Pamela McLean Meyerson has retired as a judge for the 11th Subcircuit of Cook County Judicial Circuit Court, saying goodbye to a career that spanned a decade and at times tested her commitment to being fair.
“I was motivated to be a judge because I thought I could be the kind of judge that I would like to hear my case,” said Meyerson, who formally stepped down Jan 31. “If I were standing before a judge, I would want someone to take my case seriously, do their homework, know the law and to treat everyone fairly after hearing all sides. I thought I could do that.”
It has been a challenging but rewarding career, during which time she briefly served in traffic court, presided over 1,000s of foreclosures during the economic crisis of 2010 and was then transferred to the chancery division, where she heard a variety of civil cases including neighbors fighting over property lines, class action suits and restrictive employment covenants.
Judges are required to be objective and impartial when deciding cases, which is not always easy, according to Meyerson.
“When making decisions, you have to look at what the law is, not what you would like it to be,” she said. “It can be hard. But I’ve never recused myself from a case because I didn’t think I could be objective in interpreting the law.”
Although she had no lawyers in her family or any particular role models, Meyerson decided to become a lawyer because she felt that it would give her an opportunity to make the world a better place in some way. She liked the idea of advocating for people who couldn’t advocate for themselves.
Meyerson learned the importance of advocating for herself when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin disease during her freshman year in college.
“I was going to the College of DuPage when I found a lump on my neck. The next thing you know, doctors are taking out my spleen and giving me chemo and radiation. I was bald on my 18th birthday. It was not your typical college experience,” she said.
Meyerson persevered with her education, transferring to DePaul University, where she pursued a bachelor’s degree in business administration and graduated with top honors. She briefly considered a career in retail management, based on her teenage work experiences.
“I’ve had a job since I was 15, working at fast food and pizza places. Then I moved up to places, like retail stores, that didn’t make me come home smelling like grease,” she said.
An undergraduate class in business law made her reconsider her career options.
“I thought law was something that was well-suited to my skills – writing and arguing,” she said, laughing.
Regarding those skills in arguing: Meyerson met her husband, Charlie, a Chicago media legend and a board member of Growing Chicago Media, in 1978 as a result of a minor car accident. Charlie failed to stop in time and then rear-ended Pam. While he insists that the person at fault is not important—no tickets were issued, no one was hurt—Pam notes that his insurance company paid the damages (and that, furthermore, he was driving too close for conditions…)
“I found out that he worked at the radio station in Aurora and I called several times to request certain songs from the disk jockey. And he called me several times, supposedly to check that his insurance company was following through,” Meyerson said.
Five years after they met – and the day after she graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in the top third of her class – the Meyersons married.
Meyerson practiced commercial litigation with two Chicago firms, Antonow & Fink and Goldberg Kohn Ltd, while doing some pro bono work with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services.
In 1989, with two young sons at home, she left Goldberg Kohn to escape the crazy long hours she had been working and started subcontracting her services to other lawyers who needed help. She eventually took on some of her own clients and opened her firm in 1989. For almost 20 years, she worked from home, which was a highly unusual practice at the time.
Meyerson decided to run for judge of the 11th judicial circuit in 2010 but was unsuccessful. She ran again, unsuccessfully, in 2012. In 2013, she was appointed to fill a judicial vacancy and was elected to the position in 2014. She was retained in 2020, with 78% of the vote.
Following a month in traffic court, Meyerson was moved to foreclosures. At one point, she had 6,000 cases assigned just to her.
“It was standing-room-only every day. I had piles of documents that I needed to go through to prepare for the next day’s proceedings,” she said.
Many individuals in foreclosure didn’t have legal representation but Meyerson referred them to case managers who could help them reinstate their mortgages or work out settlements with the bank, which she considered a win-win situation.
“A lot of times I was having to give bad news to folks. But you can still be kind. And I always kept a box of tissues on the bench,” Meyerson said.
In December 2016, she was transferred to the chancery division.
.Now that she is retired, Meyerson is eager to more freely express her opinions on current issues.
“I am worried about what’s going on in the country. I’m particularly concerned about what’s going to happen with democracy and the rule of law. A lot of norms are being overturned. I’m now in a position where I can express my opinion about these things,” Meyerson said.
Meyerson is also looking forward to spending more time with her growing brood of grandchildren, gardening, cooking, traveling, reading and staying out late at Fitzgerald’s.
She eventually plans to re-engage with the community. Meyerson once served as vice president of the local League of Women Voters, president of Festival Theatre and a member of the board of the Community of Congregations. She also co-chaired the 1999 campaign to create Oak Park’s middle schools and was involved in the construction of the community’s first skate park.
“But, first, I’m giving myself six months to relax,” she insists.
