Here at G & G Law, one of our core values is “highest ethics.” As lawyers licensed in Illinois, we’re obviously bound by the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct (“Illinois Rules”), and we take that responsibility seriously. 

Our “highest ethics” core value goes even further, though. In everything we do, we consider whether it is the right thing to do: for our clients, for our society, for our country, for our globe, for ourselves. 

Tuesday, November 3rd is Election Day. It’s a big one. 

The Illinois Rules require that lawyers: 

“[F]urther the public’s understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the justice system because legal institutions in a constitutional democracy depend on popular participation and support to maintain their authority.” (Preamble, Paragraph 6)

There’s no legal institution in our constitutional democracy more important than our electoral system. As lawyers, we have special responsibilities as public citizens and are called to encourage popular participation in elections.

Even beyond the rules, I believe the right thing to do for our country is to make Election Day a national holiday. Unfortunately, I don’t have the power to make that happen nationally, but I do have the privilege and power to encourage broader acknowledgment of its importance. 

To that effect, the offices of G & G Law will be closed from November 2nd – 4th to focus on Election Day.

 

To be honest, I’m worried I’m not doing enough. 

I’m a mom. I’m a business owner. I’m a wife. I’m a friend. A daughter. A sister. A person trying to find and take care of herself. An employer. I have allergies. I volunteered to help my college find a new dean. My 3-year old is doing a sleep regression thing. My 5-year old is doing remote kindergarten with a pod. They’re dressing up as Mario and a witch for Halloween. We’re in the middle of a Global Pandemic(!). I’m trying to help Black Lives Matter.

Every single day I tackle the items on my to-do list. And every single day more items get added than get crossed out.

I talk to business owners and, you know, people, everyday. I know I’m not the only one feeling overwhelmed.

So a pep talk to our readers, and a pep talk to myself.

Take care of yourselves. It’s the first step in the process of caring for others. Take the time to figure out what your special gift to the world is – your own superpower – and prioritize doing THAT.

Of course, vote. Please, please vote. If you are privileged enough to have some power in your sphere of influence, use it to make it easier for others to vote. 

And then do your thing.    

Here at G & G Law, we ROCK at analyzing information, synthesizing it to its most important parts, and prioritizing what’s most important about it for our clients. I also have that debater / lawyer component of my personality – that thing that is why people are always saying “lawyers are just the best and so fun to be around.” 😉

That’s my superpower, and I can use it for good. 

A friend randomly reached out the other day to get my take on something happening in politics. He was being ganged up on in an argument about it with his family and needed some reassurance of the logic behind his take. It was the best thing ever to be able to help. (Sidenote: please, please reach out if I can help you analyze something or craft a persuasive argument. Even if it’s just to remind yourself of what you already think. It would be my GREATEST PLEASURE.)

These conversations, with friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, Facebook groups*, TikTok, ourselves – they’re so important. The basis of our democracy! We all need to be rested, fed, taken care of, brave, and resilient to be ready for these conversations. That’s tough to come by these days. 

My team has been working incredibly hard. Through unprecedented difficult times, they have been helping our clients more than ever before. They need this time. If you’re in a position of power, especially fellow law firms with our attendant special responsibilities  – I urge you to help those around you have the time and space to participate in our democracy too. 

The G & G Law team will be back full force on Thursday, more ready than ever to provide excellent legal services to our clients and to make legal services accessible to small businesses. 

VOTE!

~Michelle 

 

*yes, I half-watched half of the Social Network documentary and know that I could write a whole book on social media and its relationship to democracy. Please use social media smartly and try to resist any influence from foreign actors.

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