Former BAPA Board Member Earns Lifetime Achievement Award
Anyone who knows Beverly/Morgan Park resident Mike Morrissey understands his dedication to the community he grew up in and still calls home, as well as his fierce commitment as a criminal defense attorney for the last 40 years. Last month, Morrissey was honored with the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (IACDL).
Morrissey is the current Deputy Public Defender supervising the Felony Trial Division, the Murder Task Force at 26th Street, and the Misdemeanor and Preliminary Hearing Courts. IACDL stated he received the award not only for his dedication to his profession, but also for the hours he has spent mentoring colleagues and his devotion to his family and community.
Aside from his extensive professional accomplishments, those closer to home know him as a St. Ignatius grad who went on to study at Marquette University and DePaul Law School. At home, he spent time with his family, including wife Nancy, a former Chicago Public Schools teacher, and his five children. He coached baseball for his sons and their friends in the Ridge-Beverly Little League, and served on the BAPA board of directors.
In 2004, Morrissey received the Chicago Bar Foundation Richard J. Phelan Public Service Award, and in 2016 he received the St. Ignatius Alumni Award for excellence in the law profession. He taught trial advocacy at DePaul for 25 years, and served on the faculty of numerous criminal defense programs and as a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on pattern instructions in criminal cases.
BAPA thanks Mike Morrissey for his commitment to his career, his family, and his community. His personal, professional, and civic impact is felt far and wide.
