Juan with the Illinois Delegation on ABA Day in Washington, DC.
Illinois State Bar Association
- Downstate At-Large Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates (2021-23)
- Assembly (2022-Present)
- Board of Governors (2019-21)
- Liaison, Business & Securities Law Section Council
- Liaison, Cannabis Law Section Council
- Member, Standing Committee on Racial & Ethnic Minorites in the Law (2016-Present)
- Co-Chair, Underserved Practices Initiative (2022-2023)
- Family Law Section Council (2016-17)
Illinois Bar Foundation
- 2nd Vice President (Present, in succession to become IBF President, 2026-27 bar year.)
- 3rd Vice President (2023-24)
- Board of Directors (2021-23) (IBF Presidential Appointee)
- Lawyers Care Committee (2021-Present)
- Finance & Investments Committee (2021-Present)
- Gold Champion (Current)
- Champion (Since 2013)
Juan listening to the wisdom of Vince Cornelius.
American Bar Association
Juan currently serves on the ABA Board of Governors and has been a member of the ABA House of Delegates since 2021. From 2021-23 Juan represented the ISBA in the ABA House of Delegates as the downstate At-Large Delegate until he was appointed to the ABA Nominating Committee by ABA President Mary Smith.
During the 2022-23 bar year, Juan served as Chair of the ABA’s Civil Rights & Social Justice Section. During his term, he successfully convened the Section’s first Economic Justice Summit held at Georgetown Law Center that brought attention to economic disparities and inequalities in the United States. Juan also launched and hosted a weekly podcast called “Chair Chats” where he interviewed legal scholars, activists, and thought leaders on a variety of civil rights and social justice issues. To see these weekly Chair Chats podcasts, please visit, https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/projects-and-initiatives/chair-chat/. Because of Juan’s leadership, the Civil Rights & Social Justice Section received the 2023 Meritorious Service Award and the 2023 Outstanding Collaboration Award from the ABA’s Section Officers Conference.
Juan presenting John Echohawk, Founder & Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund, the 2023 Thurgood Marshall Award on behalf of the ABA Civil Rights and Social Justice Section.
National Bar Association
Juan served as the 75th President of the NBA from 2017-18. During his term as President, the NBA co-founded the National Commission for Voter Justice to address voter suppression across the country while advancing electoral reform and civic engagement. Juan created a Law & Technology Initiative and was the first NBA President to lead the Association to Silicon Valley to promote more diversity and inclusion in the technology industry. Also, under his leadership the NBA established its first LGBTQ+ Lawyers Division to further advance an inclusive environment for all members of the Association regardless of their sexual orientation or identity. Because of Juan’s leadership, the LGBTQ+ Division has a permanent seat on the NBA Board of Governors. The NBA is the nation’s oldest and largest global network of predominantly African American legal professionals and represents the interests of approximately 67,000 African American lawyers, judges, law professors, and law students.
Juan being sworn-in as President of the National Bar Association by Illinois Appellate Court Justice William Cousins, Jr. in August 2017.
As President of the NBA, Juan met with United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Baber Ginsburg in 2018.
National Conference of Bar Presidents
Because of Juan’s dedication to developing lawyers for bar leadership and community service, in 2020 he was appointed to a 3-year term on the NCBP Executive Council. In 2023, Juan was selected by his fellow bar leaders from across the country to serve as Secretary of NCBP (current Treasurer), placing him in line to serve as President of NCBP during the upcoming 2026-27 bar year. Juan will become the first Past President of the NBA to ever serve as President of NCBP. Founded in 1950, NCBP is a national association of lawyers-leaders whose mission is to provide high-quality programming and leadership development training for members of the legal community.
Juan with his fellow national bar leaders from HNBA, NAPABA, and the NNBA in 2018.