Retired Judge Steven J. Kleifield likes to tell people that his mother inspired his decision to focus on a career in the law.
"Where I grew up, you were supposed to either be a doctor or a lawyer, and she decided that I was the lawyer type," said Kleifield, who was raised in Skokie, Ill. "I liked to talk about things. I liked to analyze things, and she told me, 'You should be a lawyer,' and that just stuck with me."
