Mentoring program off to good start, requests liaisons
Incoming ISBA section council and committee officers have been requested to appoint mentoring liaisons for the 2005-06 year to exchange information with the Special Committee on Implementing the Mentoring Program.
The liaisons also will be expected to encourage members of their sections or committees to serve as ISBA mentors, and to promote the Mentor Center to attorneys who may need assistance with unfamiliar legal matters.
Names of the liaisons should be submitted by July 1 to ISBA first assistant counsel Melinda J. Bentley, mbentley@isba.org. For information about participating in the mentoring program, access www.isba.org and click on More from ISBA.
The Special Committee on Implementing the Mentoring Program, chaired by Peter L. Rotskoff of Springfield, will meet at 1:30 p.m. Friday, June 17, during the ISBA Annual meeting at The Abbey on Lake Geneva.
Rotskoff reported "pretty good first-year numbers" to the ISBA Board of Governors on May 13. The committee has received commitments from 103 mentors, representing 50 substantive areas of law, and 408 mentees.
A mentoring handbook is being compiled, Rotskoff said, and educational training programs will be conducted. A recently completed survey of participating mentors and mentees is being studied.
Rotskoff referred to the mentoring initiative as "a stepping stone to addressing the problems of new lawyers," and said he looked forward to receiving notification from section councils and committees of their liaison appointments.
'Practice Skills for New Lawyers' series to begin Aug. 17
The Illinois State Bar Association will conduct a comprehensive 11-session seminar series, "Practice Skills for New Lawyers," from Aug. 17 through Nov. 9.
Scheduled from 6:30 to 9:15 p.m. on Wednesdays in the ISBA Chicago Regional Office, the programs feature experience practitioners who will help beginning attorneys get started effectively. The schedule follows.
Aug. 17 - Criminal Law, with ISBA Assembly member Robert A. Loeb of Chicago, associate member of the Criminal Justice Section Council, and assistant Cook County public defender Timijanel B. Odom of Markham.
Aug. 24 - Real Estate Law, with John G. O'Brien of Arlington Heights, a member of the ISBA Board of Governors; Assembly member Steven B. Bashaw of McBride, Baker & Coles, Oak Brook, Assembly member Myles L. Jacobs of Brummund & Jacobs, Joliet; Samuel H. Levine of Arnstein & Lehr, Chicago, and Stuart H. Wolf, of Arlington Heights.
Levine is past chair of the Real Estate Law Section Council, and Jacobs is a section council member. Wolf is vice chair of the Business Advice and Financial Planning Section Council.
Aug. 31 - Representing the Small Business, with Linscott R. Hanson of DiMonte & Lizak, Park Ridge, and George E. Marifian of Mathis, Marifian, Richter & Grandy, Belleville, a member of the Committee on Professional Conduct.
Sept. 7 - Domestic Relations, with Assembly member Christopher S. Haaff of Gitlin, Haaff & Kasper, Woodstock, and Celia G. Gamrath of Schiller, DuCanto & Fleck, Chicago, past chair of the Committee on Women and the Law and a new member of the ISBA Board of Governors.
Sept. 14 - Setting Up a Law Practice that Works, and Running a Law Practice Without Running into Trouble, with Mary F. Andreoni of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, Chicago, a member of the Committee on Professional Conduct, and Warren Lupel of Katz, Randall, Weinberg & Richmond, Chicago, member of the Committee on the ARDC.
Sept. 21 - Traffic and DUI Law, with Larry A. Davis of DesPlaines, newsletter editor of the Traffic Laws and Courts Section Council.
Sept. 28 - Bankruptcy Law, with Sumner A. Bourne of Rafool & Bourne, Peoria, associate newsletter editor of the Commercial, Banking and Bankruptcy Law Section Council, and Eugene Crane of Dannen, Crane, Heyman & Simon, Chicago.
There will be no programs on Oct. 5 or Oct. 12.
Oct. 19 - Personal Injury, with Tort Law Section Council member Karen McNulty Enright of Winters, Enright, Salzetta & O'Brien, Chicago, and John L. Nisivaco of Lavin & Nisivaco, Chicago, secretary and newsletter editor of the Tort Law Section Council.
Oct. 26 - Estate Planning and Administration, with John "Dirk" Gutzke of Rolewick & Gutzke, Wheaton; Richard P. Miller of Chicago, member of the Trusts and Estates Section Council, and Carol A. Nolan of Wheaton.
Nov. 2 - Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability, with David A. Bryant of Daley, DeBofsky & Bryant, Chicago, and David B. Menchetti of Cullen, Haskins, Nicholson & Menchetti, Chicago, member of the Workers' Compensation Law Section Council.
Nov. 9 - Managing a Law Office, with Christopher C. Kendall of Chicago, member of the Committee on Legal Education, Admission and Competence.
Registration for any or all of the 11-program series is $195 for ISBA members and $295 for non-members. Legal service agency attorneys may attend at no cost. Call the CLE administrator at (800) 252-8908 to register.
Rush University Medical Center will conduct its third annual Elder Rights Forum from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, June 24, in the Searle Conference Center. Speakers include Ray J. Koenig III of Peck, Bloom, Austriaco & Mitchell, Chicago, a member of the ISBA Trusts and Estates Section Council.
The goal of the yearly forum is to develop understanding of an interdisciplinary approach that can be an effective tool in addressing elder abuse and neglect issues. The autonomy and safety of the elderly, especially when dealing with dementia, are essential priorities in society.
Topics for this month's program at Rush include an update on legislation affecting rights of the elderly, discussions on advance directives, and ethical issues related to "un-befriended" elders.
Forum sponsors invite professionals from the legal community, health care systems, social work, long-term care, banking and law enforcement to attend and exchange ideas about prevention of and response to elder abuse and neglect.
Continental breakfast, snacks and lunch will be provided. For more information, contact Amy Eisenstein at (312) 942-8155 or Amy_R_Eisenstein@Rush.edu.
Chicago-Kent College
The Chicago-Kent College of Law will conduct an all-day, interactive seminar on Effective Transactional Writing on Friday, June 17. Call (312) 906-5090 for details or access the Web site, www.kentlaw.edu/depts/cle/.
Seminar participants will learn to write more effectively in plain English, and to make documents less ambiguous and more concise. The training includes analysis tips and writing and editing tools.
Chicago-Kent's 21st annual Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Program will take place Thursday, Sept. 22.
Practising Law Institute
A two-day workshop on "Acquiring or Selling the Privately Held Company" will be conducted by the Practising Law Institute on Monday and Tuesday, June 20-21, at the University of Chicago's downtown Gleacher Center.
Topics include understanding terms of an acquisition agreement, using letters of intent to maximize strategic advantage, structuring and negotiating earn-outs, recognizing and dealing with non-corporate law issues, and addressing key issues in selling divisions or subsidiaries.
The program will be chaired by San Francisco attorney John F. Seegal. Call (800) 260-4PLI or access www.pli.edu/ad.
John Marshall Law
The John Marshall Law School Center for Intellectual Property Law will present the program, "From Racism to Steroids: 125 Years of Baseball Deception," from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 22. Call Michele Bridges, (312) 472-2737, ext. 581.
John Marshall's Fair Housing Legal Support Center will hold a Fair Housing Conference on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 9-10.
Chicago Volunteer Legal
A free seminar on special education law for pro bono attorneys, especially guardians ad litem, will be conducted at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 26, in suite 900 at 100 N. LaSalle St. The speaker is Chicago attorney Nancy Z. Hablutzel, co-editor of the ISBA Child Law Section newsletter.
Employment Law Institute
The National Employment Law Institute will present its 29th annual Employment Discrimination Law Update on Thursday and Friday, July 28-29, at the Four Seasons Hotel, Chicago. Call (303) 861-5600 or access www.neli.org.
In addition to updates on significant cases, their implications and applications, topics include EEOC developments in harassment, reduction-in-force plans, prevention of retaliation, and effective in-house investigation strategy.
An ADA update will focus on issues affecting definitions of "disability" and "qualified," recent developments in FMLA law, and settlement strategies that include nuances of alternative dispute resolution.
The Illinois Bar Foundation and Peoria County Bar Association have postponed the joint Pillars of the Bar golf outing from July 13 to Monday, Aug. 29, at Mt. Hawley Country Club. Some exemplary lawyers will be honored.
The fees will be $125 per golfer for golf and dinner, $100 for golf only, and $40 for dinner only. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Call (312) 726-6072, ext. 233.
Join the Fellows of the Illinois Bar Foundation, or upgrade your current level of support, during the ISBA Annual Meeting at the Abbey Resort and receive an attractive windshirt.
The Fellows will have an informational booth from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, June 16; 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, June 17, and 8 a.m. to 12 noon Saturday, June 18. The windshirts also may be purchased for $40 each.