Women+ Sunday Social
2026-03-29 16:30 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Whiskey Girl Tavern, 6318 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL, 60660, United States
LAGBAC invites you to our Women+ Sunday Social at Whiskey Girl Tavern on Sunday, March 29, 2026, from 4:30 – 7:00 P.M.
Active LAGBAC members are FREE and non-members are $25. Your membership must be active to attend this event for free. If your membership is inactive, you can renew here.
Reserve or purchase your tickets here today as space is limited.

LAGBAC Board Installation Ceremony
2026-04-02 17:30 - 19:30 | Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, 151 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL, 60606, United States
LAGBAC Board Installation Ceremony

📅 When: Thursday, April 2, 2026⏰ Time: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.📍 Where: Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Join us for an evening of celebration as we install the new Executive Board and Board of Directors for the 2025-2026 term.

🍸 Drinks & light refreshments will be provided.

LAGBAC Members and Judges | FREENon-Members | $25
******* TICKETS ARE LIMITED! RSVP OR PURCHASE HERE TODAY! *******

2026 Meet the Bench Series - Judge Maryam Ahmad
2026-04-16 17:45 - 19:30 | Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, IL, 60602, United States
LAGBAC’s Mentorship Committee invites you to join us for our “Meet the Bench” Series! This is your opportunity to meet Illinois judges at the Circuit Court, Appellate Court, and Federal Court levels. Our host judges have graciously agreed to provide their perspectives of life on the bench and answer all our questions.
All active LAGBAC members, student members and judges are welcome to attend any/all of the series installments for FREE. Non-members are also welcome to attend for $30. You must RSVP at least 5 days prior to the event to secure your spot.
We will adjourn to a local establishment for a social hour afterwards.

Judge Maryam Ahmad – Circuit Court of Cook County
Thursday, April 16, 2026
5:45 P.M.
The Daley Center | 50 W. Washington – Room 1401
Chicago, IL
160 N. LaSalle St.
Chicago, IL

2026 Meet the Bench Series - Justice Cynthia Cobbs
2026-04-23 17:45 - 19:30 | Illinois Appellate Court, 160 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL, 60601, United States
LAGBAC’s Mentorship Committee invites you to join us for our “Meet the Bench” Series! This is your opportunity to meet Illinois judges at the Circuit Court, Appellate Court, and Federal Court levels. Our host judges have graciously agreed to provide their perspectives of life on the bench and answer all our questions.
All active LAGBAC members, student members and judges are welcome to attend any/all of the series installments for FREE. Non-members are also welcome to attend for $30. You must RSVP at least 5 days prior to the event to secure your spot.
We will adjourn to a local establishment for a social hour afterwards.

Justice Cynthia Cobbs – Illinois Appellate Court
Thursday, April 23, 2026
5:45 P.M.
160 N. LaSalle St.
Chicago, IL

Meet the Bar - April 24, 2026
2026-04-24 18:00 - 20:00 | Sidetrack, 3349 N Halsted St., Chicago, IL, 60657, United States
Enjoy networking and cocktails with LAGBAC members and LGBTQ+ lawyers and legal professionals at LAGBAC’s “Meet the Bar” on Friday, April 24, 2026, from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. at Sidetrack! Active LAGBAC members are FREE. Non-members are $25. Get your tickets here. We hope to see you there!

Interested in sponsoring one of LAGBAC’s “Meet the Bar” events? Please email us at info@lagbac.org for details.

2026 Meet the Bench Series - Judge Mary Rowland
2026-04-28 17:30 - 19:30 | Federal Dirksen Building, 219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL, 60604
LAGBAC’s Mentorship Committee invites you to join us for our “Meet the Bench” Series! This is your opportunity to meet Illinois judges at the Circuit Court, Appellate Court, and Federal Court levels. Our host judges have graciously agreed to provide their perspectives of life on the bench and answer all our questions.
All active LAGBAC members, student members and judges are welcome to attend any/all of the series installments for FREE. Non-members are also welcome to attend for $30. You must RSVP at least 5 days prior to the event to secure your spot.
We will adjourn to a local establishment for a social hour afterwards.

Judge Mary Rowland – U.S. District Court
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
5:30 P.M.
Federal Dirksen Building | 219 S. Dearborn
Chicago, IL

Meet the Bar - May 29, 2026
2026-05-29 18:00 - 20:00 | Sidetrack, 3349 N Halsted St., Chicago, IL, 60657, United States
Enjoy networking and cocktails with LAGBAC members and LGBTQ+ lawyers and legal professionals at LAGBAC’s “Meet the Bar” on Friday, May 29, 2026, from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. at Sidetrack! Active LAGBAC members are FREE. Non-members are $25. Get your tickets here. We hope to see you there!
Join our special guest The Chicago Therapy Collective as we recognize Mental Health Awareness Month!

Interested in sponsoring one of LAGBAC’s “Meet the Bar” events? Please email us at info@lagbac.org for details.

LGBTQ+ Justice Town Hall Forum | Pride Month CLE
2026-06-02 17:30 - 19:30 | Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, 151 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL, 60606, United States
The LGBTQ Section of the Cook County Bar Association presents:
LGBTQ+ Justice Town Hall Forum
🌈 Pride Month CLE 🌈

Join us for an engaging and timely Continuing Legal Education (CLE) event in honor of Pride Month. This timely program will bring together attorneys, elected officials, and community leaders to examine the current landscape of LGBTQIA+ rights and civil rights advocacy through an engaging town hall discussion. Panelists will explore key issues impacting the LGBTQIA+ community, including access to justice, recent legal and policy developments, and the role of legal professionals in advancing equity and inclusion. Attendees will gain insight into effective advocacy strategies and ways to support meaningful, community-driven change.
This CLE is FREE for active members of the Cook County Bar Association (CCBA), LAGBAC – Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association, the Alliance of Illinois Judges (AIJ), the Chicago Bar Association (CBA). Non-Members are $35.00.
*****
To receive CLE credit for this event, please enter your ARDC number in the “Order Notes” section at checkout. 1 hour CLE Credit still pending.
*****
Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Time: 5:30 P.M.
Location:
Hinshaw & Culbertson151 N. Franklin St., Ste. 2500Chicago, IL 60606
RSVP here
Panelists

Precious Brady-DavisMWRD Commissioner & LGBTQ+ Rights Activist

Precious Brady-Davis (she/her) is an award-winning advocate, communications strategist, public speaker, and the celebrated author of I Have Always Been Me. She currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer at Center on Halsted, the largest LGBTQ+ community center in the Midwest, where she leads organizational strategy, cross-sector partnerships, and initiatives that drive measurable impact across multiple sites.
A trailblazer in American politics, Precious is the first openly Black transgender woman elected to public office in Cook County. She serves as a Commissioner at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, elected by over one million voters. In this role, she champions clean water access, environmental justice, and the protection of Lake Michigan—drinking water source for more than five million people.
Precious began her nonprofit career at Center on Halsted as Youth Outreach Coordinator, where she launched a $1.6 million CDC-funded initiative reaching more than 3,000 African American and Latinx LGBTQ+ youth with HIV prevention, education, and leadership programming. She went on to lead diversity recruitment and policy initiatives as Assistant Director at Columbia College Chicago, advancing inclusive excellence across higher education.
She later held multiple senior roles at the Sierra Club, including Associate Regional Communications Director. Her work spanned national campaigns promoting renewable energy, environmental justice, and corporate accountability, crafting communications strategies that mobilized grassroots action and influenced federal policy.
With over a decade of experience at the intersection of racial, gender, and environmental justice, Precious Brady-Davis brings authenticity, vision, and impact to every table she joins. Her dynamic career has included collaborations with global figures such as President Joe Biden, Jennifer Hudson, Miley Cyrus, HBO, and MAC Cosmetics. As a sought-after speaker, she has delivered powerful talks at leading institutions including the University of Cambridge, Loyola University Chicago, Northwestern University, Hampshire College, Reed College, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
Precious’s journey reflects an unwavering commitment to equity, systems change, and the transformative power of storytelling.
Precious resides in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood with her husband, Myles Brady-Davis, and their two daughters, Zayn and Zyon.
She is proud to lead with purpose, courage, and spirit.
Aisha N. DavisSenior Policy Counsel, ACLU Illinois

Aisha Davis (she/her) is an attorney by training and has dedicated her legal career to civil rights and human rights advocacy. Aisha and has worked in policy and advocacy both domestically and internationally, and currently serves as senior policy counsel at the ACLU of IL. In this role, she focuses on LGBTQ+ rights and policing in the State of Illinois.

Although she calls Chicago home, Aisha was born and raised in the Washington, DC area. Growing up near the nation’s capitol inspired Aisha‘s passion for advocacy, and her family’s influence sparked her desire to use her voice alongside her communities.
She obtained her JD from Columbia Law School and LLM from the University of London in Human Rights, Conflict, and Justice, completing the degree program with a dissertation on intersectionality and international human rights. Outside of her work in advocacy, Aisha enjoys Black speculative fiction and most things nerdy.
Antonio KingDirector of LGBTQ+ Affairs, City of Chicago

Antonio King (he/his) is a longtime public health advocate, community leader, and civil rights champion serving as the City of Chicago’s first-ever Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs. Appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, King leads the city’s efforts to advance equity, inclusion, and opportunity for LGBTQ+ Chicagoans through policy development, interdepartmental collaboration, and community engagement.
With more than two decades of service at the Chicago Department of Public Health, King previously served as the department’s LGBTQ+ Health and Outreach Liaison, where he became widely recognized for his work in HIV/AIDS awareness, health equity, youth advocacy, and outreach to underserved communities. A respected voice in Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community, he has dedicated his career to addressing disparities in healthcare, housing, safety, and economic opportunity while amplifying the voices of Black LGBTQ+ residents and other marginalized populations.
King is also a founding member of the Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus and has worked alongside numerous community organizations, including Howard Brown Health and TaskForce Prevention and Community Services. His leadership and advocacy earned him induction into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2024.
As Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs, King is focused on strengthening protections and resources for LGBTQ+ youth, older adults, transgender and nonbinary residents, and LGBTQ+-owned businesses throughout Chicago. His work reflects a lifelong commitment to building a safer, healthier, and more inclusive city for all.
Nathan MaxwellSenior Attorney, Lambda Legal Midwest Office

Nathan Maxwell (he/his) is a Senior Attorney at Lambda Legal’s Midwest Regional Office, based in Chicago, IL. He is the lead attorney in Iowa Safe Schools v. Reynolds, in which Lambda Legal—along with ACLU of Iowa and Jenner & Block LLP—is challenging SF 496, a sweeping Iowa law that seeks to erase any recognition of LGBTQ+ people from public schools, ban books with sexual or LGBTQ+ content, and forcibly out trans or nonbinary students.
Before joining the team at Lambda Legal, Nathan was an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Federal Public Defender in the District of Arizona. Nathan worked in the Capital Habeas Unit, representing people on death row in Arizona, Utah, and Texas in habeas, clemency, and end stage litigation. Nathan clerked for Judge Terrence Berg in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and for Judge Amy Totenberg in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Before clerking, Nathan was the Justice Franklin D. Cleckley Fellow for the West Virginia Innocence Project at the West Virginia University College of Law, where he represented wrongly convicted people in prisons in West Virginia and Mississippi, supervised law students in the legal aid clinic, and co-taught a law school seminar on habeas corpus.
Nathan Maxwell is a 2016 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, where he was awarded the 2016 James C. Hormel Public Service Award. Nathan also completed the Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy from the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice (formerly the School of Social Service Administration).
Prior to law school, received a Bachelor of Science in Human Health Studies from Arizona State University in 2008. Nathan worked as an outreach specialist at the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS, as a case manager for adults living with serious mental illnesses, and as the coordinator for a program seeking to improve physical health outcomes for adults living with serious mental illnesses and chronic diseases.
Nathan is admitted to the State Bar of Arizona and Illinois.
Lamont RobinsonAlderman, Chicago’s 4th Ward

Lamont Robinson (he/his) is a lifelong Chicagoan who has dedicated his life to giving back to the city through public service, business, education, and youth mentorship. He is an accomplished businessman and holds an undergraduate degree in business marketing from Clark Atlanta University and an MBA from National Louis University. He has owned and operated The Robinson & Caban Insurance Group and served as a business professor at Harold Washington College. He also directed the Kappa Leadership Institute, a program that prepares young men for success in college and beyond.
Since 2018, Alderman Robinson has also served as the State Representative for the 5th district, where he has proven himself to be a tireless advocate for his constituents. He has worked hard to secure funding for critical infrastructure projects and social services, and his experience at the state level has given him a deep understanding of how government works.
Now, as the Alderman of the 4th Ward, Alderman Robinson is committed to leveraging his experience to build a better Chicago for all residents.

Marcell TaylorModerator

This Pride CLE is Graciously Sponsored by:

Hinshaw & Culbertson

LAGBAC – Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association

The LGBTQ Section of the Cook County Bar Association

The Alliance of Illinois Judges (AIJ)

The LGBTQIA+ Committee of the Chicago Bar Association

LAGBAC and IPLAC Annual Pride Mixer
2026-06-03 17:30 - 19:30 | Punch Bowl Social, 310 N. Green St., Chicago, IL, 60607, United States
Come celebrate Pride Month with LAGBAC – Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association and the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago – IPLAC Pride Mixer!

WHEN: Wednesday, June 3, 2026
TIME: 5:30 – 7:30 P.M.
LOCATION: Punch Bowl Social | 310 N. Green St.

Register here! See you there!

LAGBAC Pride Month CLE - June 9, 2026
2026-06-09 17:30 - 18:30 | Live Webcast via Zoom
Join LAGBAC, Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association, for a timely Pride Month CLE discussion with Professor Stacey Sobel, Associate Dean for Research & Faculty Development and Professor of Law at Western State College of Law.
This program uses the history and legal framework of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement as a lens to understand the development of LGBTQ+ equality and the continuing work required to build truly inclusive legal institutions and workplaces. Drawing on legal history, constitutional doctrine, and current events, Professor Stacey Sobel will examine how race-based civil rights advocacy and litigation strategies helped shape the trajectory of LGBTQ+ rights, and where those models have fallen short for people who live at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities.
The program will focus on how lawyers, judges, and legal organizations can foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in practice, with special attention to the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people of color in the legal system and legal profession.
Attendance for all active LAGBAC members is FREE and we encourage you to attend. You can register here. Once you have registered, you will receive a link to register your email address so you can receive the login credentials for the webcast.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out here. We hope you will join us!

Lavender Law Rooftop Celebration
2026-07-15 17:30 - 20:00 | Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, 151 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL, 60606, United States
LAGBAC – Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association presents the Lavender Law Rooftop Celebration on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, from 5:30 – 8:00 P.M. at Hinshaw & Culbertson’s Rooftop located at 151 N. Franklin St., Ste. 2500, Chicago, IL.
Please RSVP here to secure your spot! See you there!
Presenting Sponsors:

Hollywood Beach Clean Up - July 19, 2026
2026-07-19 11:00 - 14:00 | Hollywood Beach, Bryn Mawr & DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60660, United States
SAVE THE DATE!

Join LAGBAC at the bike racks at Bryn Mawr & DuSable Lake Shore Drive on Sunday, July 19, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. as we help clean up the beach this summer!
Please RSVP here so we can share any updates before the event. If you have work gloves, please bring them along!
Let’s make a difference together! We hope to see you in July!
