But even prescriptive grammarians ignored the distinctions in Wallis' rule between "shall" and "will" in the first, second, and third persons; and "shall" was declared to mean "must" in all cases. The meaning of "will" retained its original sense of futurity, creating the distinction between, "They will (simple futurity) go to New York next week," and "They shall ("must") go to New York next week." Needless to say, almost nobody now observes that distinction.
Unfortunately, along the way, legal drafter(s) adopted the mandatory sense of "shall," and that has caused trouble in legal construction ever since. The question of why legal drafters have not long since substituted "must" for "shall" to mean "mandatory" can be answered by the reliance of legal drafters to retain identical language of statutes, contracts, and other documents.
Skim through the numerous pages of court decisions dealing with the words "shall" and "may," and you will find a hodge-podge of interpretation. Often courts have construed "shall" as mandatory, obligatory, or directory-all meaning "must." But a number of the courts have held "shall" to be "permissive" (that is, not mandatory), which makes "shall" a synonym of "may." Look more closely at these decisions, and you will find that courts often seem to come to their decisions not according to the meaning of "shall," but according to what the court believes will bring a just decision in the case at hand.
An illustration of the ambiguity of the word "may" can be seen in a Florida decision that cite Baldor v. Rogers, in which the Florida Supreme Court held that courts "may not (that is, "must not") not exclude expert opinion that may (that is, "might") contradict the opinion of the physician who is the expert witness." (In that sentence, the appellate court cited the word "may" first as meaning "must" and then as meaning "might").
Thus the finding of the Gaming Board, though it may seem illogical, is far from an anomaly; it is typical of courts' efforts to define the slippery modal "shall," and decisions like this will continue as long as legal drafters continue to use archaic or confusing language just because it was used by their predecessors.
Gertrude Block is Lecturer Emerita at the University of Florida College of Law. Her book, "Effective Legal Writing" (Foundation Press), is now available in a 5th edition (1999), with an accompanying instructor's manual. Ms. Block is also co-author of the "Judicial Opinion Writing Manual" (published by the American Bar Association, 1991). Send questions to the ISBA Bar News -- Language Tips, Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Bar Center, Springfield, IL 62701, or e-mail her at block@law.ufl.edu.
Chicago Bar
The Chicago Bar Association Law and Literature Group will discuss Doctorow's "The Book of Daniel" during a 5 p.m. meeting Tuesday, Jan. 9. Call group chair Karen Mensching, (815) 544-2721, for information about future discussions.
DuPage County Bar
Tryouts will be held at 12 noon Saturday, Jan. 6, at the DuPage County Bar Association in Wheaton for singers, dancers and jokesters willing to participate in the annual Judges' Nite Show. Volunteers for props, scenery, costumes and music also are needed.
The 26th annual judicial spoof, "2001: A Courthouse Odd-Yssey," will take place Friday, Feb. 23, at the Wilton Manor, Wheaton. Call (630) 653-7779 for details.
The DCBA will make attorney identity photos for 18th Circuit security passes from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, Jan. 4-Feb. 9, at the County Judicial Center, Wheaton. The 2001 ARDC card must be provided by attorneys for completion of the photo-ID card.
Hellenic Bar
The annual holiday party of the Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 28, at Iron Mike's Grille, Chicago. Call (847) 692-7300. The next monthly luncheon will be Thursday, Jan. 11, at the Chicago Bar Association.
Officers and directors of the Hellenic Bar will meet in January to discuss long-range planning, implementation of the work of standing committees, and development of a legal education program in March at The John Marshall Law School.
Illinois Judges
Judge Stephen C. Mathers of Galesburg was installed Dec. 9 as president of the Illinois Judges Association during the annual meeting in Chicago. He succeeds Cook County Judge Patrick McGann.
Other IJA officers are Stuart Nudelman of Chicago, Ann B. Jorgensen of Wheaton and John O. Steele of Chicago, vice presidents; James M. Wexstten of Mt. Vernon, secretary, and Jesse Reyes of Chicago, treasurer. Judge Jorgensen is vice chair of the ISBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Council.
Justinian Society
A joint dinner meeting of the Justinian Society and its DuPage County, Kane County and Lake County chapters will be held Thursday, Jan. 18, at Giannotti's Restaurant in Oak Brook. Call President Leonard S. DeFranco, (630) 990-3900.
Justinians - Lake
The Lake County chapter of the Justinian Society will hold its annual Christmas party at the home of Judge Mary Seminara Schostok in Libertyville on Thursday, Dec. 21. The dinner will consist of favorite Italian dishes created by those who attend. Call Secretary John Rizzo at (847) 249-4600 for reservations.
Kane County Bar
The fourth annual Kane County Bar Foundation gala black-tie dinner will be held Saturday, Jan. 20, at Mill Creek Golf Club, Geneva. Proceeds will benefit charitable programs such as the children's courthouse waiting room and law student scholarships.
Rock Island County Bar
The annual meeting of the Rock Island County Bar Association will be conducted Thursday, Jan. 25, at the Rick Island Arsenal Golf Club.
Sangamon County Bar
James Covington, ISBA director of legislative affairs, is the moderator for the Sangamon County Bar Association's "Prairie Lawyer" cable television program at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18, on TCI Network channel 4.
The topic of prosecutorial misconduct will be discussed by former assistant state's attorney Ken Tupy and State Rep. James B. Durkin, chair of the Special House Committee on Prosecutorial Misconduct.
Sangamon County Bar members will board a bus at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, at Jake & Elwood's in Springfield for a trip to the Par-a-Dice Casino in East Peoria. Call Shirley Vinson, (217) 753-6365, to sign up.
Township Attorneys
John D. Spina of Elmwood Park is the new president of the Illinois Township Attorneys Association. Other officers are Lisa LaConte of Peoria, vice president; Dale Stockley of Sandwich, secretary, and John W. Foltz of Monticello, treasurer.
Directors include Michael J. Chmiel of Crystal Lake, secretary of the ISBA International and Immigration Law Section Council and associate newsletter editor of the Commercial, Banking and Bankruptcy Law Section Council; John F. Erbes of Carbondale, newsletter co-editor of the Elder Law Section Council, and Dwight H. O'Keefe of Springfield, a member of the State and Local Taxation Section Council.
Vermilion County Bar
The Vermilion County Bar Association will not meet in December. The next monthly luncheon meeting will be Tuesday, Jan. 30, in the Old National Bank, Danville. Environmental engineer Scott Ludlow of Indianapolis will speak. Call Bruce Meachum, (217) 442-1390.
Workers' Comp Lawyers
New officers and directors of the Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association will be elected at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15, at O'Leary's Public House, Chicago. The installation dinner dance will take place Saturday, Jan. 20. Call Secretary John M. McAndrews, (312) 704-4400, for details.
Slated candidates are Mark A. DePaolo for president, John McAndrews for vice president, Steven T. Grady for treasurer and Karen M. Talty for secretary. Directors include Gerald F. Cooper, secretary of the ISBA Workers' Compensation Law Section Council, and past chair David P. Menchetti.
Louis Biro was law school board president 32 years
Chicago attorney Louis L. Biro, who was president of The John Marshall Law School Board of Trustees for 32 years, died Nov. 29 at age 81 of cancer less than 24 hours after the law school library was dedicated in his name.
A 1948 graduate of John Marshall who was active in alumni affairs and an adjunct professor, Mr. Biro became board president 20 years later. He stepped down in October for health reasons but remained on the board.
Service with the Army in the Pacific Theater during World War II interrupted Mr. Biro's legal studies, but he resumed night classes while waiting tables by day at Binyon's Restaurant.
A solo practitioner in the liquor licensing area, he was secretary to the Illinois Liquor Control Commission in the 1950s. As its first technical adviser, he reorganized the renewal system so license holders did not all renew on the same day each year.
As law school board chair, Mr. Biro was involved in purchasing the Rothschild Building at State and Jackson in 1979 to expand the library, classrooms and offices, and develop a computer center and a mock courtroom.
In 1996, the law school expanded further by purchasing the top nine floors of the Chicago Bar Association building. To mark the centennial celebration last year, Mr. Biro spearheaded a capital campaign that included establishment of several student scholarships.
Gordon Burroughs
Edwardsville attorney G. Gordon Burroughs died Nov. 12 at age 91 in a Chesterfield, Mo., retirement center. He was of counsel to Burroughs, Hepler, Broom, MacDonald & Hebrank.
A 1933 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, Mr. Burroughs joined the firm of his father, William G. Burroughs; his uncle, George Burroughs, and a brother-in-law, David Simpson. He was a Navy lieutenant during World War II.
Mr. Burroughs was a past president of the Madison County Bar Association and the Edwardsville Kiwanis Club. He served on the Regional Board of School Trustees and the boards of the Edwardsville National, Mark Twain and Mercantile Banks.
A former attorney for the Edwardsville City Council, Mr. Burroughs served for six years on an ethics committee of the Illinois bar.
Livingston Fairbank
Retired Chicago attorney Livingston Fairbank Jr., a descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, died Nov. 17 at age 74 in a health center at Bainbridge Island, Wash., after a stroke.
An Army intelligence officer in the Pacific during World War II, Mr. Fairbanks received a law degree from the University of Virginia and practiced in Chicago with Isham, Lincoln & Beale, Mayer, Brown & Platt, and Rudnick & Wolfe.
He performed in the Chicago Bar Association Christmas Spirits show and served on the board of the Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs.
James Fitzner
Government attorney James R. Fitzner, formerly of Wheaton, died Oct. 28 at age 54 in Miami. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he was a graduate of the Wake Forest University Law School.
A one-time member of an FBI swat team that protected Congress in Washington, D.C., Mr. Fitzner joined the staff of the U.S. attorney's office in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, in 1990 and became its managing attorney.
Roberta Johnson
Former Urbana attorney Roberta Bishop Johnson died in November at age 70 in Eugene, Ore. A graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, she was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1986.
Fred Klomann
Retired attorney Fred W. Klomann Sr. of Buffalo Grove died Nov. 4 at age 92 in his daughter's Palatine home. He was a graduate of The John Marshall Law School and a former assistant Cook County state's attorney.
A justice of the peace and Skokie village trustee in the 1950s, Mr. Klomann owned the Fred William Klomann Real Estate Agency in Wheeling until he retired in the 1960s.
Arnold Nagler
Chicago attorney Arnold Nagler died Nov. 27 at age 84 of lung cancer. A 1939 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, he volunteered for the Navy during World War II and headed the supply office for a blimp fleet base in New Jersey.
Returning to Chicago in 1945, Mr. Nagler served in the U.S. Office of Price Administration before entering private practice in real estate and condominium development. He was active in fund raising for the Evelyn Steinberg Cancer Foundation and the Weismann Institute of Science in Israel.
Otto Nerad
Retired bank attorney Otto Joseph Nerad, formerly of West Chicago, died Nov. 21 at age 76 in his Wonewoc, Wis., home. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1950 and took inactive status in 1991.
Mr. Nerad was a trust department attorney and trust officer for the Lawndale National Bank of Chicago and Western National Bank of Cicero.
Thomas Nold
Marissa attorney Thomas John Nold, a resident of Red Bud, died Nov. 4 on his 61st birthday in the Belleville home of his sister. He was a 1974 graduate of the St. Louis University Law School.