Our Professionalism Spotlight series highlights Illinois legal professionals who demonstrate the ideals of professionalism in their careers.
In this Professionalism Spotlight, we spoke to Amrith Kaur Aakre, Chief Civil Rights Enforcer for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the Midwest region. Amrith oversees all federal employment discrimination investigations and prosecutions across Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Prior to her current role, Amrith served as the National Legal Director for The Sikh Coalition, a civil rights organization where she represented victims of racial and religious discrimination across the country.
Amrith has also served as a Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney, where she led transformative efforts to identify non-violent offenders for Alternative Prosecution and Restorative Justice courts as well as criminal felony prosecutions.
How do you remain civil in tense situations?
As a Senior Executive Service member for the U.S. government, I have to build coalitions in order to lead people and create impactful change across my region.
I am a naturally optimistic person who feels that I can find common ground with just about anybody, and, most importantly, I don’t hold grudges.
I understand that lawyers are advocating for a specific position on behalf of their individual client and that my job is to see the big picture and how the outcome will impact the general public.
I am committed to serving the public and don’t take anyone’s advocacy personally. I appreciate that we all have a job to do and I respect the overall purpose of justice too much to get mired in tension.
What is an attorney’s role in furthering public confidence in the rule of law?
I believe that attorneys are the administrators of justice, no matter their role.
As a civil rights and government attorney, I know that the public looks to me as someone who is representing their broader interests. To accomplish that, I must understand the communities I serve, and my work must reflect those communities’ needs.
I try to be thoughtful in all my engagement with the public and primarily focus on demonstrating that I prioritize maintaining the public’s confidence in me, my team, and my agency.
I know the public’s relationship with the government can be complicated, for example, but that doesn’t stop me from going out and engaging with people of all backgrounds to show them who I am and what I value.
I think that once they see that, they also see that we value many of the same things, which hopefully leads to them finding me credible and having confidence in my abilities to lead them in my work.
What is the biggest challenge impacting lawyers today?
The legal system is evolving, sometimes in ways that can be challenging for communities that believed certain laws and protections were settled.
I think it is important for attorneys across the state to ensure we don’t go backward and that we continue to fight for an inclusive evolution of the legal system.
This isn’t just about laws and policies, though those are very important. It’s also about advocating for better technology and a better understanding of how that technology can and should be used.
There is no substitute for human interaction when it comes to negotiating settlements, building relationships, and driving at amicable results. I would love to see the legal profession get back to that type of engagement across the aisle, as I think it will ultimately lead to a less litigious (and more employed) society.
How can the legal profession address workplace bullying?
Bullying, and general lack of civility, is a major issue impacting lawyers today, but it’s also not a new issue. I’ve been practicing for 20 years and can still remember some of the worst experiences I’ve had along these lines.
The legal profession needs to handle bullying the same way we would advise our clients to do it: by holding ourselves accountable.
As the head of the Chicago District EEOC, of course, I work to ensure that workplaces implement clear policies that spell out guidelines for respectful environments.
I also think it’s important for workplaces to have established reporting procedures for harassing behavior, expertise on conducting investigations upon reporting, and transparency on potential consequences. These steps are critical to promoting cultural shifts in the legal community because they ensure accountability for poor behavior.
And, when these procedures are clearly communicated and handled consistently, they also instill confidence in the workforce that retaliation won’t occur for reporting bad behavior.
What do you do for fun?
When I am not Ubering my kids around to their activities, you can find me at a 5 or 6 a.m. Orangetheory workout — I’ve done nearly 2,300 classes! I also enjoy running (outdoors is preferable, but I use treadmills all winter long), coaching volleyball for the Chicago Public Schools (I coach middle school girls), and reading whatever Goodreads and Kindle recommend (my favorite book of all time is “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara).
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