of the Human Rights Section Council, he has been its newsletter editor for more than 15 years.
A former assistant U.S. attorney and assistant federal defender, Hughes has been director of defender services for the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and co-chair of its Appellate Defender Section.
As head of the Public Defender Association, he helped obtain the initial grant for public defenders from the Illinois Law Enforcement Commission. For 10 years, he administered three regional training programs annually for public defenders.
Hughes also helped establish a week-long death penalty defense program that has been conducted for five years at the University of Chicago Law School.
"Patrick Hughes has established a long and distinguished record of service to his state and his profession, doing the hard and mostly thankless work which has enriched his life," Loro said.
"He is a lawyer's lawyer," added Terence F. MacCarthy, an Academy Laureate and executive director of the Federal Defender Program in Chicago. "His commitment is second to none."
Retired judge Sheila M. Murphy, a former member of the ISBA Board of Governors, called Hughes "one of the great criminal defense attorneys of our time. In defending individuals, he defends our Constitution."
Public Guardian Pat Murphy champions abused children
Cook County Public Guardian Patrick T. Murphy of Chicago, a 2004 Laureate, has been in the news frequently during the past four months but not because of personal achievement or zealous advocacy on behalf of abused and neglected children.
He has been an outspoken critic of the political system that may share responsibility for the tragic fire last October in which six county employees died. Three were members of Murphy's staff, including two lawyers.
He received an ISBA Presidential Commendation from Terrence J. Lavin during the Assembly meeting last November for his insistence on a thorough investigation into causes of the fire and correction of lapses in systems and procedures.
The county's public guardian for more than 25 years, Murphy is a 1965 graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law. He was with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, representing delinquents in Juvenile Court, when he was appointed in 1978 to represent elderly disabled wards of the state.
Murphy began to place added importance on abused and neglected children, and he expanded the services of his office to those who were involved in juvenile and domestic relations cases. Through the years, he has increased the public guardian staff to 300, including 150 lawyers.
"Although his approaches have been controversial at times, no one can doubt the effectiveness of his advocacy and the sincerity of his motivation," Academy Laureate Thomas Geraghty wrote in support of Murphy's nomination.
"While his positions have not always been popular, I can think of no lawyer in Illinois who has done more over the last 30 years to focus the legal profession's and the public's attention on the plight of abused and neglected children."
U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton called Murphy "a strong voice for the voiceless: children, the elderly, people with disabilities and the medically and mentally ill. He is a fierce advocate, fine attorney and represents the highest ideals and best practices of the legal profession."
Woodstock attorney H. Joseph Gitlin, who made the nomination, complimented Murphy for his appellate work on the 1960s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Stanley v. Illinois, calling it "the most significant family law case of the 20th century."
Pro bono icon Cummins was LAP founder
Academy Laureate Robert P. Cummins of Chicago, a partner in Cummins & Cronin, is a 1962 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law. His four decades in civil and criminal trial practice includes service as vice president and trial counsel for Motorola.
In a nomination letter signed by eight distinguished Illinois lawyers, including Academy Laureates Jerold Solovy and Philip Corboy, Cummins was cited for "devotion to representation of the indigent" and "his annual contribution of hundreds of hours to a myriad of pro bono activities."
A past chair of the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board and a former member of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission Review Board, Cummins chairs the American Bar Association Judicial Division Lawyers Conference Committee on Judicial Performance and Conduct.
He also serves on the Joint Committee on Lawyer Regulation and is a past chair of the ABA Committee on Professional Discipline and the Task Force on Ethics 2000 of the Section of Litigation.
A former member of the ISBA Board of Governors and the Chicago Bar Association Board of Managers, Cummins was vice chair of the ISBA Task Force on Professionalism. He is a founder of the Lawyers' Assistance Program and the Legal Clinic for the Disabled.
A past co-chair of the Special Commission on the Administration of Justice, he has served on the boards of the Criminal Justice Project of Cook County, the Chicago Law Enforcement Study Group and the Central States Institute of Addiction.
Cummins was co-chair of the Trial Bar Advisory Committee of U.S. District Court for the Northern District and a member of its Performance Assistance Committee. He served on the editorial board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct.
He has chaired the CBA Defense of Indigent Prisoners Committee, and represented the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness in the matters of Martin Trigona and Matthew Hale.
In a letter of support for Cummins' nomination as a Laureate, Appellate Justice Warren Wolfson referred to him as a "model for anyone who might wonder whether law can be practiced on a daily basis in the best and most honorable traditions of our profession."
Lawyers needed for mock trials
ISBA members in Central Illinois are needed to help conduct the annual High School Mock Trial Program on Friday and Saturday, March 5-6, in the Public Affairs Center at the University of Illinois-Springfield.
Volunteers will contribute to the success of the program by helping students to learn about the judicial system through participation in trials. This year's hypothetical, People v. Kinsley Craghead, is a case of campus cyber stalking.
Attorneys who agree to assist will receive packets of materials that include the trial scenario, the rules, and tips for evaluating the performances of teams and individuals.
Available time slots on Friday, March 5, are 11 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. Time slots on Saturday, March 6, are 8:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The final rounds will take place Saturday afternoon, concluding no later than 4:45 p.m.
To obtain a mock trial volunteer sign-up form, call the ISBA Legal Department in Springfield, (800) 252-8908 or (217) 525-1760.
Wednesday, March 3, is the deadline for submitting proposals to the ISBA Committee on Continuing Legal Education for Law Ed Series seminars during the Annual Meeting in June at The Abbey on Lake Geneva.
Section council and committee officers may obtain copies of the proposal form and guidelines by calling the CLE department at (800) 252-8908.
Technology seminar sites are 3 federal courthouses
Law Ed Series seminars on Technology and the Law in state and federal courts will be conducted jointly next month at three locations by several ISBA entities and bar associations.
The dates and sites are Friday, March 12, in the ISBA Chicago Regional Office and Dirksen Federal Courthouse; Friday, March 19, in the Melvin Federal Building and Courthouse, East St. Louis, and Friday, March 26, in the U.S. District Courthouse, Urbana.
The General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section is the chief sponsor, along with the Bench and Bar, Federal Civil Practice and Law Office Management and Economics (Standing Committe on) s, the Committee on Legal Technology and the Young Lawyers Division.
Other participating groups are the Federal Bar Association, the 7th Circuit Bar Association, and the Bar Association of the Central and Southern Federal Districts.
Assistant Cook County state's attorney Julie Ann Sebastian of Chicago, a member of the General Practice Section Council, is program coordinator.
Moderators are Gilda Hudson-Winfield of Chicago, a member of the Law Office Management and Economics (Standing Committe on) Council, and Cook County Judge Edna Turkington-Viktora, newsletter co-editor for the General Practice Section.
Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. at each site. Participants must bring ARDC registration cards and photo identification for admission to the courthouses.
The seminars will be opened at 8:50 a.m. by General Practice Section chair Michele M. Jochner, law clerk to Chief Justice Mary Ann G. McMorrow and member of the ISBA Board of Governors, in Chicago; Shari R. Rhode, chair of the Federal Civil Practice Section Council, in East St. Louis, and Adrienne W. Albrecht, chair of the Committee on Legal Technology, in Urbana. The schedules follow.
9 a.m. Seeing Is Believing: Sources of State and Federal Law and Keys to Effective Research, with Adrienne Albrecht of Sacks, Albrecht & Gubbins, Kankakee.
10:15 a.m. Beam Me up Scotty, a demonstration of setting up a computer system and creating a wireless office by Todd H. Flaming of Schopf & Weiss, Chicago, newsletter editor of the Committee on Legal Technology.
11 a.m. A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words: Effective Use of Exhibits and Technology at Hearings, Town Hall Meetings and Trials, with ISBA Assembly member John L. Nisivaco of Lavin & Nisivaco, Chicago, newsletter editor for the Tort Law Section, in the Chicago and Urbana programs.
1 p.m. I've Looked at Files from Both Sides Now, mastering the language of computer-stored information, saving and organizing data, and setting up client documents. The speaker is ISBA Assembly member Carl R. Draper of Feldman, Wasser, Draper & Benson, Springfield, chair of the Law Office Management and Economics (Standing Committe on) Council.
Security issues will be discussed by Nerino J. Petro Jr. of Loves Park, a member of the Assembly and the Committee on Legal Technology.
2 p.m. in Chicago Circuit Court of Cook County: What's on the Horizon, videoconferencing and wireless Internet connections in the courthouse, with Michael McGowan of the office of chief judge.
2 p.m. in East St. Louis Electronics in the Courtroom, with systems manager Walter Nesbit of U.S. District Court for the Southern District.
2 p.m. in Urbana Telecommunications in Action, with Judge Harold A. Baker of U.S. District Court for the Central District.
During the 3 p.m. break, participants in Chicago will travel to the Dirksen Courthouse.
3:15 p.m. in Chicago May It Please the Court: 7th Circuit Electronic Filing Procedures, with Gino J. Agnello, clerk of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Filing Procedures, Means and Methods: New Federal Rules for E-filing, with judicial support manager Ted Newman of U.S. District Court, Northern District.
Presenting Evidence in Court with Technology: The Rules and the Methods, with technology administrator Joseph Novak of U.S. District Court, Northern District.
3:15 p.m. in East St. Louis Electronic Evidence Presentation Systems in the Southern District, with Judges J. Phil Gilbert, a member of the Federal Civil Practice Section Council; David R. Herndon and Michael J. Reagan.
3:15 p.m. in Urbana Electronic Evidence Presentation Systems in the Central District, with Judge Michael P. McCuskey, past chair of the Federal Civil Practice Section Council.
The second of two ISBA Law Ed Series seminars on "Complex Issues in Family Law" will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Monday, March 1, in the Radisson Hotel, Bloomington. Section council member Gregory A. Scott of Scott & Scott, Springfield, is the moderator. The schedule follows.
9 a.m. Case Law Update, with Rebecca L. Leynaud of Leynaud & Leynaud, Peru.
9:45 a.m. Bankruptcy and Divorce: Essential Tools, with Gloria E. Block of Block & Block, Chicago.
11 a.m. Use of Demonstrative Exhibits and Technology in Family Law Cases, with section council member Alan Pearlman of Northbrook, who serves on the ISBA Assembly.
1 p.m. Tax Law Update, with retired judge Francis A. Gembala of Nadler, Pritikin & Mirabelli, Chicago.
1:45 p.m. Ethical Dilemmas for the Family Law Practitioner, with section council member Matthew G. Shaw of Shaw Jacobs & Associates, St. Charles.
2:45 p.m. Dissipation of Assets: Finding It and Proving It, with Richard W. Zuckerman of Peoria, a member of the ISBA Board of Governors.
3:15 p.m. Reproductive Technology and Surrogate Parents, with section council member Steven M. Peskind of Geneva, who serves on the ISBA Assembly.
Student hazing, discipline among education law topics
A School Law Update that includes student discipline and hazing issues will be presented from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, in the ISBA Chicago Regional Office by the Education Law Section.
Section council vice chair Michael J. Hernandez of Franczek Sullivan, Chicago, and secretary Margaret A. Noe of the University of Illinois-Springfield are the program coordinators and moderators for the Law Ed Series seminar.
At 9 a.m., section newsletter co-editor Lawrence Jay Weiner of Scariano, Himes & Petrarca, Chicago, will speak on Lessons to Be Learned from the Glenbrook Hazing Cases. Weiner was lead attorney for the school board in state and federal litigation that ensued.
At 9:45 a.m., Weiner will be moderator of a related panel discussion on Student Discipline Issues for Off-campus Activities. Topics include regulating student activities, due process rights and policy adoption.
Panelists are Lane Abrell, principal of Plainfield Community Consolidated School Dist. 202; Delores Ayala of Schuyler, Roche & Zwirner, Chicago, and Melinda Selbee of Lombard, general counsel for the Illinois Association of School Boards.
The focus of the seminar will switch at 11 a.m. to an Update on the No Child Left Behind Act. The panel discussion will include implementation issues confronted by school districts and trends such as the new state accountability acts and appeal process.
Michael Hernandez will be moderator of a panel consisting of Brian D. Schwartz of Springfield, general counsel of the Illinois Principals Association, and John Manniz of the Illinois Association of School Boards, Lombard.
After the luncheon break, the topic at 1 p.m. will be Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) Reauthorization and Update in Special Education Law, including implementation, recent trends and cases.