Sluggish growth rate of lawyer population lingers, ARDC reports
Only slight changes from 2000 to 2001 in the numbers of Illinois attorneys registered and disciplined are noted in the annual report submitted April 30 to the Supreme Court by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
The master roll increased by just 650 last year, less than one percent from 73,661 to 74,311 continuing a slower pace that began in 1996, when the annual rate of increase in the attorney population dropped below three percent to stay.
(The comparative figures for the two calendar years were compiled each Oct. 31, before the admission of additional lawyers in November or December of those years.)
Docketed disciplinary investigations rose slightly from 5,716 to 5,811 but remained well below the 1992 peak of 7,338. After file closures by the ARDC administrator and Inquiry Board, only 273 complaints were voted up from 224 in 2000.
Matters filed with the Hearing Board rose from 119 to 137, but filings with the Review Board dropped from 29 to 28. The Supreme Court ordered sanctions in 123 matters, compared with 120 the previous year.
The disciplinary orders included 26 disbarments, 68 suspensions, 16 probations, 10 censures and three reprimands. Another 11 attorneys received interim suspensions - five under Rule 761(b) due to conviction for a crime, and six under Rule 774 for pending charges.
Individual statistics
For the third straight year, the ratio of attorneys by gender stayed the same: 70 percent male and 30 percent female. The percentage in practice for less than 10 years rose from 32 to 33 percent.
Among registered attorneys on active status, 7,144 were admitted since Jan. 1, 1998 (9.6%) and 57,392 before that (77.2%), plus 2,172 over the age of 75 (2.9%). Another 1,599 (2.2%) are on military duty, in the judiciary or foreign legal consultants, and 6,004 (8.1%) are inactive.
The ARDC reported removal from the master roll during 2001 of 1,986 attorneys because of fee arrearages, deaths, retirements and disciplinary sanctions.
Practice locations
The number of attorneys reporting principal business addresses in Illinois during 2001 rose by 676 (1.2%) from 56,460 to 57,136, but only two judicial districts reported increases.
The largest growth is in Cook County, where the increase of 824 from 39,300 to 40,124 represented a jump of 2.1 percent. Lawyers with Cook County addresses are 70.2 percent of the state's total.
2nd District: Decreased 131 from 9,028 to 8,897 (-1.5%) with increases only in the 15th, 17th and 18th Circuits.
3rd District: Decreased 15 from 2,724 to 2,709 (-0.6%) with increases only in the 12th and 21st Circuits.
4th District: Increased 15 from 3,103 to 3,118 (+0.5%) with increases only in the 5th, 6th and 11th Circuits.
5th District: Decreased 17 from 2,305 to 2,288 (-0.7%) with an increase only in the 3rd Circuit.
Changes in attorney population were mixed among the 10 largest downstate counties. DuPage was up five to 3,645, but Lake was down 142 to 2,667. Sangamon stayed the same at 1,098.
Others are Kane, down 29 to 944; Peoria, down 14 to 695; Winnebago, up 15 to 682; Will, up 14 to 679; St. Clair, up one to 645; Madison, up 10 to 557, and Champaign, up six to 522.
In all, 44 counties recorded fewer lawyers, 24 had no change and 34 had increases.
ISBA committee reviewing capital punishment study
In anticipation of debate by the ISBA Assembly on death penalty issues during the 126th Annual Meeting in June, President Tim Eaton has appointed a Special Committee on Capital Punishment.
The committee's responsibility includes a review of a voluminous report issued April 15 by a governor's commission, and a summary of its recommendations in relation to reforms already proposed by the state bar association.
Among 85 recommendations of the commission, chaired by retired federal judge Frank J. McGarr and former U.S. attorney Thomas P. Sullivan, is limiting the criteria for death penalty eligibility from 20 to only five specific types of crimes.
Others include eliminating capital punishment for the mentally retarded, and for defendants who are convicted by testimony of a single witness, a jailhouse informant or an accomplice.
The commission also recommended creation of a comprehensive DNA database, an independent forensic laboratory separate from law enforcement agencies, and a panel that would review decisions by prosecutors to request the death penalty.
The special ISBA committee will be chaired by Assembly member Robert A. Loeb of Chicago, past chair of the Criminal Justice Section Council. It includes Board of Governors members Vincent F. Cornelius of Wheaton and former judge Sheila M. Murphy of Chicago.
Patrick T. Driscoll of Chicago, chair of the Criminal Justice Section Council serves, along with past chair John E. Thies of Chicago and section council members Edwin Burnette of Chicago, 1st Circuit Associate Judge Kimberly A. Dahlen of Murphysboro, Don Hays of Springfield, Winnebago County State's Attorney Paul A. Logli of Rockford, Timijanel B. Odom of Markham and 19th Circuit Judge Mary Schostok of Waukegan.
The committee also includes DuPage County public defender Stephen W. Baker of Wheaton and John J. Rekowski of Collinsville, both past presidents of the Illinois Public Defender Association and members of the Assembly and Criminal Justice Section Council.
Others are 11th Circuit Judge Donald D. Bernardi of Bloomington, a member of the section council and vice chair of the Committee on Corrections and Sentencing, and Cook County Associate Judge David Erickson of Chicago.
The Assembly voted March 12 in Springfield to support continuation of the governor's moratorium on executions, pending review of the commission's report. A decision to support or oppose capital punishment was set for 10 a.m. Saturday, June 23, at the Grand Geneva Resort, Lake Geneva.
If you know your state legislators, the ISBA needs you to join the 400-lawyer Capitol Counsel Team and advocate on issues that affect the legal profession and public access to justice.
Five seminars slated at Annual Meeting
Five Law Ed Series seminars will be presented Friday and Saturday, June 21-22, during the 126th ISBA Annual Meeting at the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa, Lake Geneva, Wis.
On June 21, all-day programs are planned on "Hot Topics for the General Practitioner" and a Family Law Update. On June 22, slated half-day programs are "Back to the Basics of Bankruptcy Law", "Small Business Tax Changes," and "Law Firm Survival in the Internet Age."
The Law Office Management and Economics (Standing Committe on) will conduct a breakfast symposium from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. June 21, covering new technology, business practices and management skills.
Throughout the Annual Meeting, ISBA committees and section councils will conduct organizational sessions. A Section and Committee Officers Conference is scheduled at 7:30 a.m. June 21.
The traditional opening reception of the Annual Meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 20, followed by a buffet dinner and "Wizard of Oz" program of games, rides and entertainment for kids of all ages.
Friday highlights include the annual awards luncheon at 12 noon, a University of Illinois College of Law alumni reception at 4:30 p.m., a Fellows of the Illinois Bar Foundation reception at 5:30 p.m., and a cruise on Lake Geneva at 7 p.m.
Saturday activities will begin at 8 a.m. with the annual networking breakfast for women attorneys and judges, and a continental breakfast for guests and families.
Other Saturday events are the Assembly meeting at 9 a.m. and the annual reception and dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tim Eaton will be succeeded by Loren S. Golden of Elgin as ISBA president, and the Loren Golden Trio will provide entertainment.
A getaway breakfast and prize drawing from 9 to 11 a.m. Sunday will conclude the 126th Annual Meeting.
Tech Center enhances legal services
Thanks to timely grant from the Illinois Bar Foundation, five legal aid provider agencies are receiving funds for enhancements in technology applications that increase public access to the legal system.
The Illinois Technology Center for Law and the Public Interest (ITCLPI) at the Chicago-Kent College of Law applied for the grant to assist in providing computers and associated lines for 18 legal service offices throughout the state.
The Bar Foundation responded with a grant of $10,000 that is being split equally $2,000 each for the group of five programs in the Chicago region. They are:
The Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS), the DuPage County Bar Legal Aid Service, the Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic, the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation and the Chicago Legal Clinic.
"These locations have been identified by the Illinois Technology Center as having the greatest need, as well as the potential for impacting the greatest number of people," said Bar Foundation board member Meredith E. Ritchie, who investigated the grant application.
"Two thousand dollars per location would purchase a computer, monitor and the necessary hardware and lines for high-speed, multimedia Internet connectivity," she added.
The ITCLPI was established in March 2001 after consultants from Chicago-Kent met with representatives of 27 legal service organizations to assess their technology uses and recommend future improvements.
Initial funding from the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois and the Chicago Bar Foundation helped the center get started with provision of equipment for eight locations of Prairie State Legal Services and nine locations of Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation.
The center also has launched three web sites:
www.IllinoisLegalAid.org provides information to individuals about their legal rights in housing, family law and public benefits.
www.IllinoisProBono.org provides resources for recruiting, training and administering pro bono programs that increase free legal representation for eligible clients.
www.IllinoisLegalAid.org provides resources for legal aid attorneys and streamlines the delivery of free and low-cost services.
The 14-member ITCLPI board includes George R. Ripplinger of Belleville, treasurer of the Illinois Bar Foundation and past chair of the Committee on Professional Conduct, and Mark S. Mathewson of Springfield, ISBA director of legal publishing.
For more information about the center, call Lisa A. Colpoys at (312) 906-5321.
Bar Foundation accepts service award nominees
The Illinois Bar Foundation is accepting nominations for its Award for Distinguished Service to Law and Society. The award will be presented during the ISBA Midyear Meeting in December.
Criteria for recipients include having made significant contributions to law and society, with significant involvement in the Bar Foundation and Fellows program.
Nominations should include reasons why the individual should receive the award, describing particular achievements in the practice of law such as outstanding litigation, advocacy, counseling and advancements to the profession. Other contributions may be in public service, community service and pro bono activities.
Recipients of the award during the past decade are William J. Bauer, Alan J. Dixon, Mary Ann G. McMorrow, Paul Simon, Earl E. Strayhorn, Ralph A. Gabric, John B. Kincaid and Thomas L. Kilbride.
Nominations must reach the Illinois Bar Foundation office Suite 910, 20 S. Clark St., Chicago 60603 by May 24 for consideration. For more information, call Susan M. Lewers at (312) 726-6072.
Review committee members are the foundation president and vice president, the chair and vice chair of the Fellows, and six other Fellows from across the state. Recommendations will be presented to the foundation board during the ISBA Annual Meeting in June.
Disadvantaged women who are seeking job interviews and employment opportunities will get some help this month from the ISBA Committee on Women and the Law.
Through Friday, May 24, the committee will collect ladies' accessories for appropriate distribution by Bottomless Closet. The items may be brought to the ISBA Chicago office, suite 900 at 20 S. Clark St., during business hours.
Tailored jewelry, colorful scarves, black or dark-colored handbags, black or dark-colored shoes, new hosiery, and briefcases are among the desired accessories. The fair market value of donated items is tax-deductible.
Amended Rule 213 is June 4 seminar topic
Everything the practitioner needs to know about the amended Illinois Supreme Court Rule 213 on lay and expert witnesses will be revealed during a brown-bag luncheon seminar Tuesday, June 4, at the ISBA Chicago Regional Office.