The ISBA Law Ed Series programs are presented by the Workers' Compensation Law Section and coordinated by section council chair Bruce L. Bonds of Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen, Urbana.
The seminars will begin at 9 a.m. with welcomes from the moderators. They are section council vice chair Michelle D. Porro of Presbrey & Associates, Aurora, in Chicago, and by Bruce Bonds in Collinsville.
Dennis Ruth of Collinsville, chair of the Illinois Industrial Commission, will open both programs at 9:05 a.m. with updates on commission personnel, procedures and rules, and summaries of proposed legislation. The schedule follows.
9:30 a.m. Medicare Liens, Set Asides and Set-aside Trusts, with David A. Bryant of Daley, DeBofsky & Bryant, Chicago.
10 a.m. An Overview of the Occupational Diseases Act, with section council member Kenneth F. Werts of Craig & Craig, Mt. Vernon.
10:55 a.m. HIPAA: What Is It and How Does It Affect Workers' Compensation Claims? Different section council members will address issues during the two programs.
They are: in Chicago, Deborah A. Benzing of Gabric, Millon & Ory, Wheaton, and in Collinsville, Robert C. Nelson of Nelson & Nelson, Belleville.
11:25 a.m. Penalties and Attorney Fees: A View from the Commission, with IIC commissioner Jacqueline Ann Kinnaman.
1:30 p.m. Self Insurance and the Workers' Compensation Act: Applications, the Effect of Bankruptcy, and Current Issues, with different speakers at the two programs.
They are: in Chicago, section council past chair Gerald F. Cooper Jr. of Scopelitis, Garvin, Light & Hanson, Chicago, and in Collinsville, Maria Sarli of Chicago, the IIC self insurance administrator.
2:15 p.m. Evidence Law: Practical Knowledge for the Workers' Compensation Practitioner, with different section council members speaking at the two programs.
They are: in Chicago, David M. Barish of Katz, Friedman, Eagle, Eisenstein & Johnson, Chicago, and in Collinsville, William R. Gallagher of St. Louis.
2:45 p.m. - Case Law Update, with section council member David B. Menchetti of Cullen, Haskins, Nicholson & Menchetti, Chicago
Two judges from the Cook County Law Division will provide overviews for members of the ISBA Young Lawyers Division during a brown-bag luncheon at 12 noon Thursday, Jan. 22, in the ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
Judges Ronald F. Bartkowicz and Allen S. Goldberg will discuss the Individual Commercial Calendar Section and give a preview of the new Major Case Civil Mediation procedure. They also will share practical advice on professionalism for young lawyers.
Attendance is free, but reservations should be made in advance by calling Phyllis Lester at (312) 726-8775. Box lunches may be pre-ordered for $10. Coffee and soft drinks will be available.
ISBA President Terrence J. Lavin responded critically to the cover story of a recent issue of Newsweek, titled "Lawsuit Hell: How Fear of Litigation Is Paralyzing our Professions," and called for an immediate apology.
The cover picture depicted members of three professions in their uniforms a priest, a physician and a policeman. The article cited a book by a lawsuit critic, Philip Howard, as the basis for its claim that members of the three groups are being scared into different forms of behavior or, worse yet, into leaving their professions because of escalating insurance costs.
"Newsweek's cover story, with its photograph, is an abject insult to every child who was abused by a member of the clergy, to every family member who has lost a loved one to malpractice, and to every victim of police brutality," Lavin said.
The magazine quoted Rev. Ron Singleton, who said he must conduct pastoral counseling with his door open. "To hear a member of the clergy complain about needing to keep his door open, and that he is no longer able to hug his parishioners for fear of a lawsuit, is a direct assault on every child who has been harmed by sex abuse by a priest," Lavin said.
The ISBA president was also critical of the claims of a medical malpractice crisis contained in the article. "The medical lobby and the insurance lobby have been pitching fear as a basis for tort reform for more than 20 years," he said. "The real crisis in medicine is that too many patients are injured and killed by doctors who never get disciplined."
Lavin added that "insurance companies pass on their investment losses to doctors and claim that premiums go up because of lawsuits. What we really need is insurance reform, or a push to get rid of secrecy in the investigation of malpractice claims," he countered.
Lavin applauded Newsweek for noting that most of the "huge jury verdicts reported in the press" were later reduced by trial or appellate judges, but said he thought that "this point would be overwhelmed by the sensationalism of the overall article."
"By most standards, Newsweek's article was irresponsible, over-the-top and remarkably biased in favor of the medical and insurance industries, not to mention various religious orders," Lavin said. "Newsweek needs to apologize."
Illinois newspapers use ISBA columns
Daily and weekly newspapers statewide have responded favorably to a series of ISBA legal education columns, published in cooperation with the Illinois Press Association and Southern Illinois University School of Law.
Under the heading, "The Law Serves You," four columns are written and sent on a monthly basis to scores of newspapers in Illinois, including ethnic media.
The columns address common legal problems people face in their everyday lives, from buying a home and family law matters to the Illinois law that was designed to protect business owners against bogus check writers.
They also focus on little-known aspects of the law, such as how writing a check that bounces for lack of sufficient funds could "bounce you into court."
Nearly 75 newspapers have published one or more of the columns to help people better understand the legal consequences of problems they face, as well as the benefits of consulting with experienced attorneys.
Each column encourages readers, who may have more questions about the topic or are in need of legal advice, to contact lawyers in their areas through the ISBA's on-line referral service at, or by calling the ISBA lawyer referral service at (800) 252-8908.
Newspapers and the public are also able to download the columns from illinoislawyerfinder.com and the Illinois Press Association Web site. The SIU law school serves as a resource for some of the topics.
"We've been pleased with the response to the columns and plan to continue them indefinitely," said Alton attorney Joseph R. Bartylak, who chairs the ISBA Committee on Public Relations and serves on the ISBA Assembly.
Chris Ruys Communications, the ISBA's public relations firm, oversees the distribution of the columns each month.
Brown, Hay & Stephens marks 175 continuous years
Lincoln was an early partner of John Stuart
By Stephen Anderson
It has been 175 years since 21-year-old Kentucky lawyer John Todd Stuart hung out his shingle in Springfield and engendered a law practice that became Brown, Hay & Stephens, the oldest firm in Illinois.
Not only can the law firm trace its founding to Stuart's arrival on Oct. 25, 1828, there has been at least one member of his family in the firm ever since.
Brown, Hay & Stephens will commemorate its 175th anniversary this spring during a special event in the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library especially appropriate, since Lincoln was John Stuart's law partner for four years.
Stuart's 57 years in practice had a shaky start. Five other Springfield lawyers vied for business from the city's 300 residents. Stuart missed the fall term of the circuit and didn't have a client for six months.
He practiced solo for five years before partnering with Henry Dummer for four years. When Dummer moved on to Beardstown in 1837, Stuart took in Lincoln, a fledgling lawyer with whom he had served in both the state legislature and the militia during the Black Hawk War.
Lincoln had to do most of the legal work while Stuart pursued his political aspirations. When the senior partner returned from Washington, D.C., in 1841 after a term in Congress, Lincoln left to become a partner with Stephen T. Logan.
Stuart family grows
The Stuart lineage was extended in 1860 to a son-in-law, Christopher C. Brown, who was a partner until his death in 1904. Two years after Stuart's death in 1885, his grandson, Stuart B. Brown, joined the firm.
In 1897 the family firm added Christopher Brown's brother-in-law, Logan Hay, who was a partner until he died in 1942. In 1921, Stuart Brown and Logan Hay were joined by a new partner, R. Allan Stephens, and the firm first used its present name.
A year before Hay's death, the continuance of the family was assured when John T. Stuart, a great grandson of the founder, joined the firm in 1941. Robert A. Stuart Jr. (great great grandson of the founder) came on board in 1973 and remains an active partner.
Stephens legacy added
Since the formation of Brown, Hay & Stephens in 1921, the law firm has included members of the Stephens family. R. Allan Stephens died in 1942, but two of his sons had joined the practice by then.
Charles A. Stephens, from 1934 to 1951, and Robert A. Stephens Jr., from 1937 to 1976, were the second and third family members who played major roles in the growth of the Illinois State Bar Association.
A grandson, Harvey B. Stephens, came in 1960 and is of counsel. A great grandson, Harvey M. Stephens, joined the firm in 1988, and is a partner.
The ISBA connection
Three Brown, Hay & Stephens partners have been presidents of the ISBA: Benjamin S. Edwards in 1885, Samuel P. Wheeler in 1893, and Logan Hay in 1920-21. Hay also participated in establishment of the ISBA as a not-for-profit corporation in 1916.
R. Allan Stephens became permanent ISBA secretary in June 1916, while he had a law practice in Danville. After he formed Brown, Hay & Stephens in 1921, he moved the bar association records to Springfield and established the headquarters office.
Stephens also was founding editor of the ISBA Quarterly Bulletin, which became the Illinois Bar Journal in 1931. He was its editor until 1936, also continuing as association secretary until he died in 1942.
His son, Charles B. Stephens, who had been Bar Journal editor since 1936, took over as acting secretary in 1942 and subsequently became executive secretary before his death in September 1951 at age 42.
Several members of the firm have been active in the ISBA through the years. Robert A. Stuart Jr., a direct descendant of founder John T. Stuart, chaired the Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Section Council in 1986-87.
Currently, Paul R. Bown serves on the Health Care Section Council and the Committee on Judicial Advisory Polls, and he is secretary of the Committee on Judicial Evaluation Outside Cook County.
Others are: Thomas R. Lamont, Committee on Military Affairs; Dwight H. O'Keefe, Trusts and Estates Section Council, and Donald R. Tracy, Labor and Employment Law Section Council.
Amy Keil Schmidt, as president of the Sangamon County Bar Association in March 2002, welcomed state bar officers and members during the opening ceremony of the ISBA's 125th anniversary celebration in Springfield.
Competence and integrity
Jeffrey M. Wilday is managing partner of Brown, Hay & Stephens, a 28-member firm that "has adapted throughout its history to the changing legal needs of its clients in order to offer a complete range of legal services while maintaining the principles of competence and integrity which have been the foundation of the firm since 1928" (www.bhslaw.com).
Harvey B. Stephens told the Springfield State Journal-Register in October that the firm "has survived because it has had a group of lawyers who wanted it to survive, and who provided good services to their clients."
The newspaper's feature article also quoted Robert Stuart attributing the firm's steady growth as "a response to increasing specialization and increasing recognition of expertise in different areas of the law."
Stephens added, "we've always had good legal talent, and we're known for our integrity. Tradition is only part of it. You've got to work every day to produce a good product." He said he looks forward to celebrating the 200th anniversary in 25 years.
Petition filing begins Thursday, Jan. 15, for candidates for ISBA third vice president from Cook County, six members of the Board of Governors and 127 Assembly delegates may begin. The filing deadline is 4:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17.
Petition forms may still be obtained from the ISBA Executive Director's Office, 424 S. Second St., Springfield 62701. Requests may be made by telephone to (800) 252-8908, by facsimile to (217) 525-1760, or by e-mail to jhibbs@isba.org.
Three Cook County board seats will be filled by new candidates, because the three incumbents have served the maximum number of years and are not eligible for re-election.
Board members eligible for re-election are David C. Nelson of Belleville, under-age-37 governor from outside Cook County; H. Case Ellis of Crystal Lake in Area II (17th and 19th Circuits), and John E. Thies of Urbana in Area V (5th, 6th and 11th Circuits.
The seats of all 88 members of the Assembly from the 21 circuits outside of Cook County, plus 39 Cook County seats, will be filled.
Events to mark half-century since Brown v. Board ruling
The 2004 Law Day theme, "To Win Equality by Law," is a reference to the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision on May 17, 1954.
The event also will be commemorated throughout Illinois by bar associations, law schools and many other constituencies. Among law-related events that have been scheduled are:
February The ISBA cable television show will consist of an interview of retired federal judge George Leighton by Chicago attorney and television anchor Joel Daly. Leighton won a lawsuit to desegregate a downstate school district in 1951, three years before the Brown decision.
Saturday, Feb. 21 The Cook County Bar Association will conduct a town hall meeting on civil rights issues at Apostolic Church, Chicago.
Monday, April 19 The Illinois Humanities Festival will present a reenactment of Supreme Court oral arguments in the Brown case in the Goodman Theater.
Thursday, April 29 The John Marshall Law School will commemorate the 100th anniversary since its first black student graduated during an evening event.
Friday, May 14 The annual Women Everywhere: Partners in Service Project, titled "The Power of Education," will honor the Brown decision with educational programs. Sponsors include the Women's Bar of Illinois, Black Women Lawyers, Chicago Bar Alliance for Women, the ISBA Committees on Women and the Law and Minority and Women Participation, and other organizations.
The ISBA is compiling a schedule of Brown-related events for publication in the ISBA Bar News and posting on the web site, www.isba.org. Send detailed information to Bar News editor Stephen Anderson by fax to (312) 726-1422 or e-mail to sanderson@ isba.org.
McAndrews Awards recognize significant pro bono efforts
Now is the time for members of the Illinois bar to honor colleagues who have devoted significant time and effort to pro bono representation of those who need access to justice but cannot afford it.
The ISBA annually presents John C. McAndrews Pro Bono Awards to recognize individual lawyers, law firms and bar associations for extraordinary commitment to providing or expanding the availability of free legal services.
The deadline is Monday, March 1, to nominate candidates who may receive McAndrews Awards during the ISBA Annual Meeting in June at The Abbey on Lake Geneva.