At 3:45 p.m. Friday, Cook County Judge Susan F. Zwick will offer A Judge's Perspective on Rule 216. That will be followed with Tort Law and Evidence Law Updates. A wine-tasting reception is scheduled Friday evening at Galena Winery.
The seminar will resume at 8:15 a.m. Saturday with Insurance Law Update, Discovery/Civil Procedure Update, and Legal Malpractice: A Case Study by Gordon R. Broom.
Justice Kilbride's remarks will be followed by the presentation, Does Your Firm Measure Up? A Focus on the Financial Aspects of Your Business, Including Costs and Accurate Billing, by Marci M. Krufka of Altman Weil.
Inn of Court-Peoria
The Peoria-based Abraham Lincoln Inn of Court has scheduled a series of trial practice programs for members, invited guests and interested prospective members.
The series will begin Monday, Sept. 19, with a presentation on "Developing the Theory of the Case." The meetings begin at 5 p.m. with receptions, followed by the programs and dinners at a cost of $25. For more information, call Barbara Calhoun at (309) 676-8986.
Future dates and topics are: Tuesday, Nov. 15, "Direct and Cross Examination of the Key Witnesses"; Wednesday, Jan. 25, "Jury Instruction Conference"; Thursday, March 23, "You Lost! Post-Trial Motions and How to Perfect an Appeal."
National Women Lawyers
The National Association of Women Lawyers will conduct a Chicago program in its "Take Charge" series from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, at Jenner & Block. The title is "Taking Charge of Your Career: Best Practices for Women Lawyers and Their Firms."
The program on career satisfaction, work-life balance and personal well being includes three panel discussions. They are Not What You Learned in Law School, Becoming a Leader in Your Organization, and Corporate Counsel: Selecting Outside Counsel.
Co-sponsors are the Women's Bar Association of Illinois, the Black Women Lawyers Association of Greater Chicago, the Chicago Bar Association Alliance for Women, and the Chicago chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. For details, access www.nawl.org or call (312) 988-6186.
Northwest Suburban Bar
The Northwest Suburban Bar Association will begin its fall seminar series on Monday, Sept. 26, with a civil litigation program on "Choosing and Using an Expert Witness." Speakers will discuss deposing experts, trial presentations and cross-examination.
The next seminar, "Practical Issues for Criminal Law Practitioners," will take place Wednesday, Oct. 26. Cook County Judge James Etchingham will discuss reviewing and evaluating police reports. Joseph Etchingham will cover cross-examination in summary suspensions.
The NWSBA seminars are conducted from 6 to 9 p.m. in the District 214 Offices at 2121 S. Goebbert Road, Arlington Heights. Call (847) 259-7908 to register.
Employment Law Institute
The 10th annual Americans with Disabilities Act Workshop will be conducted Monday, Sept. 26, at the Four Seasons Hotel, Chicago, by the National Employment Law Institute. Call (303) 861-5600 or access www.neli.org.
Topics include conflicts created by new approaches articulated by the courts and EEOC. Participants will receive copies of the 19th edition of "Resolving ADA Workplace Questions" by David K. Fram of NELI.
The institute will hold its 23rd annual Affirmative Action Briefing on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 27-28, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago. It will follow a program on Affirmative Action Basics on Wednesday, Oct. 26.
Intellectual Property
The Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago will conduct a luncheon seminar, "Current Issues in Patent Infringement," at 12 noon Tuesday, Sept. 27, in room 1102 of The John Marshall Law School.
Alexandria, Va., attorney Charles L. Gholz will speak on patent interference litigation. Call Janet Garreto, (312) 425-8514, for reservations.
American Law Institute
The American Law Institute-American Bar Association will conduct the 13th annual educational seminar, "Trial of a Patent Case," on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 29-30, at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel, Chicago. Call (800) 253-6397 or access www.ali-aba.org.
The program includes a mock trial, case law reviews and discussion on the use of technology in courtrooms. The faculty includes Judge James B. Zagel of U.S. District Court.
DuPage County Bar
The fall schedule of DuPage County Bar Association seminars on Thursdays next month includes: Oct. 6, Appellate Law; Oct. 20, Local Government Law, and Oct. 27, Estate Planning and Probate. Call (630) 653-7779 for complete details.
Illinois CLE Institute
Kim Edward Presbrey of Aurora, a member of the ISBA Board of Governors and past president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, will speak during an Illinois Institute for Continuing Education seminar next month.
"Illinois' New Workers' Compensation Law 2005" will be presented Thursdays, Oct. 6, at the UBS Tower Conference Center in Chicago, and Oct. 20, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield. Call (800) 252-8062 to register.
Presbrey will present the petitioner's perspective in Springfield. James W. Stevenson Jr., a member of the ISBA Workers' Compensation Law Section Council, will give the respondent's perspective in Chicago.
A follow-up IICLE seminar, "Starting Points: Handling Your First Workers' Compensation Claim," will take place Friday, Oct. 7, in Chicago, and Wednesday, Oct. 19, in Springfield, both at the same locations as above.
Members of the ISBA section council who will speak are David M. Barish, who will discuss the three elements of a claim in Chicago, and Cameron B. Clark, who will provide Case Law Updates at both programs.
Illinois Trial Lawyers
The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association will conduct a seminar on Monday, Oct. 10, at DoubleTree Guest Suites in Chicago. An ITLA workers' compensation seminar will take place Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Oak Brook Hills Resort. Call (800) 252-8501.
ATG Trust Co.
Two free seminars on Section 1031 Starker exchanges will be conducted next month by ATF Trust Co. The speaker is Brian S. Michales, vice president of the firm's tax-deferred exchange program.
They will take place from 9 a.m. to 12 noon Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the Hilton Northbrook Hotel, and on Friday, Oct. 21, in the Radisson Hotel at John Deere Commons, Moline. Call (800) 242-5206, ext. 2130, or access www.atgf.com.
Attorneys' Title
Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund will conduct two seminars next month. To register, call Suzy Auteberry at (800) 252-5206, ext. 2130, or access www.atgf.com.
"New Construction: To Infinitely Insure and Beyond" will take place from 9 a.m. to 12 noon Thursday, Oct. 20, at Hamburger University on McDonald's Office Campus in Oak Brook. ATG members may attend at no charge. The non-member fee is $25.
Gregory J. Miely, ATG's senior underwriting attorney, will discuss examining title insurance issues, establishing construction escrows, and documenting proper construction disbursements.
"Navigating a Real Estate Transaction," a program for new attorneys and law students, will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. Call Kristianna Roper at (312) 752-1470 or access www.atgf.com to register.
Experiences practitioners will review a typical real estate transaction and discuss related issues of representing buyers and sellers, and financing mortgages. There is no charge for students and attorneys in practice for less than three years.
Illinois Forensic Forum
An interdisciplinary course titled "The Dangerous Individual: Assessment and Protection" will be presented from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, in the auditorium of the James R. Thompson Center, Chicago.
The Illinois Forensic Forum is the sponsor of the presentation that will be made by J. Reid Meloy, a Diplomate in forensic psychology of the American Board of Professional Psychology and assistant clinical professor at the University of California-Santa Clara School of Medicine. A panel of judges will respond.
by Gertrude Block
Q: In today's New York Times, I read the following statement quoting Prime Minister Tony Blair: "No one knows better than me that we were acting as two countries at the time." Is "me" correct?
A:No. Prime Minister Blair's use of English is usually impeccable, contrasting with that of American politicians. But the error the reader noticed is so widespread by English speakers on both sides of the ocean that it may eventually be considered correct. The pronoun I should replace me in Tony Blair's comment: "No one knows better than I (do) that we were acting as two countries at the time."
Another reader has sent a similar question. She asked whether I or me was correct in the statement, "He runs faster than me." The same grammatical rule governs both statements. If the personal pronoun in question is the subject of the omitted clause following than, use I; if the personal pronoun is the object of the omitted clause following than use me. The rule should be easy to remember because it is based on common sense. Just mentally add the missing language before writing the sentence. The following are illustrations:
* He runs faster than I (do). (Meaning, "He runs faster than I run." The pronoun I is the subject of its clause.
* John admires Jim more than me. (Meaning: "John admires Jim more than John admires me." The pronoun me is in the objective case because it is the object of its clause: "John admires me").
* John admires Jim more than I (Meaning: "John admires Jim more than I admire Jim." The pronoun I is in the subjective case because it is the subject of its clause. "I admire Jim").
Very often the choice of the personal pronoun I or me depends upon the age or education of the speaker. Many teenagers choose the objective case of the pronoun in contexts like:
* Me and Mary are going to the Mall.
* Will you give me and her a ride home?
On the other hand, adults who want to use correct English, but who are not grammatically literate may say:
* Give Mary and I the relevant information.
* Between you and I, it is not very important.
Only the teenager's second statement ("Give her and me a ride home") is grammatically correct. On the other hand, nobody errs in the use of personal pronouns except in the first person (singular and plural). One never hears, for example, "Give he and she the information."
More should be said about the current and correct use of personal pronouns; that subject is discussed in my recent book, Legal Writing Advice: Questions and Answers, along with other questions from readers.
Q:I try to avoid wordiness in my legal documents, so I am tempted to omit the word such in a document a lawyer in our firm gave me to edit. Should I?
A:That's the kind of question I really like: It can be answered in one word: "Yes."
Here is the statement the reader was referring to:
* The defendant's lawyer acted wilfully by allowing such immoral actions to continue.
Why include the word "such"? To do so implies that immoral actions that were not "such immoral actions" would not be wilful. It is true that nobody would misunderstand the meaning of the person who wrote that sentence, but adding "such" weakens the impact of the phrase "immoral actions" and accomplishes nothing.
Over time I have collected similarly redundant statements in court cases and news articles. Here are a few:
* The passenger in the front seat did not exercise due care when she playfully grabbed the steering wheel while the car was in motion. (If she had grabbed the wheel, but not in a playful manner, would she have acted with due care?)
* The fuzzbuster in question will not be used to flagrantly break speed laws. (If it is used to break speed laws, but not "flagrantly," is that permissible?)
* The defendant is guilty because injuries occurred due to the insufficient number of inadequately trained guards on duty. (Would the defendant have been not guilty if there had been a sufficient number of inadequately trained guards on duty? Or, if there had been an insufficient number of adequately trained guards on duty)
* We must protect citizens from the arbitrary harassment of police officials. (Is "harassment" by police officials not a problem unless it is "arbitrary"?)
* Judges should not tip the scales of justice in an improper direction. (Are judges permitted to "tip the scales of justice" in a 'proper' direction?)
These quotations were found in just a quick check of my files. You have no doubt noticed many others. Redundant language is not only unnecessary; it is often damaging to the argument. Congratulations to the reader for finding and deleting it.
POTPOURRI:
(Subject: "How times change!"):
* Child: Daddy, what was the first movie you ever saw?
* Father: I don't remember the name, but it starred Roy Rogers.
* Child: Why would they name a movie after a restaurant?
Gertrude Block is Lecturer Emerita at the University of Florida College of Law. Her book ,"Legal Writing Advice: Questions and Answers" (William S. Hein & Co., Inc.) was published in December 2004. Ms. Block is also author of "Effective Legal Writing", 5th Edition (Foundation Press), with an accompanying instructor's manual. She is co-author of the "Judicial Opinion Writing Manual" (published by the American Bar Association, 1991). Send questions to the ISBA Bar News Language Tips, Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Bar Center, Springfield, IL 62701, or e-mail her at block@law.ufl.edu.
"Can you be tired of Rome?" asks ISBA President Bob Downs. "Not and still live a life worth living," he responds.
Downs promises "a great start" in The Eternal City, after the overnight flight on Monday, Nov. 14, from Chicago, on a 12-day presidential travel opportunity that includes the Amalfi Coast and Sicily.