A number of other laws that protect animals are on the books. Boutique law practices are springing up to litigate abuses, and law schools are teaching animal rights. California and New York appear to be leading the pack, but the Illinois tale is not far behind.
Friday, Sept. 13 Child representative certification training session; Quality Inn Suites, Bradley.
Thursday, Sept. 19, 12 noon3 p.m. Committee on Government Lawyers/ ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division program, "Ethical Considerations in Public Sector Law"; ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
Thursday, Oct. 3, 5:30 p.m. ISBA Elmer Gertz Award presentation to Prof. Ralph Ruebner; Blind Service Association dinner, MidDay Club, Chicago.
Friday, Oct. 4, 6:30 p.m. Illinois Bar Foundation Gala dinner dance, live and silent auctions and Distinguished Award for Excellence presentation to Mary Dempsey; Four Seasons Hotel, Chicago.
Friday, Oct. 11, 9 a.m. Board of Governors meeting; Crowne Plaza Hotel, Elgin.
Friday, Nov. 1 Lawyers' Assistance Program annual dinner; Palmer House Hilton, Chicago.
Friday, Nov. 8, 9 a.m. Board of Governors meeting; Peninsula Hotel, Chicago.
Thursday, Dec. 12Saturday, Dec. 14 Midyear Meeting in conjunction with Illinois Judges Association convention; Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Chicago.
Friday, Jan. 31, 9 a.m. Board of Governors meeting; Park Hyatt Hotel, Chicago.
March 1415 High School Mock Trials; Springfield.
Friday, April 4, 9 a.m. Board of Governors meeting; ParaDice Hotel, East Peoria.
Pamela Kirkland Jensen retires in 16th Circuit
Judge Pamela Kirkland Jensen of the 16th Circuit retired Aug. 2 after 15 years on the bench. She was appointed in 1987 as the first woman judge in Kane County, and now there are four others.
The daughter of ISBA past president Alfred Y. Kirkland, Judge Jensen administered the oath office to ISBA President Loren S. Golden during the 126th Annual Meeting in June (ISBA Bar News, July 15, page 1).
A 1979 magna cum laude graduate of the Northern Illinois University College of Law, Jensen had been a teacher before following her father, brothers and husband, Wayne M. Jensen, into the legal profession.
She was an assistant Kane County state's attorney for four years before joining the Elgin firm of Brady, McQueen, Martin, Collins & Jensen (now Brady & Jensen) in 1983. She became an associate judge in 1987 and was elected to the circuit court in 1992.
Judge Jensen has served on the ISBA Local Government Law Section Council and the Committee on Delivery of Legal Services, and she has been an officer and director of the Kane County Bar Association.
She has been a board member of the Well Child Conference, the Elgin Community College Foundation and the Elgin YMCA, which honored her with a Leadership Award for Business and Professions.
While she may return to law practice or legal education, Jensen said she would begin her retirement by traveling with her husband to visit children and grandchildren in California, Arizona, Colorado and England.
Chief to step down
Chief Judge Grant Wegner of the 16th Circuit announced last month that he will not seek re-election to a third two-year term when the judiciary meets Sept. 12 to elect a chief. The chief judge since 1998, he has served on the bench since 1987 and had practiced law in Yorkville for nine years.
During his tenure as chief, Wegner helped form a 16th Circuit Family Violence Council and implemented recommendations of a study he commissioned on the flow of felony cases.
He is one of six 16th Circuit judges seeking retention in November. Others are Timothy Q. Sheldon, F. Keith Brown, Michael J. Colwell and Gene L. Nottolini in Kane County, and Douglas R. Engel in DeKalb County.
ALJ is appointed to circuit court
Jacksonville attorney Richard T. Mitchell has been appointed a judge in the 7th Circuit, effective Sept. 3 through Dec. 6, 2004. He succeeds J. David Bone, former presiding judge in Morgan County, who retired July 2 after 20 years on the bench.
A partner in Thomson, Mitchell & McNeely, Mitchell has been an administrative law judge in the Illinois Court of Claims since 1993. He also has chaired the Morgan County Republican Central Committee for 17 years.
Mitchell, a 1977 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, was recommended for the circuit judgeship by a unanimous seven-member bipartisan committee appointed by Supreme Court Justice Rita B. Garman. He said he intends to run for election to the circuit court in two years.
ISBA daily diary due in September
Lawyers won't be singing "Get Me to the Court on Time" if they have ISBA Daily Diaries to remind them of important appearances, client appointments, CLE seminars, and section council and committee meetings. See the order form on page 19.
The 2003 diaries will be available this month at $24.95 with the same useful features as the 2002 version: silver-and-burgundy hard cover with flexible binding that lays flat easily, reference data pages, space for addresses and telephone numbers, and ribbon marker.
New partners at Arnstein & Lehr, Chicago, are Barry R. Katz, real estate; William J. Anaya, litigation; Burton S. Ehrlich and Edward J. Chalfie, business. Katz is a former partner at Deutsch, Levy & Engel; Anaya comes from Johnson & Bell, Ehrlich from Brezina & Ehrlich, and Chalfie from Chalfie & Associates.
Laura Schilling Althardt has joined the Coffey Law Firm in Edwardsville, as an associate.
New partners at Corboy & Demetrio, Chicago, are David R. Barry Jr. and Barry R. Chafetz, medical negligence, and Daniel M. Kotin, personal injury. Barry was a founding partner of Bollinger, Ruberry & Garvey.
Scott Kelemetc and Dana C. Hibbs are new associates at Evans & Dixon, St. Louis. Kelemetc serves the firm's Illinois clients and Hibbs its Missouri clients. Hibbs was an intern at the Madison County state's attorney's office.
George J. Relias is a new associate at Fisk, Kart, Katz & Regan. He was a vice president for NAI Hiffman Asset Management.
Carl R. Klein has joined Freeborn & Peters, Chicago, as a partner in its Securities Law, Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate Law, and Banking and Lending Section. He was a partner with Seyfarth Shaw. Joining the firm of counsel are Louis G. Apostol and Vernon A. Kowal. Apostol is public administrator of Cook County, and Kowal was managing partner of Apostol, Kowal & Reardon.
The firm formerly known as Garofalo, Schreiber & Hart, Chicago, has been changed to include Derek A. Storm. The firm is now Garofalo, Schreiber, Hart & Storm. Jonathan E. Barrish and Robert T. Newman are new partners, and William R. Stanczak and David P. Hanson are associates. New shareholders are Philip G. Brinckerhoff, Steven R. Scarlati Jr. and James R. Clune.
New associates at Hinshaw & Culbertson offices are: Timothy Hickey, James Lydon, Renee O'Neill and Shannon Stevens, all in Chicago; Heidi Eckert, Belleville; Jennifer Johnson, Crystal Lake; Frank Johns, Joliet; Edmond Salem, Peoria; C. Ander Smith, Rockford, and Raylene deWitte Grischow, Springfield.
Vanessa V. Clohessy is an admitted partner at Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick & Kohn, Arlington Heights, in labor and employment, civil rights and constitutional law. Prior to joining the firm in 1998, she was an assistant Illinois attorney general.
Saul E. Rudo has been elected to the executive committee of Katten, Muchin, Zavis, Rosenman, Chicago. Rudo, who has spent his entire career with the firm, heads its tax department, and concentrates in tax and corporate planning.
Susan Greenspon and David Rammelt have joined Kelley, Drye & Warren as partners. Both come from Freeborn & Peters. Greenspon practices in the corporate department, and Rammelt in the litigation department.
Richard J. Casey has been promoted to chief legal officer and general counsel at KMS Energy Inc., Westchester. Previously corporate counsel for KMS, he serves on the University of Dayton School of Law Alumni Board of Trustees.
New associates at Levenfeld, Pearlstein, Chicago, are Brendan R. Appel, S. Keith Collins, Richard M. Dubin, Jeffrey C. Friedman, David A. Kleczek and Marcus M. Lee.
Matthew C. Alshouse is a new associate at McBride, Baker & Coles, Chicago. He was an associate at Schiff, Hardin & Waite.
John J. Michels Jr. has joined McGuireWoods, Chicago, as a partner in employment discrimination and government compliance. He comes from the firm's office in Tyson's Corner, Va. New associates are Theodore T. Eidukas and David A. P. Neboyskey.
Alan S. Wernick has been promoted to chair of the intellectual property practice at Quarles & Brady, Chicago. He has an extensive list of chairmanships and memberships in national and international information technology and intellectual property associations. Anita Ponder is a new partner at Quarles & Brady, concentrating in government contract and procurement law. Formerly with Altheimer & Gray, she was recently reappointed to the State Of Illinois Business Enterprise Council.
Jon Papin has joined Rapoport Law Offices, Chicago, in victim's rights. He was a partner in a medical malpractice defense firm. Keith Jacobson, a new associate, was a Navy electronics specialist.
Jeffrey C. Clark and Paul D. Durbin are new partners at Ross & Hardies, Chicago. Clark, who concentrates in business litigation, comes from McDermott, Will & Emery. Durbin concentrates in corporate and securities. Along with new associate Pedro De Jesus Jr., he was a founder of Castro, Gomez, Durbin & De Jesus.
New associates at Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard, Belleville, are Joseph C. Callahan, Timothy C. Sansone and Brent C. Beumer.
Nigel F. Telman has joined Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood, Chicago, as a partner. He focuses on employment and labor law and serves on the board of directors of the Chicago State University Foundation.
Derek M. Barker and Richard D. Foody have become partners at Stellato & Schwartz, Chicago. Barker concentrates in general tort litigation, and Foody in insurance coverage litigation. Their partnerships became effective July 1 on the firm's 30th anniversary.
Gary L. Prior and Deborah E. Decker have joined Tabet, DiVito & Rothstein, Chicago. Prior comes from McDermott, Will & Emery, where he practiced for 31 years. Decker comes from Shopf & Weiss. Both concentrate in complex civil litigation and counseling in the trial and appellate courts.
Gregory A. McConnell has been appointed director of public interest law at Winston & Strawn, Chicago. He was director of the American Bar Association Center for Pro Bono for four years.
ATG appoints officials
Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund recently promoted two attorneys on its staff in Chicago, and appointed chief financial and information officers.
Donna Gagliardo Kogut, a 1982 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, has been named ATG's senior underwriting attorney and manager of the Pro-Option Plus Department that prepares title insurance commitments for attorney members.
One of four original staff members when ATG opened its Chicago office in 1977, Kogut entered law school in 1980 and joined Law Bulletin Title Services to search titles for ATG members.
After law school, she handles real estate development for the Chicago law offices of Victor Cacciatore, then became a solo practitioner and an ATG member, returning as a staff attorney in 2001.
Arden K. Miller, a 1995 graduate of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, has been promoted from attorney-underwriter and real estate closer to manager of ATG's Escrow and Hold Harmless Departments.
She is responsible for construction escrows, title indemnities, closing claims and resolution of underwriting issues that occur during closings. She works with lenders and closers throughout residential transactions.
Miller has a master's degree in business administration from the Keller Graduate School of Management and an Illinois teaching certificate. Before joining ATG, she performed closing duties for Chicago Title and Guardian Title.
Ronald J. Trubiana, a certified public accountant, is ATG's senior vice president and chief financial officer. He was a partner in Tatum CFO Partners and chief financial officer of Digeno Inc.
Robert W. Blessing is ATG's chief information officer with responsibility for selection and implementation of new closing and title production software programs. He has previous experience with the Connor Winfield Corp. and Chicago Title and Trust.
Defense Counsel to hold fall seminar this month
The Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel will conduct its annual fall seminar Friday and Saturday, Sept. 27-28, at the Hawthorn Suites, Champaign. Weekend events include a football game between Illinois and Michigan.
Seminar sessions will begin at 1 p.m. Friday with a discussion of trial tactics by a panel of circuit judges. At 2 p.m., Susan M. Hickman of Hinshaw & Culbertson, Chicago, will speak on "Mold: The Next Asbestos?"
Breakout sessions will take place at 3 p.m. on employment law and insurance coverage. Speakers include Francis A. Spina of Cremer, Kopon, Shaughnessy & Spina, Chicago, and David M. Lewin of Rusin, Patton, Maciorowski & Friedman, Chicago.