2005 Laureate nominees face Dec. 1 deadline
Nominations are being accepted on candidacies for the sixth annual class of Laureates of the ISBA Academy of Illinois Lawyers. The deadline is Wednesday, Dec. 1.
The Academy was founded in 1999 to honor Illinois State Bar Association members throughout the state for careers that have been marked by high professional standards, integrity and community service. The minimum requirement is 25 years in practice.
Recognition as a Laureate is not available for ISBA past presidents, current members of the Board of Governors and Academy Board of Regents, or sitting Illinois jurists. Posthumous recognition may be made within three years of the death of a lawyer or judge.
Sixty Laureates have been inducted during the past five years, and six more will be added during a commemorative event in April.
The 2004 class consisted of Harris H. Agnew of Rockford, Sharon L. Eiseman of Arlington Heights, Patrick J. Hughes Jr. of Springfield, Martin H. Katz of Rock Island, Charles L. Palmer of Champaign, Keith E. Roberts Sr. of Wheaton, James B. Wham of Centralia, and Robert P. Cummins, Anthony J. Fornelli, Patrick T. Murphy, Neil K. Quinn and Thomas P. Sullivan of Chicago.
Complete information about the nominating process may be found on the state bar association Web site, www.isba.org, by clicking on "ISBA Laureates" under "ISBA and You." Information sheets are available in the Chicago Regional Office.
For other information, contact staff liaison Stephen Anderson at sanderson@isba.org or (312) 726-8775.
Riding a dead law practice? Don't just study the carcass
By Stephen Anderson
To hear Florida futurist Charles F. Robinson tell it, there are several ways to address a situation of dealing with the dead horse of a law practice.
Ignore the dead horse, for instance. Appoint a committee to study it. Visit other firms to see how they ride dead horses. Declare that a dead horse is better, faster and cheaper.
Charlie Robinson will apply that analogy to the art of thinking about the long-term viability of law firms during his opening presentation at the ISBA Future of the Profession Conference on Thursday, Dec. 9, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel.
The conference is designed to be an essential component of the focus of President Ole Bly Pace III on improving the economics of practicing law in Illinois.
In his inaugural remarks last June, Pace pledged that the association would "look ahead to challenges to the profession and the justice system and to be ready for them, and not just react after they're already here."
The 8:30 a.m. plenary, which jump starts the annual ISBA Midyear Meeting, is open to Assembly members, officers of section councils and committees, and other leaders of the Illinois bench and bar.
Robinson, a certified elder law attorney from Clearwater, is sought as a keynoter for conferences on the future of law practices. He will address the Virginia Bar on Dec. 2, and he was the featured speaker last month for a Sarasota Bar dinner and a Connecticut Bar retreat.
At the joint meeting in August 2003 of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, National Association of Bar Executives and National Conference of Bar Foundations, Robinson detailed the forces that are shaping the perceptions and economics of the profession.
He challenged leaders of the organized bar to be alert to outside influences and emerging trends, and to use them as stepping stones toward implementing changes that will enhance the likely survival of lawyers and law firms.
Following Robinson's Dec. 9 presentation, "The Future Is Now," an informational plenary on the impact of demographic trends will be given at 10 a.m. by Loyola University Prof. Kenneth M. Johnson, who also spoke at the ISBA Future of the Courts Conference in 2002.
During a working conference luncheon, representatives of the consulting firm of Altman & Weil will discuss changes in the economics of the legal profession.
A select group of 60 lawyers, representing a cross-section of statewide diversities, will break into 15-person discussion groups at three time periods during the day.
Their thematic deliberations will follow issues related to Competition from Outside the Profession; The Judiciary and the Practice of Law; New and Better Ways to Render Legal Services, and Public Perception of the Profession.
Reporters will compile their recommendations for presentation at the conference wrap-up session at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 10. The 60 invited participants will vote up or down on as many as 50 recommendations for action by ISBA leadership.
The conference planning committee is chaired by George R. Mahoney III of Joliet. Other members are Edward J. Burt, Umberto S. Davi, Howard W. Feldman, Christopher S. Haaff, Murphy C. Hart, R. Michael Henderson, Angela Imbierowicz, Anne Marie Martinkus, Leonard Murray, Robert T. Oleszkiewicz, Robert T. Park and Naomi H. Schuster.
Judge candidate ratings, polls are on ISBA web page
Lawyers are often looked to by friends, family, and colleagues for information about judicial candidates. ISBA committees have devoted months to conducting polls or investigations and interviews of judicial candidates on the Nov. 2 ballots.
Results of the screening process have been communicated to news media around the state and are posted prominently on the ISBA home page at www.isba.org. Results from judicial advisory polls are included. Visitors to the Web site need only to click on their county to see ratings for all judicial candidates on their ballot. Cook County results are listed by subcircuits.
ISBA members should avail themselves of opportunities to inform residents of their communities that participation in the judicial election is important, and that guidance on the ratings of candidates is provided on the state bar association Web site.
Midyear Meeting is challenging, informative
The ISBA Midyear Meeting next month at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel will begin with a bang. Early arrivals may listen to the challenging remarks of futurist Charlie Robinson that open a wide-ranging Future of the Profession Conference.
Midyear Meeting events Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 9 to 11, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel include some joint programs with the Illinois Judges Association, which will be conducting its annual convention.
The opening reception, which concludes the invitational conference on Thursday, leads into the traditional midyear format of business meetings, seminars and special events.
All-day Family Law and General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Updates are scheduled Friday, along with a morning program on Commercial, Banking and Bankruptcy Law. Seminars on Real Estate Law and Trusts and Estates basics will be held Saturday morning.
Friday highlights include a joint ISBA-IJA luncheon and afternoon receptions by law alumni of the University of Illinois, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University and The John Marshall Law School.
The annual Illinois Supreme Court reception and dinner Friday night will be co-sponsored by the Illinois State and Chicago Bar Associations. The ISBA Assembly will conduct its semi-annual meeting on Saturday morning.
Midyear Meeting brochures will be available soon in ISBA offices.
More than 2,000 recent graduates to be admitted
The Illinois Supreme Court will conduct ceremonies to admit more than 2,000 new lawyers on Thursday, Nov. 4, at five district sites. ISBA officials will speak at each, and ISBA-sponsored receptions will be held after some locations.
1st District: 10:30 a.m. in the Arie Crown Theater at McCormick Place, Chicago, for 1,566 admittees; ISBA President-elect Robert K. Downs.
2nd District: 10 a.m. in Hemmens Auditorium, Elgin, for 236 admittees; ISBA President Ole Bly Pace III.
3rd District: Time and location to be determined for 71 admittees; ISBA Second Vice President Irene F. Bahr.
4th District: 10 a.m. in the Michael J. Howlett Building, Springfield, for 70 admittees.
5th District: 2 p.m. in the Gateway Conference Center, Collinsville, for 129 admittees; ISBA past president Herb Franks.
Cable programs explain roles of bench, bar
Two ISBA cable television programs are being broadcast on Chicago Access Network channel 21 at 10 p.m. Tuesdays in October. Cheryl Cesario of the Committee on Cable Television Programming is the moderator for both.
"A Judges' Guide to the Courts" may be seen Oct. 19. Speakers are Presiding Cook County Judges Paul P. Biebel of the Criminal Division, E. Kenneth Wright of the 1st Municipal District, and Shelley Sutker-Dermer of the 2nd Municipal District.
"How to Find and Work with Attorneys" will be aired Oct. 26. Panelists are Margaret C. Benson, executive director of Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation; James F. Dunneback of Orland Park, past chair of the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section Council, and Laura N. Ashmore of Lake, Toback & Yavitz.
November program topic will be clemency process
ISBA cable programs on Tuesdays during November will be titled "The Clemency Process." Part I will be broadcast Nov. 2, Nov. 16 and Nov. 30. Part II will air Nov. 9 and Nov. 23. Nancy Z. Hablutzel is the moderator.
Panelists are Jorge L. Montes, chair of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and the ISBA Committee on Minority and Women Participation; board members Andrew P. Fox, and Margaret F. Soffin, staff attorney for the Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic.
During the next seven weeks, an unprecedented array of ISBA educational seminars that cover timely topics ranging from criminal dispositions to electronic resources will be presented at locations around the state.
In addition to practice-specific updates for certain areas of concentration, several programs offer new facts about emerging issues that will enhance the expertise of any general practitioner.
A list of current ISBA Law Ed Series seminars follows,.
Friday, Oct. 22, 8:30 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. - Estates and Trusts Potpourri (Trusts and Estates Section); Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield.
Friday, Oct. 22, 1 to 5 p.m. - Truth or Consequences: A Practitioner's Guide to Criminal Dispositions and Collateral Consequences (General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section); ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
Friday, Oct. 29, 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Trial Techniques: Terence F. MacCarthy on Cross Examination and Impeachment, a Master Series program; UBS Tower Conference Center, Chicago.
Friday, Oct. 29, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. - What Every Lawyer Should Know About Intellectual Property (Intellectual Property Section); Radisson Hotel, Bloomington.
Friday, Oct. 29, 1 to 4:30 p.m. - Free Sites That Will Help You Manage, Expedite, Secure and Maintain Your Practice: Electronic Resources on Administrative Law Issues for General Practitioners (Administrative Law Section, Committee on Government Lawyers); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago.
Thursday, Nov. 4, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Real Estate Law Update (Real Estate Law Section); Radisson Hotel, Bloomington.
Friday, Nov. 5, 1 to 4 p.m. - Eligibility for Government Programs for General Practitioners: What You Need to Know to Represent Your Client (General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section); ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
Friday, Nov. 12, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. - What Every Lawyer Should Know About Intellectual Property (Intellectual Property Section); ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
Friday, Nov. 12, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. - 2004 Federal Tax Conference (Federal Taxation Section); Radisson Hotel, Bloomington..
Thursday, Nov. 18, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Real Estate Law Update (Real Estate Law Section); University of Chicago Gleacher Center, downtown Chicago.
Friday, Nov. 19, 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Trial Techniques: Terence F. MacCarthy on Cross Examination and Impeachment, a Master Series program; Holiday Inn, Collinsville.
Monday, Nov. 29, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Effective Legal Writing with Greg Colomb; UBS Tower Conference Center, Chicago.
Wednesday, Dec. 1, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Effective Legal Writing with Greg Colomb; Radisson Hotel, Bloomington.
Friday, Dec. 3 - Hanging Out Your Shingle (Without Hanging Yourself) for New or Would-be Solo or Small Firm Lawyers (General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section); ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
Friday, Dec. 3, 1 to 5 p.m. - Mediation Is Running on Time and on Track: Are You on Board?" (Bench and Bar and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections); Chicago Athletic Association.
Sale of practice proposal is unopposed
Court committee is aware of need
By Stephen Anderson
Supporters of a rule to permit the sale or transfer of a law practice were encouraged Sept. 10 by the cordiality of an Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee hearing in Chicago.
ISBA President Ole Bly Pace III told the committee that he was not aware of any opposition to proposed Rule 1.17, and he received none from members of the panel. In fact, Rules Committee chair Martin J. Healy assured Pace that members are aware of the need and will address it.
Asking for guidance from the court for the practicing bar, Pace said legal counsel are "left in a black hole" when faced with the predicament of protecting the interests of clients and families of lawyers who cease to practice because of death, disability or abandonment.
Thomas P. Luning, who represented the Chicago Bar Association as co-chair of the ISBA-CBA committee that drafted the proposal, said the concept of Rule 1.17 is quickly becoming a national standard.
The sale of a law practice is one provision in revised Model Rules of Professional Conduct that are being compiled by the American Bar Association.
The ISBA-CBA proposal differs from the ABA model in two respects, Luning pointed out. The first is that an entire practice must be sold or purchased, and not just a specified area of a practice.