Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Reception: 11:30AM – 12:00PM
Lunch: 12:00 PM – 1:20PM
65 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604
Please join the Federal Bar Association’s Chicago Chapter for the election and installation of its 2025-2026 officers and directors. This popular annual event hosts federal judges and hundreds of practitioners from Chicago and surrounding communities.
Elizabeth Prelogar, former Solicitor General of the United States under the Biden Administration, will be this year’s featured guest. She will have an engaging conversation with incoming Chapter President, Hon. Sunil R. Harjani. For individual tickets, please register below.
At this year’s luncheon, the Frank J. McGarr Award for Distinguished Federal Government Service by a Government Attorney will be presented to:
Sheri Mecklenburg
Morris “Sonny” Pasqual
John Murphy
This award is given in the name of the late Hon. Frank J. McGarr (1921–2012), a Past President of the Federal Bar Association Chicago Chapter, U.S. District Court Judge, and Former First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
For those interested in purchasing a 10-person table, please email our team at info@fedbarchicago.org.
2025 Annual Meeting Keynote Speaker
Elizabeth Prelogar, Former Solicitor General of the United States
Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar served as the 48th Solicitor General of the United States, the fourth-ranking official at the Department of Justice. In this role, she oversaw all Supreme Court litigation for the federal government, determined whether the United States would pursue appeals or file amicus briefs in appellate courts, and advised senior DOJ leadership on broad policy matters. Before her confirmation, she was Acting Solicitor General and Principal Deputy Solicitor General, and earlier served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General from 2014 to 2019. She argued multiple Supreme Court cases, shaped government appellate strategy, and worked as an Assistant Special Counsel on Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
A native of Boise, Idaho, Solicitor General Prelogar earned her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Emory University, a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews, and studied in Russia as a Fulbright Fellow. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was an Articles Editor for the Harvard Law Review. She clerked for Judge Merrick B. Garland and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. She practiced appellate law at Hogan Lovells LLP and, as a partner at Cooley LLP, devoted significant time to pro bono work and lectured at Harvard Law School. Nominated by President Joe Biden in August 2021, she was confirmed in October and lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and two young sons.