About 45 employees from Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. spent an afternoon volunteering at Greater Chicago Food Depository for the second year in a row.

Attorneys and staff at Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. came together to help ‘can’ hunger by volunteering their efforts in preparation for the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s 28th Annual Hunger Walk.

On June 26, about 45 Chuhak & Tecson employees volunteered their time for the second year in a row to helping fight hunger in Chicago. Together, their efforts and thousands of others are what help the Food Depository feed 678,000 Cook County residents on an annual basis. In 2012, the Depository distributed 64 million pounds of fresh produce, dairy products, meats and nonperishable foods. That amount is equivalent to an astonishing 134,800 meals per day.

“Volunteering as a group was not only a great way to build camaraderie within the firm, but a rewarding experience to know that we were part of a larger effort to help make a difference in the Chicago community,” said Kimberly Boike, principal at Chuhak & Tecson.

“One in six people in Cook County are food insecure and do not know where their next meal is coming from,” Boike said. “This statistic gave new perspective to all of us about the great need the Depository has for volunteers to help provide meals for hungry people in our community.”

This year, instead of packing bulk products into smaller batches to be sent to local food pantries, firm volunteers packed bags for the walkers who participated in the Food Depository’s Hunger Walk at Soldier Field on June 28.

Volunteers worked together to surpass their goal of 3,000 bags and compiled a total of 6,850 goodie bags for both children and adults who took part in the walk.

Chuhak & Tecson donated its 126 accumulated volunteer hours to New Moms, a not for profit that served as the firm’s Women Helping Women partner in May 2011. Since 1983, New Moms has provided long-term assistance to struggling, underprivileged pregnant and parenting adolescents and their children.

“We are grateful to Chuhak & Tecson for their continued support for the work that we do at New Moms,” said Anjanette Young, supervisor. “Through these and other efforts, we are able to equip disadvantaged parents with tools to achieve economic independence and family stability.”

Seeing their efforts go to such a worthy cause, Chuhak & Tecson volunteers are looking forward to their next trip to the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the time they can donate to help continue feeding Cook County.

For the second year in a row, attorneys and staff at Chuhak & Tecson, P.C., are coming together in a large-scale group effort to help make a difference in the Chicago community.

On Wednesday, June 26, the firm will do a half-day soft close so employees can pack boxes at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Feeding 678,000 Cook County residents annually, the agency relies on volunteers to repackage bulk products for shipment to a network of local food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters.

“Participating last year was not only rewarding for its value to the community, but also built camaraderie within the firm,” said Adam Moreland, a principal at Chuhak & Tecson and a member of the firm’s management committee.

“They turned it into a competition,” Moreland said. “One group from the firm packed sausages, and one group packed pasta. They calculated how many boxes or pounds each group processed, and there was a winner. I was on Team Pasta, and it was a lot of fun.”

With attorneys and staff working together in an out-of-office environment, volunteering at the food depository serves as a good team-building exercise, he said, and helps employees from various groups throughout the firm get to know each other better.

In addition, it aligns with the firm’s ongoing commitment to bettering the Chicagoland area through community service.

“We are grateful that employees from Chuhak & Tecson are giving their time to assist the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s mission and truly make a difference in the fight against hunger,” said Angel La Luz, the charity’s director of volunteer engagement. “Volunteers are essential to feeding hungry people in our community and because of Chuhak & Tecson, more people will eat today.”

In 2012, the food depository distributed 64 million pounds of fresh produce, dairy products, meats and nonperishable foods. That amount is equivalent to an astonishing 134,800 meals per day.

“It’s such an amazing endeavor to connect the entire city in support of a cause I think most people can agree is worthwhile: feeding the hungry,” Moreland stated.

A half-day of packing food at Greater Chicago Food Depository was the largest of 25 service projects Chuhak & Tecson participated in last year in honor of its silver anniversary. One year after “25 Ways to Give Back,” there was great interest in a repeat visit, Moreland said.

“Some of our other endeavors last year were on a smaller scale, but the food depository can handle large numbers. It’s set up to work with groups that want to contribute to the enhancement and growth of the community,” he said, “allowing our firm and our employees to partner together on something meaningful to all of us. We’re looking forward to continuing that this year and in the future.”

Kathy Ruffulo has spoken to all kinds of audiences about the good things happening at Aspire, but her recent experience at the Women Helping Women Spring Mix-and-Mingle was especially refreshing.

Hosted twice a year by the women attorneys of Chuhak & Tecson, P.C., WHW is a networking group for women business leaders and entrepreneurs to mingle, build business and support a not for profit organization benefiting women, or women and their children, all at the same event. On April 25, the guest of honor was Aspire, which serves children and adults with developmental delays and disabilities.

“I think the peace that I walked away with at the end of the evening came from being with all these amazing women and feeling like they really connected with our mission,” said Ruffulo, vice president of children’s services at Aspire. “I’ve been to a lot of these kinds of events, but this one had a whole different feel. There was just a really nice spirit in the room of people who cared.”

Ruffulo also walked away with toys and games donated by guests to help Aspire moms help their children. Some will be used at the office during therapy appointments, but many will be sent home with families to use in parent-child play therapy all week long.

Guests donated more than 500 items, including 24 puzzles, 40 games, 10 boxes of Legos, and enough art and craft supplies to keep lots of little hands busy for quite a while.

“There’s a kid in every one of us,” Ruffulo said, “and there were three of us going through the toys afterward and just giggling.”

Ruffulo is looking forward to buying even more toys with the $100 Amazon gift card and over $400 in cash the organization received as well.

Women Helping Women has been hosting biannual mixers since 2009, and the momentum builds with every event. With almost 150 women enjoying wine, hors d’oeuvres and camaraderie, the April 25 event was the largest to date.

“I thought it was a fabulous event and our best ever,” said Loretto Kennedy, principal at Chuhak & Tecson. “The buzz in the room and the connections and the conversation were constantly invigorating and interesting.

“The really unique thing about Women Helping Women is that whether it’s your first time there or you’ve come to every event, it’s a very welcoming and gracious group,” Kennedy said. “People are really looking to talk to each other, recognizing that meeting people in many different industries helps you build a broad set of contacts.

“I heard nothing but rave reviews from the women who attended.”

Kennedy said WHW committee members are frequently complimented on the interesting community organizations they select for mix-and-mingles. She knows of at least two guests who pursued further involvement with Aspire after the April event.

“We work hard to identify and partner with organizations that will benefit from the exposure to a roomful of powerful and influential women,” she said, “and also benefit in whatever way our guests support them with donations.”

Chuhak & Tecson Principal Stacey Bromberg conducted welcome remarks at the event and introduced Ruffulo, who spoke about the mothers of children with disabilities.

“We work with over 500 children a year, and that means 500 mothers,” Ruffulo said. “When parents make that first phone call and tell us their story for the first time—‘my baby has Down syndrome’ or ‘my child is behind in school’ or ‘my baby was born premature’—the underlying factor is that they are all experiencing fear and confusion.

“How we work with families,” she said, “especially moms, is to help them understand not only their child’s disability but also their child’s strengths and to give them hope, because we’re about reaching dreams.”

Donielle Burton, an Aspire mom, told her own story after Ruffulo spoke. Burton talked about how she and her husband had shared a dream for their son that he would be able to go to school with his typically developing peers.

“That was the hope she got at Aspire,” Ruffulo said, “and her child is now in a full-day program at a public school.”

Kennedy has a nephew who is autistic, “so these remarks hit particularly close to home,” she said. “Our family provides a lot of love and compassion for him.

“Aspire provides that same kind of support for its clients as if they were family, too,” Kennedy said. “It’s a wonderful example for all of us.”

Chuhak & Tecson employees are back to “shake their cans” in the name of community service.

For the second year in a row, attorneys and staff are volunteering their time and efforts to raise money for Misericordia, a charitable organization that provides a community of support and care for children and adults with developmental and physical disabilities.

On April 26, 20 of the firm’s employees will participate in the 28^th Annual Misericordia Candy Days, a fundraiser held throughout the Chicagoland area. Attorneys and staff members will stand side by side with more than 7,500 other volunteers to shake collection cans and distribute candy in return for monetary contributions.

Last year, Chuhak & Tecson volunteers helped raise over $2,000 for Misericordia’s various therapeutic, vocational and residential programs, and hope to top that during this year’s fundraising event.

Misericordia currently serves more than 600 individuals at its 31-acre campus located in the Rogers Park area of Chicago. The organization provides a wide range of programs to meet residents’ diverse needs, including day-to-day support, physical and speech therapy and job training. Misericordia aspires for each individual to live as independently as possible in the highest level of community integration. Learn more about Misericordia at http://www.misericordia.com/.

In a case of first impression argued by David Feinberg at Chuhak & Tecson, P.C., the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the doctrine of election pertaining to last wills is not necessarily the last word in court challenges to a living trust amendment.

The 6-1 judgment reversed two lower court decisions in Estate of Robert E. Boyar v. Grant Dixon, 2013 IL 113655. The case was presented by Chuhak & Tecson principals David Feinberg, Barry Feinberg and Daniel Fumagalli, and marked the first time the Illinois Supreme Court has dealt with the doctrine of election in almost 60 years.

In its April 4, 2013, opinion, the Supreme Court reversed both the circuit and appellate court decisions applying the doctrine of election as it relates to wills to an amendment to a trust. The upper court departed from the earlier judgments of the lower court in ruling that Boyar v. Dixon should not have been based on the doctrine of election or dismissed in circuit court. It ruled the appellate court also was in error in upholding the dismissal.

Dismissal in both proceedings had been based on a bright line interpretation of the doctrine of election, a case law principle that precludes a beneficiary to a will from contesting any part of the will if property has already been received.

“In this instance, our client had received nominal personal property that was owned by his father’s revocable living trust,” said David Feinberg, who argued the case. “Both the circuit court and appellate court ruled that because he had accepted the benefit, the client was foreclosed from contesting any part of his father’s trust, including an amendment that had nothing to do with property issues.”

Drafted less than a month before the death of the testator and without the knowledge of the beneficiaries, the amendment in question involved the designation of a new successor trustee. The amendment replaced both the Northern Trust and the testator’s son, Robert A. Boyar, as co-trustees, with a neighbor, Grant Dixon, as sole trustee. In addition, the amendment also provided that a majority of the income beneficiaries of the trust could not remove Grant Dixon as sole trustee.

Feinberg argued, and the court agreed, that there was no inconsistency between Boyar’s and other family members’ receipt of personal property and his challenge to the amendment naming a new trustee—and that in any case, the doctrine of election should be applied on a case-by-case basis rather than as a bright line rule.

Additionally, Boyar would have had to be aware of all the facts and circumstances relating to the case in order for the doctrine of election to apply properly, Feinberg argued. The specific facts and circumstances, including the contents of the trust, had not yet become known when Boyar received the personal property from his father’s trust.

“We contested the amendment because in Robert’s view, his father, who was suffering from dementia, lacked the mental capacity to execute this document,” Feinberg said. “Our client believes that his father did not want this person to be the trustee and was unduly influenced into changing the trusteeship.”

The Supreme Court decision remanded the case to Cook County Circuit Court for further proceedings.

“We really are feeling quite a sense of accomplishment,” Feinberg said. “From day one we felt we were in the right, that this case should not have been dismissed on the doctrine of election, that it should have been heard on its merits.”

“Any time you’re talking about overturning a lower court ruling, it’s not an easy thing to do,” said Fumagalli, who was part of the Chuhak & Tecson team preparing Boyar. “Historically, it’s a long shot because it doesn’t happen that often. I thought we had the better argument in the briefs and the oral argument before the court, but one never knows. There are seven justices who get to weigh in on it.”

Boyar v. Dixon marked the first time the Illinois Supreme Court heard a case in which the doctrine of election was applied to an amendment to a trust. The outcome suggests new thinking on this issue, Feinberg said.

“The Illinois Supreme Court is clearly indicating to the lower courts that it is not going to apply the doctrine of election unilaterally in the context of wills, trusts or otherwise,” Feinberg said. “Rather, the court seems to imply in Boyar that the doctrine must be applied based on equity fairly, looking to the totality of the facts and circumstances of the individual case to decide whether or not the doctrine should be applied.”

The last time the state Supreme Court dealt with the doctrine of election at all was in 1955.

“The doctrine has been applied in a very draconian fashion,” Fumagalli said. “Having started out as an equitable doctrine, it became somewhat rigidly applied by the courts.

“Going forward, this introduces a strong measure of fairness.”

December 31 marked the culmination of Chuhak & Tecson’s 25^th anniversary year, and with it, the culmination of “25 Ways of Giving Back”—the firm’s yearlong community service initiative reflecting its commitment to the people and communities of Chicagoland.

Throughout 2012, Chuhak & Tecson attorneys and staff teamed up to complete 25 service projects in honor of the firm’s clients, friends and strategic partners. Projects ranged from serving meals to the homeless, to shaking cans at Misericordia Candy Days, to providing estate planning documents for Chicagoland police officers, firefighters and first responders.

In the firm’s largest project, about 75 employees spent a weekday afternoon packing food at Greater Chicago Food Depository. Attorneys, secretaries and staff members were divided into two teams—one team packed 13,500 pounds of summer sausage and the other packed 5,775 pounds of pasta to be distributed to local food pantries for people in need.

“Volunteering at the Food Depository was a truly incredible experience for the firm,” said Principal Ed Josephson. “The food packing exercise enabled us to foster team-building among our employees, while simultaneously helping to make a difference in the Chicago community.”

It was fitting for Chuhak & Tecson to celebrate its Silver Anniversary with “25 Ways,” as community service has been a core value of the firm since it opened its doors in 1987. Through “25 Ways,” the firm hoped to inspire others to make 2012 a year of service as well. Friends and family members of firm employees participated in a number of service projects, and the firm also received outside support from the general public. Other local law firms even stepped up to hold their own “Jeans Days” after hearing about the firm’s first event, which benefitted Chicago Legal Clinic.

One of the hallmarks of “25 Ways” was the variety of projects firm employees could participate in. Monetarily, the firm donated and collected over $8,000 for organizations across Chicago, including Elim Christian School, Bridge Communities and My Brother’s Kitchen. Additionally, the firm collected over 1,700 teddy bears, books, food items, school supplies and pieces of clothing for organizations like Young Women’s Leadership Charter School and Volunteers of America of Illinois.

The service initiative wrapped up with two events in December. The firm held a Jeans Day, with employees donating a total of $630 to the American Red Cross to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy. In a holiday-themed activity, employees baked and donated cookies to Advocate Hospice, which helps patients with terminal illness live each day to the fullest.

“2012 has been an exciting, inspiring, rewarding year for Chuhak & Tecson,” Josephson said. “We are proud of what we have accomplished and the effort put forth by our loyal and dedicated employees.

“We look forward to continuing service to the people of Chicagoland.”