Installation Speech Raises First $2,000 of the Year for DCBF
In keeping with our tradition, my first President’s Page will be the text of the speech I delivered to our esteemed members and guests who were in attendance at the DCBA’s Annual Meeting & Installation Event held this past June 3rd. To make sense of this speech, you first need to know that on the morning of June 3rd as I returned to my office from court, I received an email containing a "Speaker’s Challenge." The challenge was offered as a unilateral contract. Should I choose to accept by performing, I was to include 10 phrases within my speech (devised by the offerors). If I succeeded in doing so, then – and only then -- I would secure a pledge of $1000 to the DuPage County Bar Foundation as offered by the magnanimous troublemakers responsible for issuing the challenge. Upon reading the phrases, I immediately dismissed the challenge as something which, if accepted, could jeopardize what I hoped would otherwise be a quality speech. In the hours that followed my decision, I repeatedly found myself pulling out and glancing at the printed list of phrases as I reviewed my speech materials. The expressions on the challenge-list were in no way consistent with my speech; they were sayings that more represented stumbling blocks than the sort of prose one would be proud of authoring, much less uttering in front of an expectant group of over 230 of my professional peers, family and friends.
As the afternoon progressed, I nervously went through my own sort of "High Noon" showdown. The clock kept ticking as the event drew nearer with every minute. Just imagine. I could raise $1000 for our Bar Foundation within minutes of assuming the DCBA helm. Such an achievement would certainly be the among the most productive initial 17 minutes spent by any DCBA President in our 131 year history. Being somewhat of a gamer, I finally succumbed to the Speaker’s Challenge, drew my pen and started quickly to feather into my 17 minute speech the series of lead-balloon-type-phrases that comprised the challenge list. With only minutes to spare, I left my office armed with my legal pad of chicken scratch and headed to the event, confident that I was well prepared and capable of completing the challenge.
I am pleased to report that the offered challenge was fully performed, and not only have we received a $1000 payment from the firm of Knobbe, Laho, Grandishar & Mack, we also received a matching pledge of an additional $1000 from Judge Rodney Equi and the firm of Schiller, DeCanto & Fleck. The result is a total of $2000 in contributions to the DuPage County Bar Foundation. Although not a bad return for 17 minutes worth of work, lest we forget these generous contributions were not possible but for those good spirited folks who felt that your new President would take the bait. So that you can fully appreciate the challenge presented by these ten phrases, I have highlighted them as they were delivered within my speech below.
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I want to extend my sincerest thanks to my family and friends who have pushed everything else in their lives aside, traveled and sacrificed so that they could be here with me to share this special moment. I want to thank my entire firm for being here and showing your support; it means a lot to me that you are all here. I want to thank Rod Equi, John Demling, Ann Jorgensen and Kent Gaertner for the roles they have played, not only tonight but in the years that led to tonight. They are each deeply committed to the DuPage County Bar Association and have each been true leaders in their own right. I’ve known Rod since I started in 1989 and he’s been not only one of my closet friends, but a mentor and a role model; his standard is excellence – anything less is not worth doing. Among his other accomplishments, I am quite confident that Rod is also the only one here who knows John Cena is the World Wrestling Federation Champion.
I want to thank my wife Lisa and recognize my lovely daughters Olivia and Reese. Many of you know Olivia from the DC trip this past March. She made many new friends and counts many of you as her adoptive aunts and uncles. Anyone who knows me well, really well, knows that I am shamelessly proud of my family. Tonight the DCBA gains in Lisa, a first lady who is not only energized but who has that certain panache, that touch of savoir faire that simply defies "budgetary constraint." When I asked Lisa "Why do we need flowers here tonight?" She told me "Ever since I was a young girl, I’ve loved the details, because that’s how I roll."
Now over the past 21 years, I might have missed one or two of these installations but I will tell you that I’ve seen some really good speeches; I’ve also seen some not-so-good speeches. Through it all though, the one thing I’ve noticed, the one constant is that by the time the incoming President gets to speak to the audience its only after they have eaten their feast, swilled their cabernet and taken in their tiramisu. By then everyone is pie-eyed, looking up at the speaker - just like you all are looking at me now - wondering if they can get out without being seen. Whatever. Don’t even think about it…this is not a try and buy, I have been sworn in as your President and you are all here for the duration of this speech.
Tonight instead of dazzling you with the great things I have planned for the DCBA this coming year (and believe me you would be dazzled) I’m not going to squander these waning moments of lucidity on anything substantive. I may be terribly wrong about this, but I think a better way to introduce myself and the first lady to you – is through an actual true story. And no, the names have not been changed to protect the innocent, because there are no innocent characters in this story.
In the summer of 2007, my wife Lisa is scheduled to give birth to our second daughter, Reese. It’s a C-section so she has an actual appointment at 7:30 a.m. on July 6th. For the past half dozen years we have had a Fourth of July party at our house for family and friends. And even though its just two days before the date she’s giving birth, Lisa insists that having the party will be a great way for her to spend her last days of pregnancy. So we have 150 people over and she does her usual great job without voicing a single complaint of any kind to anyone other than me.
My brother Tony and his wife, Cindy, and their two daughters are staying at our house to help us get through the delivery, they’re sitting for our daughter Olivia. Tony is an internist – very talented – and Cindy has formal training as a pharmacist. So, on the evening before my wife is to give birth, I approach them on the side and tell them how I’ve been a little tense lately and unable to sleep.
Tony then goes to his dopp kit and draws out an Ambien ER. The "ER" is for extended release. He tells me I will sleep like a baby and wake up feeling completely refreshed so long as I take the pill eight hours before I am expected to awake. Later that night my wife, Lisa and I are in our bathroom getting ready for bed and just as I tip my head back to drink the water to swallow the pill, she says to me, "what’s that you’re taking?" In response, I explain to her that this is an Ambien ER and that it is being taken under a doctor’s specific instructions and that there is nothing to worry about. She rolls her eyes and warns me that tomorrow morning we need to be en route to the hospital by 6:15 a.m., no excuses, and no exceptions. You can see the writing on the bathroom wall, can’t you?
Fairly warned, I fall into a deep sleep only to be awakened by Lisa’s hands on my shoulder, gently prodding me back to consciousness at 6:20 a.m. the next morning as I slept straight through the alarm. Despite the prodding, I am completely unable to stand up, dizzy, still quite sleepy and unable to rise. I reassure her that I will be ready in a minute and that I just need to rest for another moment or two as I collapse sideways in the bed. Some would say that my delay at this point bordered on vexatious. Seeing the futility of reviving me, Lisa then attempts to awaken Tony and Cindy in an effort to get someone to get her to the hospital on time. Moments later she returns to advise me that both Tony and Cindy appear to have taken the same pill I have as they are in the grips of the same sort of sleep coma. Upon learning of my condition, Tony suggests groggily that I might be having a heart attack which is met with my wife’s oft repeated response "Oh Please." In this moment the Ruffalo household is well on its way to becoming the punch line to a joke: "How many medical professionals and attorneys does it take to get the pregnant lady to the hospital?"
As I hear the sounds of Lisa and Cindy exiting the house, I know darn well that if I don’t figure out a way to get my butt in that car, I will never live this down. This is right about where my legal training kicks in; discerning the ability to make sound judgments and knowing right from wrong. I don’t even drag a comb through my hair, just get myself plopped into that car, looking like something the cat dragged in. We arrive at the hospital in the knick of time, courtesy of Cindy’s chauffeur service and I sleep like a baby the entire trip. As Lisa and I are dispatched to a pre-op room with a couple of nurses and a physician, I sprawl myself across two chairs, slouching, pale and clammy. One of the nurses notices my appearance and chalks it up to "nervous father syndrome," which she adds is quite common in these situations. Hearing her diagnosis, I mumble that I might just have West Nile Virus. Suddenly I have the undivided attention of the Doctor and both nurses, while Lisa lays unattended, minutes from surgery, again rolling her eyes and saying "Oh Please."
Let’s fast forward to the delivery room where the delivering physician announces: "OK Dad, your baby girl is coming out now. If you want to have a look, now’s the time." Feeling much better, I begin to stand when I feel a tug on the sleeve of my shirt. A very cute anesthesiologist who is seated just to my left whispers to me, "I am a 100 pound lady and you are a 175 pound man. Should you choose to rise and see this, and then faint and collapse, please know that I cannot pick you up off the floor." Because I cannot stand the sight of blood - my Dad and brother are doctors - I quickly connect the dots and decide to stay put.
A healthy and happy baby Reese arrived that morning, right on time. We could not have been happier. Now I’ve told you this story - not to demonstrate my own ability to overcome adversity and stick to a plan - but instead so that you can appreciate what your new first lady has had to endure. That was almost my worst day at home. Now I’ll tell you about my worst day professionally – bar none.
Several years ago I was asked to put on a cause hearing in a town in DuPage County not too far from here. The Board of Trustees was to receive evidence and determine if cause existed to oust one of their town officials. What began as a small hearing turned into much more – the official was very popular - a little league coach, lived in town forever. Turns out that Village Hall didn’t quite have the seating capacity to accommodate the 200 plus residents who were planning on attending the hearing. The hearing had to be conducted in a gymnasium. Of the crowd, not a single one appeared to be in support of the ouster. The oustee had top flight counsel from a high profile Chicago firm who was greeted with a standing ovation after his opening statement. He could have dropped his pen and gotten cheers.
Then came my opening statement. Not only was I booed and heckled, at the conclusion of my opening, I turned to the audience and saw them – 200 in unison – tilt to one side and pull out signs from underneath their fannies which exhibited a drawing of a kangaroo with a red slash drawn diagonally through the middle – signifying their message "no kangaroo court." They all pronated the sign in unison. I’ll say it was quite a sight.
It was a hearing that went from 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. About half way in it became obvious that if not for the court reporter – who I brought to the hearing – I would have had nobody to talk to during breaks in the action. Objections were ruled on by "special counsel" who just like Caesar used his thumb in the movie Gladiator, let the crowd decide my fate. It was tough to endure.
Afterwards, I limped home, didn’t sleep a wink and found myself actually needing to get into my office at 7:30 a.m. the next morning solely to be around "my posse," to tell them my horrible story, to get their reaction, to be with fellow attorneys. Sometimes there are things only attorneys understand and appreciate. We cannot psychoanalyze one another, but we sure are good listeners and counselors. The Board found cause existed and the case was then appealed to the Circuit Court and on to the Second District. The Board’s decision was affirmed at both levels. And none of this made me feel any better.
I have come to appreciate if not savor the decorum and order we are treated to every day in our courtrooms presided over by our judges and kept orderly by our bailiffs. Those who believe the American Civil Law System can be reduced to seven words: "Who pays how much to whom, when?" have never experienced, truly experienced, administrative review.
In the three years that preceded my installation tonight, I have attended each of the annual bar leadership institutes held in Chicago by the ABA. I have spoken with dozens of bar officials from bars similar to ours. In comparing the DCBA to many other bars, I want to say that there are several things that make us unique…these are the two that I think most of: (1) The mutuality that exists between bench and bar. In this association, it is one of our key features. We have mutual respect, mutual cooperation, and mutual independence. (2) We have created a culture of passing down to the next generation of attorneys the same professionalism and strength of character that we found here when we arrived. For as long as we have any influence over this Association, we should all jealously guard these traits.
I, like most who have made a career in the practice of law, have a handful of folks within the profession who have had a lasting impact on my own professional existence. They are, in some small measure, why we are who we have become. For me they have been Ralph Dichtl, Rod Equi, Joe Laraia and John Roselli. To each of them, I owe a great debt of gratitude.
And now, in what I hope becomes a tradition of every incoming President, I’d like us to observe a moment of silence in tribute to those Past Presidents who have died and in honor of Ralph Dichtl who died April 4th of this year. Please bow with me. [SILENCE]
For the past 131 years the DCBA had repeated this ritual of installing its officers, directors and new Presidents. Over that time we’ve gone from a handful of members practicing in a county of rural farmland to over 2,300 members in a county that is becoming more urbanized every year – east to west. We’ve seen general practitioners give way to specialists.
As we face the new year and all of the challenges it brings, I can report to you that I have unbridled confidence in: the quality of out staff under our new Executive Director, Leslie Monahan; the commitment of our committee chairs in bringing you a wide variety of CLE options with an emphasis on substance; the editorial and publishing capabilities under our editor, Ted Donner, his assistant editor, Melissa Piwowar, and a publication board from whom I expect nothing less than greatness; and the Executive Committee and Board of Directors who show as much promise as any I’ve seen.
And so at this 131st annual meeting of the DCBA we have much to be proud of and more to be thankful for because the core strength of this bar association lies in its members. We are a hard working lot. We covet our profession and the reputation each of us has created within it. We accept responsibility by participating often and freely volunteering our time. Whether its night court, pro bono work for the indigent, providing annual grants to Legal Aid and the DuPage County Bar Foundation, or refining our Modest Means and Lawyers Referral Service programs, none of it – not one iota -- is possible without you. You are our most crucial resource.
To learn where the DCBA is headed one need only examine where it’s been. Look at this picture, I keep it in my office. This is our bar membership as it looked in 1974. Much has changed in 36 years and I’m quite sure that those Past Presidents that we’ve honored tonight are looking down on us with a contented smile.
I have three pieces of business before moving to adjourn.
(1)I’d like my wife and daughters to come up … Lisa, will you accept this rose as the new first lady of the DuPage County Bar Association? And knowing that in 2011 and 2012 Colleen and Sharon will be your Presidents leaving us without any first ladies, I’d like to have a second for Tom Else’s Motion to make my daughters Olivia and Reese appointed as honorary first ladies for 2011 and 2012.
(2)Because I may never a better opportunity than this, I’d like to thank my Mom and Dad for putting up with me as a kid – I think I was responsible for my younger brother and sister going away to the Culver Military Academy. You never stopped believing in my (even though it was nip and tuck at various points in my youth). There is no better gift that a parent can give a child than to believe in them. Thank you – Thank you all.
(3) Finally, I have someone here who can explain why the advice to "Hug it Out" is worth exactly $1000 tonight, Rod Equi.
Steven M. Ruffalo is the President of the DuPage County Bar Association. He is also a member of Fuchs & Roselli, Ltd. where he serves the litigation and pre-litigation needs of small to mid-sized family and closely held business organizations. Mr. Ruffalo graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1984. He began his professional career in the Division General Counsel’s office of the Unisys Corporation in 1988 while earning his law degree from the John Marshall School of Law and his Masters in Business Administration from Rosary College. Mr. Ruffalo also currently serves as Assistant Village Attorney for the Village of Hinsdale and as a Fellow of the American Bar Association.
