fall Term for courts since 1245 A.D. asking the Holy Spirit’s help for lawyers and judges. In tandem with the Red Mass, we celebrate with a reception with lawyers who have incarnated Christ in the world through their work.


Upcoming Guild Events