Professor Kathleen Dillon Narko Receives Liberty Achievement Award
On August 3, the Section sponsored a Welcome and Liberty Achievement Award Reception on the terrace of the Loews Hotel in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. Sharon Sayles Belton, Thomson Reuters vice president of Government Affairs and Community Relations, presented the Liberty Achievement Award to Kathleen Dillon Narko, professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Evanston, Illinois. “We honor Professor Narko for a truly exemplary and engaged legal career that is deeply embedded in community service and is a steadfast commitment to defend the rights of underrepresented populations,” Belton said during her introduction. The award recognizes lawyers and judges who take a leadership role by demonstrating, through choices made in their careers and work done in private- or public-sector positions, that they have actively promoted diversity in the legal profession.
Narko received her JD from Cornell Law School after graduating cum laude from Yale University with a bachelor of arts degree in history. Prior to teaching, Narko practiced with a large law firm, concentrating in commercial litigation and environmental, safety, and health law. She represented corporate clients in all areas of litigation, was a member of the firm’s hiring committee, and was active in pro bono litigation focused on lending discrimination and political asylum.
As a professor of Communication and Legal Reasoning at Northwestern, Narko focuses on teaching legal analysis through the vehicle of writing. She presents frequently at national and regional legal writing conferences, writes and speaks regularly on a variety of topics related to communication and legal analysis, and is an invaluable resource to her students.
Narko is a prominent member of the Chicago Bar Association, where she serves on the editorial board of the CBA Record. She serves on the board of advisers of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, where she is a member of the Legal Advisory Committee. Additionally, she is a member of the Leadership Council of the National Immigrant Justice Center.
Yolanda Eisenstein Recognized for Excellence in the Advancement of Animal Law
At the Animal Law Committee (ALC) Reception on August 3, attorney Yolanda Eisenstein of Dallas, Texas, received the Excellence in the Advancement of Animal Law Award. The award recognizes exceptional work by a member or leader of an international, national, regional, state, or local bar association’s animal law committee who, through commitment and leadership, has advanced the humane treatment of animals.
Eisenstein, a principal with Eisenstein Law Office, is an animal advocate with professional expertise in animal and wildlife law. Her practice focuses on improving the lives of animals, although she also handles cases in public finance, litigation, and communications and media mediation. A longtime TIPS leader and former ALC chair, Eisenstein is credited with establishing the ALC’s Lunch and Learn program and creating a CLE program on international trade on animals. As director of the volunteer Texas Legislative Humane Network, she has promoted legislation on behalf of animals and continues to work tirelessly to secure legislative advancements in Texas to promote animal welfare.
John R. Tarpley Honored with James K. Carroll Leadership Award
On the evening of August 4, John R. Tarpley received the James K. Carroll Leadership Award. This award honors members who have demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities and service to the Section. “John Tarpley has shown outstanding leadership, dedicated service, and endless support not just to TIPS but to the ABA as a whole,” said TIPS Chair Holly M. Polglase in her remarks. “As a leader, he has demonstrated what is possible to move the Section forward.”
Tarpley, a shareholder with Lewis Thomason in Nashville, Tennessee, has been involved in complex litigation in the areas of torts, transportation, product liability, professional liability, commercial law, and casualty defense, as well as a wide range of insurance-related matters in both state and federal courts. Certified as a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 mediator, he is regularly hired to mediate civil matters. Tarpley also has been inducted into the Tennessee Academy of Mediators.
He is a former TIPS chair, former member of TIPS Council, and a former member of the ABA Journal Board of Editors. As president of the Tennessee Bar Association, he established the Lawyers Care program and successfully recruited lawyers to provide more pro bono work in the state. In addition, he implemented the Leadership Law program and continues to be involved in its programming. Tarpley also was chair of the committee that created the TIPS Leadership Academy.
During the reception, Tarpley thanked the TIPS community for its longtime friendship and support.
Michael D. Green Receives Robert B. McKay Award
Also at the Leadership Award Reception and Dinner on August 4, Michael D. Green, professor at Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, received the Robert B. McKay Law Professor Award. This award was created to honor law professors committed to advancing justice, scholarship, and the legal profession, as demonstrated by their contributions to the fields of tort and insurance law.
Green is a nationally and internationally recognized torts teacher and scholar. He is a member of the European Group on Tort Law and is a founding member and executive committee member of the World Tort Law Society. This organization consists of torts scholars from Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He has written numerous articles in the torts, products liability, and scientific evidence areas and coauthored award-winning torts casebooks. He has served on the faculty at Cornell University School of Law, New York University School of Law, and Iowa College of Law.
Hall McKinley III Receives Andrew C. Hecker Memorial Award
Atlanta, Georgia, attorney Hall McKinley III was awarded the Andrew C. Hecker Memorial Award at the TIPS Council Dinner on August 2. The award recognizes a person who consistently demonstrates the qualities of leadership, outreach, enthusiasm, professionalism, and pride in TIPS and its accomplishments.
In legal practice for over 36 years, McKinley is a partner at Drew Eckl Farnham in Atlanta. His focus is commercial transportation law, construction litigation, general liability, and professional malpractice and healthcare litigation. He serves general counsel, in-house legal departments, claims departments, and risk managers in litigating matters in state and federal courts.
McKinley is president-elect for the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association Board of Directors. He also has been appointed to seven TIPS committees, including serving as chair of the CLE Board Standing Committee and program chair for the 2018 Annual Meeting. He received two awards of excellence from TIPS for promoting diversity in CLE programs and chaired the Diversity and Inclusion program at the TIPS 2015 Section Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
TIPS ALC and LIPS Partner with Safe Humane Chicago for Chicago Service Project
On August 4, the TIPS Animal Law Committee and Law in Public Service Committee partnered with Safe Humane Chicago for a successful public service project during the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago. After TIPS members spent an afternoon making dog tug toys for animals at the Anti-Cruelty Society, volunteers walked, petted, and played with rescued dogs. Called court case dogs, these animals were victims of neglect or abuse, rescued by police and animal control, and are associated with criminal court cases against their abusers. TIPS members helped socialize the dogs through play and basic obedience training. Founded in 2000, Safe Humane Chicago is based on the principle that a humane community is safer. Safe Humane Chicago seeks to reduce violence for both children and pets by focusing on education, advocacy, and second chances. n
