Ballots are in the mail to ISBA members for the election of a third vice president, seven members of the Board of Governors and 23 members of the Assembly. Biographies of candidates may be found inside this issue. Ballots must be returned by May 12.
Senate passes proposal to expand Attorney Act for action against UPL
The State Senate has approved a bill that would codify the standing of bar associations to initiate legal action against non-lawyers for the unauthorized practice of law, and would clarify venue issues.
Senate Bill 688, sponsored by Senators John J. Cullerton and Kirk W. Dillard, came out of the Judiciary Committee with a 9-0 do-pass vote on March 5 and was placed on the Senate calendar. Cullerton and Dillard are co-chairs of the committee.
On March 20, the bill was passed on the Senate floor by a vote of 56-0-0 and sent to the House of Representatives for action later this month.
S.B. 688 would amend the Illinois Attorney Act (705 ILCS 205/1) by providing a cause of action for unauthorized practice with remedies and sanctions that could include equitable relief, actual and punitive damages.
Although the Attorney Act presently prohibits the practice of law without a license, and violations are subject to contempt of court rulings, the Illinois attorney general and county state's attorneys have been reluctant to devote resources to prosecute violators.
The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (815 ILCS 505) may offer a remedy under limited circumstances where actual damages are proven, but it does not recognize inherent harm to the public from the unauthorized practice of law.
Bar associations in Illinois have a common law history of bringing actions to enjoin unauthorized practice, but recent lawsuits have been challenged on the grounds that the associations may lack standing.
As a result, no direct, clear cause of action is available to individual consumers who have encountered losses due to unscrupulous or incompetent entities involved in the unauthorized practice of law.
The Illinois State Bar Associations, which has initiated or joined in several recent lawsuits against unauthorized practice, supports S.B. 688 as a means of protecting and compensating injured consumers.
Section 1 would be expanded to provide that no person "or entity" other than a licensed attorney may receive direct or indirect compensation for legal services.
New language also provides, "nor may any unlicensed person or entity advertise or hold itself out to practice law, give legal advice, or own, conduct or maintain a facility to practice law or give legal advice."
Further, "Any person or entity that suffers actual damage as a result of a violation of this section committed by any other person or entity, or any bar association acting on behalf of its members, may bring an action against that person or entity."
In addition to spelling out the available remedies, the amendment would clarify the choices of venue, as follows:
"An action under this section may be commenced in the county in which the person or entity against which it is brought resides, has a principal place of business, or is doing business, or in the county in which the transaction or any substantial portion of the transaction occurred."
The legislative proposal is one of "an array of remedies" that was proposed by the ISBA Task Force on Unauthorized Practice of Law, chair Ole Bly Pace III told the Board of Governors in February 2001.
The task force recommended expanding the Attorney Act to provide equitable relief and civil penalties against unlicensed people and entities who advertise or provide legal services and advice.
"The authority of the judicial branch in the regulation of the practice of law is challenged when those who are not licensed or otherwise under the authority of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission engage in the practice of law," the task force proposal stated.
The ISBA task force and board also adopted a recommendation to the Illinois Supreme Court that it establish an Unauthorized Practice of Law Commission with authority to investigate and prosecute violations.
The new rule would provide broad and liberal authority to investigate and prosecute non-lawyer individuals and organizations that attempt to practice law or receive compensation for legal services.
The Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee conducted a hearing Jan. 28, 2002, in Chicago on establishment of a commission that would supervise the investigation and prosecution of lawyer and non-lawyer parties to UPL.
The ISBA testimony suggested that the court's responsibility to protect the public through the registration and discipline of attorneys includes an obligation to ensure that only registered lawyers may perform legal services.
Since non-attorneys are not subject to discipline by the Supreme Court, UPL violations are not investigated by the ARDC unless an attorney is involved in specified misconduct.
Chief justice requests more funds for courts
Chief Justice Mary Ann G. McMorrow (right) has asked the Illinois legislature to apportion a mere one percent of the state's annual budget to operation of the court system during the next fiscal year.
"For the third branch of government, that is a small amount," she told the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 5, when the court proposed what "is essentially a maintenance budget." She also appeared before the House Appropriations Committee on March 12.
Justice McMorrow noted that the request for $326,853,400 represents a focus "on maintaining the positions and programs already under way in the current fiscal year, rather than implementing new initiatives."
She elaborated on the following components of the proposed court budget:
* 42 percent for judicial salaries "over which the court has limited control." The number of judges is determined by the Constitution and statutes, and their rate of compensation by the General Assembly. The request includes salaries for 26 associate judgeships that were authorized in accord with the 2000 census but are not funded in the current budget.
* 22 percent to reimburse counties for expenditures on probation and detention services that already have been reduced to stay within the current budget. The alternative is seeking more funding from local sources or relying more heavily on probation service fees.
* 17 percent for court reporting services that incorporate a blend of employees and electronic recording systems. The addition of digital recording equipment in some circuits "has proven to be quite effective," the chief justice said, yet no employees have lost jobs as a result.
* 18 percent for operation of the Supreme Court in Springfield and Chicago, the five districts of the Appellate Court, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, and various programs of the circuit courts in 102 counties.
"We strive to use the taxpayers' resources as efficiently as possible," Justice McMorrow told the Senate committee, noting that the courts have operated with a smaller appropriation in fiscal 2003 than was expended in fiscal 2002.
"We have frozen numerous vacancies throughout the state, and we are closely monitoring all spending decisions," she said. Programs for which costs can't be justified are evaluated "with an eye toward eliminating" them.
Security continues to be "a special challenge" for the court, which has enhanced protection with a metal-detection system and additional security cameras.
After Sept. 11, 2001, the court implemented a comprehensive security plan that includes trained personnel to protect justices and their staffs, both in Springfield and at district offices when court is not in session. But the court eliminated the security vehicles that had been leased for the justices.
Among participants in the ISBA Future of the Courts Conference a year ago, 99 percent agreed that "to ensure that every resident of Illinois receives equal justice, the State of Illinois should move toward a fully state-funded trial court system."
Moreover, 82 percent expressed the opinion that citcuit courts should not be funded by filing fees and collection of fines.
Legal service network funding added
The Illinois Bar Foundation has provided a second helping of funds to help legal assistance agencies gain full participation in a statewide computer system that provides public access through a network offices.
The Illinois Technology Center for Law and the Public Interest (ITC), headquartered at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, was established in 2001 as a collaboration of members of the Illinois legal services community.
They created an Illinois Legal Aid Internet Access Project with initial funding from the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois and the Chicago Bar Foundation, and the Illinois Bar Foundation is a partner.
The network's mission is to increase access to justice for low-income and disadvantaged people through innovative use of technology to train, support and educate legal aid providers, pro bono attorneys and the public.
Anywhere in the state where a computer terminal is available for public use, such as in a library, an indigent can punch up www.IllinoisLegalAid.org to locate an appropriate legal aid provider or obtain answers to simple legal questions.
The current IBF grant of $8,000 consists of allocations of $2,000 each to four agencies to acquire the technology and equipment to participate in the network.
They are the Center for Disability and Elder Law, the Legal Aid Bureau of Metropolitan Family Services, the Midwest Immigrant and Human Rights Center and the Uptown People's Law Center.
The Bar Foundation previously provided $10,000 in grants to five others: the Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation, Chicago Legal Clinic, DuPage Legal Assistance Foundation and Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic.
"It would appear that this site could have millions of hits within a short period of time, thus serving millions of Illinois citizens (and some non-citizens) in dire need of legal direction and services," said IBF board member John W. Damisch, who investigated the grant application.
Another board member, George R. Ripplinger of Belleville, serves on the technology center board. ISBA liaison to the board is Mark S. Mathewson, director of legal publishing.
Executive director of the ITC is Lisa Colpoys, a graduate of the Loyola University School of Law who was director of legal services at CARPLS. For more information, call her at (312) 906-5321.
Champaign CASA plans active year
The Champaign County Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) approached the new year with three reasons for celebration.
One was for receiving a $2,500 grant from the Illinois Bar Foundation, presented last fall by board member William A. Peithmann of Farmer City during a benefit dinner gala.
Next came news that 6th Circuit Judge John "Jack" DeLaMar would retire from the bench in December with the intention of becoming a CASA lawyer in Juvenile Court.
Finally, in early December, executive director Genevieve Lambert learned that Champaign County had accepted its application to become the contract guardian ad litem for all cases of abuse and neglect of children.
With all three assets in place, the CASA organization forged ahead with renewed confidence that it will meet a goal of increasing its pool of active volunteers and providing personnel to support them.
"Champaign County CASA is among the most effective child advocacy organizations of its type anywhere," said Peithmann, who investigated the grant application.
Lambert plans to step up CASA's recruitment, monitoring and retention efforts during 2003, and to conduct pre-service training classes at least twice a year in addition to quarterly evening workshops and monthly lunches.
"Training and support are vital in order to effectively advocate for children to obtain safe, permanent nurturing environments," she said.
Founded in 1994, the Champaign County office is one of eight CASA organizations that have received Bar Foundation grants during this fiscal year.
Its success is based on sharing information and working in harmony with the court system, prosecutors, public defenders, private attorneys, law enforcement officers, schools and a variety of agencies that serve children and families.
Judge DeLaMar's decision to leave the bench and join the CASA legal staff came as a welcome surprise. He had devoted most of his 13 years as a judge to hearing cases involving the kinds of clientele that he now represents.
Appointed an associate judge in 1979 after more than five years as a prosecutor and first assistant state's attorney, he was named to a new circuit judgeship in 1995 and elected in 1996. He had been expected to stand for retention.
Reflecting last fall on adjudication of abuse and neglect cases, DeLaMar said he found them "the most challenging and most fulfilling work I've ever done."
He added then that "If CASA becomes the guardian ad litem, they would have to have a lawyer represent them, and that would be me." It became official when the county approved the contract on Dec. 2.
For more information, or to volunteer as a CASA attorney, call Lambert at (217) 384-9065.
Law Student Award forms face April 15 deadline
Tuesday, April 15, is the deadline for submitting nominations for the annual ISBA Law Student Division Public Service Award, which is open to all members of the division in good standing.
The award will be presented at a luncheon Friday, June 20, during the ISBA Annual Meeting at The Abbey on Lake Geneva to honor a law student for participation in extracurricular activities that enhance professional responsibility and provide public service.
A finalist will be selected to represent each participating affiliated law school. Each finalist will receive a commemorative plaque, and from them the winner of the main award will be chosen.
The recipient who is honored at the Annual Meeting will be able to designate a not-for-profit organization to receive a $250 donation in his or her name from the Law Student Division. The expenses of transportation to the luncheon and one night's lodging will be reimbursed.