Financial empowerment panel scheduled Dec. 4
A panel discussion on "Financial Empowerment as We Age" will take place during a 12 noon luncheon Wednesday, Dec. 4, at the University Club of Chicago. Sponsors are the Women's Bar Association of Illinois and the ISBA Elder Law Section Council.
Program co-chairs are Vickie A. Gillio, a member of the ISBA Administrative Law Section Council and the Committee on Minority and Women Participation, and Catherine J. Casey of Piper Rudnick.
For more information or reservations, at $25 per person, call the WBAI office, (312) 341-8530.
More cruises added to ISBA ininerary
Global Holidays has announced the availability of some additional Caribbean cruises that will embark in December. See Bon voyage section for details, and look for representatives of ISBA-affiliated travel coordinators during the ISBA Midyear Meeting next month at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers.
December cable programs review employees' rights
During the month of December, the ISBA will present two related half-hour cable television programs on employment law issues, titled "Knowing Your Rights on the Job." They will be broadcast each Tuesday at 10 p.m. on Chicago Access Network channel 21.
Heading the panel is Jill P. O'Brien, vice chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section Council. A partner in Laner, Muchin, Dombrow, Becker, Levin & Tominberg, Chicago, she also serves on the Committee on Women and the Law.
The other panelist is William J. Borah of William J. Borah & Associates, Chicago and Homewood. He serves on the Labor and Employment Law Section Council, the Civil Practice and Procedure Section Council and the Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
The moderator is Chicago attorney Latham Williams, a partner in TMP Worldwide Executive Search and member of the Special Committee on Cable Television Programming.
Ethics opinion covers board service issues
An advisory ethics opinion on a conflict of interest question was adopted Oct. 11 by the ISBA Board of Governors as Opinion No. 02-01.
The digest of the opinion drafted by the Committee on Professional Conduct states that: "Absent disclosure and consent, a lawyer cannot represent an insurer with regard to a claim where the insurer's interests are inconsistent with those of a reinsurer on whose board the lawyer sits."
Previous opinions have covered the issue of a lawyer sitting on the board of a company he represents, but none has involved a lawyer on the board of a company with interests inconsistent with those of a client.
Citing Rule 1.7(b) of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, the committee saw the issue as no different from others in which a lawyer's own business or personal interests, or duties to a third party, may affect representation of a client.
As to the question of whether such a conflict may be overcome by consent of the parties after disclosure, the committee pointed out that the lawyer must also reasonably believe that representation will not be affected adversely by service as a director of the reinsurer.
To obtain the full text of Opinion No. 02-01, write to the ISBA General Counsel, Illinois Bar Center, 525 S. Second St., Springfield, Ill. 62701, or access the web site, www.isba.org.
Three seminars remain before Midyear slate
The schedule of remaining fall ISBA Law Ed Series seminars, including those planned during the Midyear Meeting next month in Chicago, follows.
For registration details, see the Law Ed Series pages 14-15 and the Midyear Meeting pages 12-13 in this issue of the ISBA Bar News, or call the CLE registrar at (800) 252-8908.
Thursday, Nov. 21, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Real Estate Law Update (Real Estate Law Section); Radisson Hotel, Bloomington.
Friday, Nov. 22, 8:30 a.m.-4:15 p.m. Negotiating and Conflict Resolution for Lawyers; ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
Monday, Nov. 25, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Administrative Hearings Before Local Government Agencies (Administrative Law Section); Marriott Hotel, Oak Brook.
Midyear Meeting programs listed
Thursday, Dec. 12, 2-5 p.m. Mediation: Essentials to Consider (Alternative Dispute Resolution, Bench and Bar, Civil Practice and Procedure, Family Law Sections).
Friday, Dec. 13, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Family Law Update (Family Law Section).
Friday, Dec. 13, 9 a.m.-4:15 p.m. General Practice Update (General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section).
Saturday, Dec. 14, 9 a.m.-12 noon Labor and Employment Update (Labor and Employment Law Section).
Saturday, Dec. 14, 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Update in Tort (Tort Law Section).
Young Lawyers set Dec. 17 for Bridge the Gap panel
The ISBA Young Lawyers Division will conduct a "Bridge the Gap" seminar for new lawyers on Tuesday, Dec. 17, in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield.
The distinguished faculty includes Judge Richard Mills of U.S. District Court for the Northern District and Springfield attorney Howard W. Feldman, a member of the ISBA Board of Governors.
Designed to help newcomers to the bar make the transition from legal education to legal career, the free program will take place from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Reservations must be made by calling Ann Boucher at (800) 252-8908 by Monday, Dec. 9.
Kelli E. Gordon, a member of the YLD Council and the Civil Practice and Procedure Section Council, will open the seminar at 9 a.m. with introductory remarks. The schedule of topics and speakers follows.
9:15 a.m. Fundamentals of Family Law, with Howard Feldman of Feldman, Wasser, Draper & Benson.
10 a.m. Mechanic's Liens, with Stanley N. Wasser of Feldman, Wasser, Draper & Benson, a member of the ISBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Council.
11 a.m. Practicing in Federal Courts, with Judge Richard Mills.
11:45 a.m. Luncheon period.
1 p.m. Criminal Law Basics, with Stanley Wasser.
1:45 p.m. How to Take Effective Depositions, with Scott D. Spooner of Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen.
2:45 p.m. Preparing for a Jury Trial, with Francis J. Lynch of Wolter, Beeman & Lynch.
3:30 p.m. Litigating a Forcible Entry and Detainer Action, with Michael M. Durr of Rabin, Myers & Hanken.
Our world of beauty, order and diversity is a legacy
Chief Justice Mary Ann G. Morrow of the Illinois Supreme Court was honored by 29 bar associations, including the ISBA, during a reception Oct. 17 in Chicago's Harold Washington Library. Photos of the event were published on page 4 of the November 1 issue of the ISBA Bar News. Excerpts from Justice McMorrow's remarks follow.
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This position is indeed an honor, and I am thankful to my wonderful colleagues on the Supreme Court for the confidence they have expressed in me, but most of all I am thankful for the company and collegiality they bring to the everyday business of the court.
Although our work is complex, and we must make very difficult and controversial decisions, we enjoy what we do and derive tremendous professional fulfillment in doing it. In my opinion, our gathering here this evening is, and should be, as much a tribute and honor to you as it is for me.
More than 40 years ago when I became an attorney, membership in professional organizations was considered a great honor. The Chicago Bar Association and Illinois State Bar Association existed with broad membership. They have a long history.
The Women's Bar Association of Illinois, which I was able to join immediately upon my admission to the bar, was established in 1914 by nine women lawyers in the Chicago area. Its earliest efforts revolved around winning a constitutional amendment to permit women to vote, and then to permit women to sit on juries.
By the 1950s, the Women's Bar Association members worked long and hard to win passage of the Paternity Act to replace the Bastardy Act. Its current projects are equally laudable and enjoy extensive support.
Today, of course, and in contrast, almost half of the law student population are women. Their numbers are steadily increasing in big firms and as association leaders and on the bench. Therefore, its power has substantially increased.
The American Bar Association has recently seen the completion of the tenure of its second woman president. Jennifer Nijman is the fourth woman president of the Chicago Bar, and the Illinois State Bar has had two women presidents. Women serve or have served as heads of several other bar associations, important sections and committees.
There are now two women serving on the Illinois Supreme Court. Nationwide and including the Virgin Islands, there are 18 women chief judges who sit on the highest courts. The number of women who serve as judges in Illinois has more than doubled since 1994, according to diversity surveys prepared by the Chicago Lawyer magazine.
Only 22 percent of the judges in Illinois are women, but we're getting there. Contrary to what some may suggest, society is not, nor should it be, a battleground for the sexes.
I mention in greater detail the many advances by women and the Women's Bar Association only because I am most familiar with that association, and to illustrate how much can be done by bar associations. I am confident that the other associations represented here have also enjoyed as much success and have engaged in meaningful projects to advance their interests.
Working with others on bar association projects can be enjoyable and productive. I was with an attorney last night who told me that years ago, when he went to a bar association meeting, he rarely got home before 4 a.m. What camaraderie! We now enjoy the fruits of the work of many from years ago.
I look to the sponsoring associations of today's celebration and welcome the growth of diversity. What is most pleasing to me this evening is the diversity in the bar associations that have joined here to sponsor this reception.
There is much goodness in the work of each bar association, so it matters little whether you are a member of the Advoicates Society, or the Arab-American Bar of Illinois, or the Black Women Lawyers of Greater Chicago, or the Filipino-American Bar, or the Decalogue Society or the Asian-American Bar.
What is significant is that each of you have two things in common: You are all lawyers, members of the most noble profession, and you are members of a professional organization that, I am sure, has among its goals the working for justice for all. You have been able to set aside whatever differences you may have and, instead, have found commonality with the members of the other bar associations.
You have demonstrated that we can and should work to celebrate an important event, as we are doing this evening, or that we can and should work to change rules or whatever may be necessary to improve the practice of law, or we can and should work to vindicate rights.
We can do it better together. It is my sincere hope that you will all come together more frequently to accomplish our mutual goals, for it is in unity that we have more strength. I want you to know that I am open to whatever suggestions each and every bar association represented here may have to improve our justice system.
In closing, I wish to note that we have been given a wondrous world of beauty, diversity and order. That world has been given to us as a legacy. As lawyers, we are challenged to create a new world of our own, one that will reflect our justice as well as our genius, and one that will reflect our togetherness.
We must all help the weak among us and make them strong. We must remember the seemingly strong and the special burdens that are theirs. We must keep the strong ever mindful of the many lives they so profoundly affect. We must treat our fellow citizens as we would like to be treated - with fairness and dignity.
May we treat with particular sensitivity and kindness the dependent ones among us: the poor, the homeless, the unattractive, the defenseless, the disadvantaged, those who are different from us, the lonely, and the newcomers to our land.
Let us work together to bring our city and associations of diverse men and women ever closer to becoming the city of God.
Sexual Orientation Committee conducts Midyear Meeting discussion, reception
Still in its first year as an Illinois State Bar Association initiative, the Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) will fill an important role among events of the ISBA Midyear Meeting next month in the Sheraton Chic ago Hotel and Towers.
The committee is a co-sponsor with the Illinois Judges Association of the panel discussion, "Is Homophobia Unethical?" from 11 a.m. to 12 noon Friday, Dec. 13. SOGI also will hold a reception, "Meet the Out Crowd," at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12.
The panel discussion will focus on two recent amendments of Illinois Supreme Court rules that forbid judicial prejudice and lawyer discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The program will be introduced by committee chair James L. Schwartz of Chicago. Panelists include Chief Justice Mary Ann G. McMorrow of the Illinois Supreme Court and Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans of the Cook County Circuit Court.
Others are Judge Stuart A. Nudelman, president of the IJA; Judge Nancy J. Katz, vice chair of the committee, and Thomas More Donnelly, a committee member.
For the first time in a public forum, the implications of the amended rules will be reviewed as a policy shift toward protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation in all aspects of bench and bar responsibilities.
SOGI was formed as a special committee during the term of Tim Eaton as ISBA president, at the suggestion of Schwartz, and its status subsequently was elevated to standing committee. Schwartz was appointed chair in June by President Loren S. Golden.
Also the elected representative to the American Bar Association House of Delegates from the affiliated National Lesbian and Gay Law Association, Schwartz has chaired the NLGLA and been an active member of the ABA Section of General Practice, Solo and Small Firms. He serves on the editorial board for its publication.
He is treasurer of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago, which is a member of the ISBA-administered Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, and a board member of the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago.