The Trusted Adviser May 2010 | Volume 3 • Number 5

In the News

ATG and Waukegan Attorneys Receive Lake County Bar Association's Liberty Bell Award

Since 1996, the Lake County Bar Association (LCBA) of Illinois has presented a Liberty Bell Award to both an individual and an organization for outstanding commitment and service to the community.
 
The individual award went to co-recipients Doug Stiles and David Leibowitz, two Waukegan attorneys who were instrumental in organizing the LCBA Mortgage Foreclosure Help Desk. Stiles is a partner in the firm of Fuqua, Winter & Stiles, Ltd.; Leibowitz is managing attorney of Lakelaw. They joined forces with members of the LCBA's Civil Trial and Appeals Committee to create the Mortgage Foreclosure Help Desk, where they and other volunteers have helped many Lake County homeowners by providing basic information about the mortgage foreclosure process, outside courtrooms where foreclosure cases are heard.
 
The organizational award was presented to Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. In the wake of the mortgage foreclosure crisis, ATG has been a leader in bringing services to at-risk homeowners through its "Fix Your Mortgage," events in Chicago and "Keep Your Home," events in the suburbs. The March 6, 2010, "Keep Your Home" event was co-sponsored by the LCBA and held at the University Center in Grayslake. More than 700 people attended, representing 300+ households. Thanks to all volunteers — many of them ATG attorneys and LDBA members — all received mortgage counseling and qualified homeowners received assistance in applying for mortgage modification at the event. Chief Judge Booras said, "As a result of the leadership of Attorneys' Title, the organizations they galvanized, and the resources they marshaled, many people in Lake County were assisted. We are proud of their dedicated volunteer work."
 
The Liberty Bell Award originated in the 1960s in Michigan to honor extraordinary service to the justice system and dedication to the furtherance of the administration of justice. In 2005, the Circuit Court of Lake County began its tradition of presenting the awards in Memory of Judge Thomas R. Smoker, a respected Lake County judge who passed away in 2004. The awards are decided upon by a vote of Lake County's circuit judges.




From left: Award recipient Douglas W. Stiles; ATG President Peter J. Birnbaum, ATG Senior Vice President Henry L. Shulruff; award recipient David P. Leibowitz, and Chief Judge James Booras, who announced the award.






THE TRUSTED ADVISER is published by Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc., P.O. Box 9136, Champaign, IL 61826-9136. Inquiries may be made directly to Mary Beth McCarthy, Corporate Communications Manager. ATG®, ATG® plus logo, are marks of Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. and are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The contents of the The Trusted Adviser © Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc.

[Last update: 5-6-10]

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