members know that the "biblical world" was Jewish, not Christian? Also, don't they know pagan Rome had law, too? There is nothing exclusively Christian about lawyers or law.
Scott S. Brinkmeyer, who was born in Chicago and raised in Springfield, has become the 69th president of the State Bar of Michigan.
While attending business school in Chicago, Brinkmeyer landed a part-time job with a downtown law firm, where partners encouraged him to pursue a legal career. He subsequently graduated from the St. Louis University School of Law and was a law clerk in the Missouri Court of Appeals.
Now a partner in the Grand Rapids firm of Mika, Meyers, Beckett & Jones, Brinkmeyer concentrates in civil litigation and dispute resolution. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International.
Governor signs bill allowing trusts for care of pets
By Stephen Anderson
Be kind to pets, especially your parents' pets. After more than a year of deliberation on two similar bills, the state legislature has legitimized the concept of trusts for the care of pet animals.
The amendment to the Trusts and Trustees Act was sent March 19 to the governor, who signed it the same day as Public Act 930668. The new Section 15.2 of ILCS 5/15 will take effect next Jan. 1.
The Illinois State Bar Association supported the legislation, which was the result of interaction in an ISBA e-mail discussion group more than two years ago. Park Ridge attorney Linscott R. Hanson, who drafted the legislation, credits ISBA Assembly member Jeffrey G. Liss with the idea.
The new law validates trusts for the care of one or more designated domestic or pet animals, and provides that such a trust instrument is to be construed liberally to carry out the intent of the transferor.
After a few congratulatory "bowwow" phone calls, Hanson decided to draft a freestanding trust agreement consistent with the new public act. Creating the "fullblown form" took more than three hours, he said.
Hanson is willing to share his version of a pet trust, "without warranty," because "it's an ISBA initiative, not mine." He can be reached by e-mail at lhanson27@aol.com.
A trust for pets will terminate when no living animal remains covered by it. The trustee then must transfer the unexpended property as directed in the instrument, or under a residuary clause in a transferor's will, or otherwise as determined by the Probate Act.
No portion of the principal or income of the trust may be converted for any use other than the purposes of the trust or the benefit of the hairy heir for which the legacy is intended.
If no trustee is named, or if a designated trustee is unable or unwilling to serve, the court may appoint one. The court also may reduce the amount of the property transferred if it substantially exceeds the amount deemed necessary for the required use.
These trusts are exempt from the common rule against perpetuities, suggesting that geriatric turtles, parrots and goldfish need not fear the inevitability of exceeding the 21year vesting period.
The original bill, H.B. 130, was filed Jan. 9, 2003, by State Rep. Terry R. Parke of Schaumburg. It came out of the House Judiciary I (Civil Law) Committee Feb. 9, and passed the House unanimously on Feb. 20. On Feb. 26, it went to the Senate, where is has languished in Rules Committee since May 2.
The other bill, H.B. 1017 - which Hanson said was identical to H.B. 130 - was filed Jan. 31, 2003, by House Speaker Michael J. Madigan. It came out of the Executive Committee March 12, and passed the House on April 3 by a 69-44 margin.
H.B. 1017 fared better in the Senate, where it was filed April 8 by Senate President Emil Jones Jr. After a "do pass" from the Executive Committee on May 1 and consideration of a floor amendment, the bill passed the Senate unanimously on May 27.
It returned to the House that day and was placed on the concurrence calendar. Eight months passed before a motion was filed Jan. 27 to concur with the Senate amendment. The amended bill passed the House unanimously on Feb. 19, the same day that Terry Parke was reinstated as chief sponsor.
The final meeting of the current ISBA Board of Governors will take place at 9 a.m. Friday, May 14, in the Westin Hotel, St. Louis.
The 128th ISBA Annual Meeting is scheduled Thursday through Sunday, June 1720, at The Abbey on Lake Geneva, Fontana, Wis., where Ole Bly Pace III of Sterling will succeed Terrence J. Lavin of Chicago as president.
The first meeting of the new Board of Governors will be held Friday, July 16, in the RitzCarlton Hotel. The 30th annual board alumni dinner will follow.
Fall board meetings are scheduled Fridays, Oct. 8, at Eagle Ridge Inn, Galena, and Nov. 12 at the Four Seasons Hotel, Chicago.
Mental Health Law Day panel slated May 12
Mental Health Law Day will be commemorated Wednesday, May 12, by the ISBA Committee on Mental Health Law with a day-long program in the James R. Thompson Center, Chicago.
Committee vice chair Michael E. Kalland of Elgin, the program chair, will open the presentation at 8:45 a.m. with welcoming remarks. The schedule follows.
9 a.m. Legal Ethics and Mental Health Law: What's New? with Mary Robinson, administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
9:45 a.m. In re Muellner: What Does It Mean? with committee member Mark J. Heyrman, director of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School.
10:45 a.m. How to Handle an Involuntary Commitment Case: Plaintiff's Perspective, with committee member Mark B. Epstein of Epstein & Epstein, Chicago.
11:15 a.m. How to Handle an Involuntary Commitment Case: Defendant's Perspective, with Charles Rose of the Guardian and Advocacy Commission at the Elgin Mental Health Center.
1:30 p.m. I Am Going to Be a Witness in Court Regarding my Client: What Do I Need to Know? with committee member Tom Simpatico of Northwestern University and the Illinois Department of Human Services.
2:15 p.m. Risk Management Strategies for Social Service Professionals, with committee member Joseph T. Monahan of Monahan & Cohen, Chicago.
3:15 p.m. HIPAA: What Should I Know? with committee member Robert J. Connor, deputy counsel of the Illinois Department of Human Services.
4 p.m. Questions and answers.
The cost of the ISBA Mental Health Law Day program is $50 per person. For reservations, call Phyllis Lester at (312) 7268775.
Co-sponsors include the Women's Bar Association of Illinois, the Chicago Bar Association, the Kane County Bar Association, the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission and the Mental Health Association of Illinois.
Others are the Illinois Hospital Association, the Illinois Psychiatric Association, the Illinois Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers and the Northwest Action Council.
Court grants ISBA's request for amicus in UPL challenge
By Mary T. McDermott
General Counsel
The Illinois Supreme Court has granted the Illinois State Bar Association's motion for leave to file, and has allowed its amicus curiae brief, in the first accepted unauthorized practice of law case in more than 40 years that does not involve a disciplined lawyer.
In King v. First Capital Financial Services, the Illinois Appellate Court, 3rd District, held that when mortgagors prepare mortgage documents for use in transactions, they are not engaged in UPL but rather are acting pro se.
The ISBA amicus brief urges the Supreme Court to reaffirm its holding in Quinlan & Tyson that the drawing or filling in of blanks in mortgages requires the particular skill of a lawyer and constitutes the practice of law.
The ISBA argues that when the mortgagors in King filled in blanks on mortgages, they were engaged in the practice of law. The ISBA position, in part, mirrors the Appellate Court holding that when a mortgagor that is a participant to the transaction fills in those blanks, that mortgagor is acting pro se and therefore is not committing the unauthorized practice of law.
Because ISBA believes, however, that the concurrence to the King opinion misinterprets the Illinois Attorneys Act, the amicus argues that money damages are available to a party in an unauthorized practice of law action.
The ISBA urges the court to find that a party bringing an unauthorized practice action need not prove negligence on the part of the defendant to secure damages.
Finally, the amicus argues that a lending institution should not be allowed to charge a customer for the costs it incurs when representing itself.
The ISBA urges the court to find that to allow this shifting of legal fees would be contrary to the American rule on fees and contrary to case law in other substantive areas where it has been held that a pro se attorney-party may not seek attorney fees from a defendant.
The ISBA Task Force on the Unauthorized Practice of Law monitored the King case through the trial court and appellate review.
At the request of the task force, the ISBA Board of Governors voted to seek to file an amicus brief so the court would have benefit of the bar association's voice in the ongoing battle against unauthorized practice.
Senior Counsellors will be lauded for 50-year careers
The Korean War may have taken its toll on law school classes a half-century ago. Perhaps that is the reason why the list of 50-year members of the Illinois State Bar Association includes only 54 lawyers.
The ISBA Board of Governors on March 26 approved the following list of Senior Counsellors who will be honored Sept. 9 during a luncheon in Chicago.
Corrections, additions or deletions should be reported in writing to the ISBA Executive Director, 424 S. Second St., Springfield, Ill. 62701.
CHICAGO
Clyde O. Bowles, Gilbert A. Cornfield, Eugene Crane, John Duffy, David L. Fargo, Merrill A. Freed, Sheldon Gardner, Herbert A. Glieberman, Norman Gold, Arthur Gorov, Thomas J. Karacic, Bernard Kleinman, Myron Lieberman, James D. Murphy, John M. Murray, Nat Ozmon, David Pauker, Harvey Pyes, Manuel Solotke, Eileen Strang, Theodore Swain, Guerino Turano.
COOK COUNTY SUBURBS
Harry DeBruyn, Orland Park; Alfred Gallo, Hillside; Fred R. Kaufmann, Burr Ridge; Leonard H. Lauter and Edward I. Rosen, Skokie; John J. O'Neil, DesPlaines; William John Quinn, Wilmette; Gerald Rubin, Northbrook; Kenneth Zak, Palatine.
COLLAR COUNTIES
Randle Johnson, Elgin; Edward Jurow, St. Charles.
DOWNSTATE
Hollis Benjamin, Peoria; Edward Booth and James A. Uhl, Decatur; Edward J. Enichen and Anthony R. Fabiano, Rockford; Charles Flack, Macomb; Richard O. Hart, Benton; James J. Herr, Pontiac; Curt C. Lindauer, Belleville; Warren Peters, Lincoln; Daniel G. Reese, Taylorville; Carl Stowe, Greenville; Curtis Trevor, Moline.
OUT OF STATE
John Albrecht, Chesterfield, Mo.; Donald Beimdiek, St. Louis, Mo.; Charles Eklund, Fontana, Wis.; George Graziadei, Las Vegas, Nev.; Gerald L. Ippel, Carlsbad, Calif.; George Lundin, Seattle, Wash.; Richard Moore, Fairfax, Va.; M. A. Warshauer, Flat Rock, N.C.
Nominating petitions filed for ISBA Assembly elections came up short of filling the seats allocated to several judicial circuits outside of Cook County. Within Cook County, however, there are 56 candidates for only 39 seats that will be filled in the current election.
There is only one contested election in a downstate circuit - the 13th, where three candidates filed for two seats. In 10 other circuits, the number of candidates is the same as available seats.
In those circuits where fewer candidates filed than the number of open seats, the Board of Governors will fill the vacancies at its May 14 meeting. They are:
1st Circuit, two vacancies; 2nd Circuit, one vacancy; 5th Circuit, one vacancy; 8th Circuit, one vacancy; 10th Circuit, two vacancies; 11th Circuit, one vacancy; 16th Circuit, three vacancies; 18th Circuit, two vacancies; 19th Circuit, three vacancies; 20th Circuit, four vacancies.
Interested ISBA members may contact the appropriate member of the Board of Governors, or write to the ISBA Executive Director, Illinois Bar Center, 424 S. Second St., Springfield, Ill 62701.
Ratings of court candidates by the ISBA Committee on Judicial Evaluations were reflected by most results of balloting on March 16. In county-wide elections for the Cook County Circuit Court, all five successful candidates in the Democrat primary received Qualified ratings from the ISBA.
In subcircuit elections, the results were mixed, but three successful candidates were rated Highly Qualified by the ISBA, and eight were found Qualified. Four winners were rated Not Qualified because of non-participation in the screening, and one was rated Not Qualified by the committee.
In total, the ISBA rated as Highly Qualified or Qualified 16 of the 22 candidates who will be on the November general election ballot.
Tort, Insurance Sections team up for auto case review
The ISBA Tort Law Section and Insurance Law Section will explore a complex hypothetical during the Law Ed Series seminar, "The Anatomy of an Automobile Case," on Monday, May 10, at the Securities Training Corp., Chicago.
The scenario begins with coworkers Charlie and Eddie having lunch in a bar. Charlie has one too many but is driving himself and Eddie back to work when they collide at an intersection with Harry, who is driving a company car. Charlie has the right of way, but Harry doesn't see the yield sign, which is obscured by a tree.
Both vehicles then are struck by Sammy, who says his brakes did not work. Eddie and Harry have serious injuries. Charlie fails a field sobriety test, and blood is drawn from him at the hospital. Police issue tickets to all three drivers.
In subsequent traffic court cases, Charlie pleads guilty to DUI. Harry is found guilty of failure to yield. Sammy is charged with failure to reduce speed but is found not guilty.
Civil lawsuits begin, with Eddie as plaintiff. Sammy, whose insurance had lapsed, files for bankruptcy during litigation and subsequently dies. Sammy's insurance carrier agrees to hold his vehicle for a possible products liability case against the manufacturer.
Tort Law Section Council chair Martin A. Dolan of Dolan & Shannon, Chicago, is program coordinator and moderator for the ensuing eight-hour seminar at which the anatomy of the case will be probed by 20 speakers, as follows.
9 a.m. Multiple Defendants, with Paige C. Donaldson of Sanchez & Daniels, Chicago.
9:20 a.m. Defenses, with Mary Anne H. Capron of Hennessy & Roach, Chicago.
9:40 a.m. Ethical Concerns, with Tort Law Section Council member Robert T. Park of Snyder, Park & Nelson, Rock Island.
10 a.m. Third Party Claims, with Tort Law Section Council member Timothy W. Kelly of the Kelly Law Offices, Bloomington.
10:20 a.m. Verified Complaints, with Michael W. Clancy of the Clancy Law Offices, St. Charles, who serves on the Tort Law and Civil Practice and Procedure Section Councils.
10:50 a.m. Evidence of Alcohol Consumption, with Joseph P. Shannon of Dolan & Shannon, Chicago, member of the Insurance Law and Civil Practice and Procedure Section Councils.