Called the ISBA Solo Program, it will offer the premier lexis.com research system to new subscribers for only $10 per month for a 12-month period. The deadline for signing up is April 30.
Participants will have unlimited access to Illinois Case Law, Illinois Statutes, Illinois Court Rules and other features. Printing is included.
ISBA members who are not eligible for the Solo Program can sign up for different LexisNexis plans at discounts of five percent from monthly fees.
Among them is the New Attorney Ramp-up Program for lawyers who have graduated within the past five years and are solo practitioners or practice with another attorney. This offer is a graduated discount of 75 percent the first year, 50 percent the second year and 25 percent the third year.
ISBA members also may purchase discounted use of LexisNexis for a day or a week. Call (877) 810-5324 for specific pricing information, or to subscribe to one of the programs offered.
Pivotol issues on Orpett's ABA agenda
Chicago attorney Mitchell A. Orpett, chair of the American Bar Association Section of Tort and Insurance Practice, is urging his colleagues to be more active in shaping policies. His focus is on such pivotal tort issues as violence in schools, bioethics and e-commerce law.
"A negative image haunts the legal profession, and I think sometimes we deserve what we get," said Orpett, a founding partner in Tribler, Orpett & Crone with 22 years of experience in civil disputes.
"As lawyers, we are in leadership roles, and we can and should do better," he added. "That being said, no profession has done more to shape our democracy and guide society. The rule of law is our nation's great legacy."
In his new ABA post, Orpett leads more than 26,000 domestic and international attorneys and law students on policy issues and professional education in areas involving tort and insurance practice.
Referred to as "TIPS," the section is one of the most active and wide-ranging in the ABA. A national voice for the advancement of civil justice, it is the only national forum where plaintiff and defense attorneys, insurance and corporate counsel come together to address common concern.
During his four-year term, Orpett will oversee TIPS leadership and committees, and promote initiatives relating to litigation, tort policies, insurance coverage and regulation. As chair, he will work to foster productive dialogue among all of its constituencies.
Orpett has created a national forum to address the interaction between insurance companies and their retained attorneys a relationship seen recently under attack from various companies and legal organizations.
"Our section has successfully brought together insurance companies and their attorneys to discuss challenges, to find common ground and to explore common-sense solutions to the difficult problems they face," he said. "Our system of justice demands that they do so."
Orpett intends to keep TIPS at the forefront of key national issues considered by the ABA, including tort reform, health care, product liability, class-action litigation and aircraft accident liability.
The section will also initiate and maintain involvement in a number of pro bono and public service projects, including a peer mediation program in high schools and a domestic violence safety program in corporate America.
"Lawyers in the tort and insurance fields, especially, must dare to care and make a difference," said Orpett. He plans to host major forums and seminars on emerging issues that gain greater public awareness.
For example, Orpett will head to Los Angeles in February to lead a two-day program on media and gun violence. "Being a parent has certainly increased my awareness and sensitivity on this issue and fueled my concern as an attorney," he said.
He is also planning a symposium to address bioethics, minorities and the law in June at Tuskegee University in Alabama, site of the infamous U.S. Public Health Syphilis Study. Other major forums will cover issues generated by the growth of technology, including privacy, cyber squatting and Internet regulation.
Elected TIPS chair in July, Orpett has been an ABA member since 1978 and has been involved in the leadership of the section since 1980. He also chairs the ABA Committee on Continuing Education of the Bar.
A 1978 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, he is a former member of the ISBA Insurance Law Section Council and a past president of the Decalogue Society.
Orpett is active in litigation, arbitrations and mediations, and has been an umpire on arbitration panels. He speaks frequently on effective litigation cost management, insurance law and coverage, insurer liability for claims practices, and ethical issues facing lawyers.
Banner in line to head section his father did
As vice chair of the American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property, Chicago attorney Mark T. Banner is in line to take over the position his father, Donald W. Banner, held more than three decades ago.
A founding partner of Banner & Witcoff, Donald Banner headed the ABA section during the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Mark Banner is slated for the job when his four-year term as vice chair ends.
An honors graduate of The John Marshall Law School, Mark Banner chaired the ISBA Intellectual Property Section Council in 1990-91. He is a former editor for the ABA Section of Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law and contributing editor to the American Intellectual Property Law Association Journal.
An adjunct professor at the Georgetown Law Center, he has been an administrator of Judge Paul R. Michel's master class in appellate advocacy at John Marshall's Center for Intellectual Property Law.
In addition to Donald Banner in the Washington, D.C., office and Mark Banner in the Chicago office, family lawyers in the firm include Pamela I. Banner in Washington and Brian E. Banner, of counsel.
Women's service date is May 18
Plans are being made for the second annual commemoration of "Women Everywhere: Partners in Service" on Friday, May 18. About 400 women and men from the legal community volunteered for projects last May 19 in several agencies that serve women in need.
The ISBA Board of Governors on Oct. 27 enthusiastically endorsed continued participation. Sponsors include the ISBA Committee on Women and the Law, chaired by Susan M. Witt of Rockford; the Black Women Lawyers Association of Chicago, the Chicago Bar Alliance for Women and the Women's Bar Association of Illinois.
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that the following disciplinary orders were entered Nov. 21, 22 and 27. The summaries were provided by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
HAROLD RUSSELL ABRAMS, Chicago: Abrams, who was licensed in 1967, was disbarred on consent. Between 1993 and 1996, he paid more than 40 individuals who were not lawyers a total of over $800,000 to solicit potential personal injury clients on his behalf and to perform legal services for the clients under Abrams' auspices. The individuals approached victims of car accidents at the scenes of the accidents or at their residences within a day or two of the accidents. Abrams further allowed those individuals to engage in the unauthorized practice of law by providing them with attorney-client agreements to present to potential clients for their signature. Several of his clients were not consulted before their personal injury matters were settled and had no contact with Abrams or any other lawyer at his office throughout the course of the representation.
MICHAEL JOSEPH BARBONE, Tampa, Fla.: Barbone was licensed in Illinois in 1986 and in Florida in 1988. He continued to practice law in Florida during a period when he was suspended for misconduct. He contacted clients and handled trust funds during that time. He was suspended for three years and placed on probation for two years following reinstatement. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and ordered him suspended for three years and until further order.
JOHN WILLIE BARNES, Chicago: Barnes, who was licensed in 1988, was censured. For approximately seven months, he assisted a non-lawyer in the unauthorized practice of law by allowing her to use his office to conduct a bankruptcy petition preparing business, by authorizing her to use his name in her advertisements, and by holding himself out as being involved in the bankruptcy petition preparation process. In addition, he signed a misleading affidavit that was filed by the non-lawyer with the bankruptcy court. In that affidavit, he stated that the non-lawyer prepared bankruptcy petitions under his supervision and that he reviewed the petitions. His statements were inaccurate because he did not supervise the non-lawyer's preparation of bankruptcy petitions in any meaningful way.
BERNARD ANTHONY BECTON, Arnold, Mo.: Becton was licensed in Missouri in 1992 and in Illinois in 1993. The Supreme Court of Missouri disbarred him for misconduct occurring between 1993 and 1998. He was charged with neglecting 11 client matters, commingling funds and dishonesty, including forging clients' names to checks. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.
PETER L. BENJAMIN, Merrillville, Ind.: Benjamin was licensed in Indiana in 1978 and in Illinois in 1994. The Supreme Court of Indiana reprimanded him for charging an unreasonable fee and failing to set forth in writing the complete method of calculating a contingent fee. Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded him.
MICHAEL NEAL BLEDSOE, Chicago: Bledsoe, who was licensed in 1983, misappropriated $202,000 in funds belonging to his disabled first cousin, obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars by engaging in the fraudulent sale of securities, entered into improper business transactions with a client, and made numerous false statements to his clients and to third parties. He did not participate in his disciplinary proceedings. He was disbarred.
THOMAS MICHAEL DALEY, Belleville: Daley, who was licensed in 1973, was suspended for nine months. He engaged in a conflict of interest when he took direction from one client in representing other, unrelated clients in criminal matters without their permission and, in some cases, entered guilty pleas and waived jury trials without the clients' knowledge. He also failed to report to disciplinary authorities another attorney's use of a fraudulent court order.
WILLIAM EUGENE ELSTON JR., Chicago: Elston, who was licensed in 1959, was suspended for two years, with all but six months of the suspension stayed by an 18-month period of probation with conditions. He neglected four civil matters and engaged in a conflict of interest by simultaneously representing two clients on both sides of a loan transaction, then representing one client against the other to collect on the loan. In addition, in representing a client who had been convicted of murder and sentenced to 40 years imprisonment, Elston improperly asked the client to agree to indemnify him if he was sanctioned for filing a frivolous federal habeas corpus petition.
GEORGE ERNEST FABER, West Dundee: Faber, who was licensed in 1964, was suspended for 60 days. He converted approximately $1,500 in client settlement funds.
DAVID M. FAHRENKAMP, Edwardsville: Fahrenkamp was licensed in Illinois in 1978 and in Missouri in 1979. He was publicly reprimanded by the Supreme Court of Missouri for neglecting a client's federal appeal. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded him.
MARK ROBERT FULLER, Downers Grove: Fuller, who was licensed in 1979, was suspended for one year and until further order of the court. During 1998 and 1999, he failed to communicate with three clients, neglected a divorce case, and twice failed to appear in court on behalf of a client in a criminal proceeding. He also failed to cooperate in the disciplinary investigation and failed to appear at the hearing on the charges filed against him.
ABRAHAM N. GOLDMAN, Oregon House, Calif.: Goldman was licensed in Illinois in 1977 and in California in 1983. He failed to competently represent several clients, did not keep clients reasonably informed about developments in their cases, misrepresented the status of matters to clients, improperly agreed to an aggregate settlement of the claims of multiple clients without their informed written consent, failed to render appropriate accountings of settlements to clients, and misappropriated and commingled client funds. As a result, he was suspended in California for one year, with the suspension stayed for all but the first six months, followed by a two-year probation subject to certain conditions. Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him one year, with the suspension stayed for all but the first six months to be followed by a two-year period of probation subject to the conditions imposed by the State of California.
THOMAS K. HOFFMAN, Crown Point, Ind.: Hoffman was licensed in Illinois and Indiana in 1977. He was publicly reprimanded by the Supreme Court of Indiana for neglecting a client case, continuing to represent that client after the statute of limitations had run on the claim, and failing to inform the client that a potential conflict of interest arose because the client had a potential legal malpractice claim against him. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded him.
YINKANG HU, Chicago: Hu was licensed as a foreign legal consultant in 1993 pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 712. His foreign legal consultant license permits Hu only to advise people about the laws of China. In a case of first impression, he was censured for rendering legal services, preparing legal documents and appearing in court in matters concerning Illinois law on behalf of a corporation of which he was an officer.
BRUCE LESLIE JORGENSEN, Chicago: Jorgensen, who was licensed to practice law in 1986, was censured. He had a physical altercation with a person with whom he had been a friend. As a result, he was found guilty of battery, a Class A misdemeanor, and sentenced to 15 months probation. He was also ordered by the trial court in the criminal matter to pay restitution in the amount of $2,000 to the victim, who suffered a fracture, multiple lacerations and a broken nose.
DAVID HERBERT LARSON, Rockford: Larson, who was licensed in 1977, was suspended two years and until further order of court. He was previously suspended for four years after he was convicted on drug charges. He violated the conditions of his criminal sentence and made false representations to the courts regarding his compliance with those conditions when he used cocaine again and was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
TERRY SPENCER LEWIS, East St. Louis: Lewis was licensed in Missouri in 1972 and in Illinois in 1974. The Supreme Court of Missouri disbarred him after he failed to respond to the disciplinary authority's allegations that he incompetently handled a personal injury case, failed to respond to the client's requests for information, and misrepresented the matter's status to the client. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him until he is reinstated in Missouri.
DAVID LOWE MADEIRA, Wheaton: Madeira, who was licensed in 1989, was suspended for 60 days. He was employed by a not-for-profit organization, with his primary job responsibility being that of a fund raiser. He billed the foundation for airline tickets and other expenses, although he had already recovered the expenses from an unrelated client for whom he actually made the trip. He also improperly billed the foundation for $363 in expenses related to his personal business.