Anything with drugs, people abhor. And many times those are the people who need help the most."
A member of the John Marshall faculty since 1981, Ruebner is a former deputy state appellate defender for the 1st and 2nd Districts. He is the author of "Illinois Criminal Trial Evidence."
Election ballots have been mailed to ISBA members for contested races in four regional areas for the Board of Governors and Assembly. Completed ballots must be returned to the Illinois Bar Center in Springfield by the close of business Wednesday, May 10.
A total of 17 candidates filed for five board vacancies, and there are 47 candidates, including 14 eligible incumbents, filed for 23 Assembly seats in Cook County. Terrence J. Lavin of Chicago is unopposed for the office of third vice president.
See the April 3 issue of the ISBA Bar News for full details. Direct election questions to the office of ISBA executive director, (800) 252-8908.
Bar Foundation grant helps CDEL find, communicate with volunteers
A $2,500 grant from the Illinois Bar Foundation will help the Center for Disability and Elder Law continue to develop its attorney recruitment computer network.
The Chicago-based center, formerly the Legal Clinic for the Disabled, also plans to take over the Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier for its annual summer benefit on Thursday, July 20.
A recipient of several Bar Foundation grants, totaling $43,500 in the past 16 years, CDEL applied last year for supplementary funding for its Capacity Building Program to increase and retain its force of pro bono attorneys.
The objectives of the program are to publish a volunteer attorney brochure to highlight CDEL's mission and programs, to compile a comprehensive attorney orientation manual of pro bono opportunities and benefits, and to create a web page to broaden its recruitment and communication initiatives.
IBF board member Latham Williams of Chicago, who investigated the grant application, found that the computer communication network among volunteers would "distribute and exchange information such as memoranda, briefs, legislation and other documents.
The Center for Disability and Elder Law was established in 1984 to provide legal assistance to low-income individuals with disabilities,Th particularly among the elderly.
The center has worked since then to overcome the physical, financial, attitudinal and communications barriers that preclude meaningful access to the legal system by the disabled, despite enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
As a result, CDEL rapidly growing base of clientele has become more aware of rights for the disabled and elderly, and of advances in medical technology that can increase longevity.
Services include programs for the deaf, guardianships, and matters involving probate, discrimination, health, consumer fraud, family law, real estate, landlord-tenant, insurance and bankruptcy.
Services are provided through direct legal representation, recruitment and training of lawyers and staff members, education, community outreach, dissemination of information and referrals among other legal aid provider agencies.
CDEL has been a leader in coordination of a Disability Consortium of related organizations to discuss ways and means of maintaining a high leval of service in a time of growing needs and shrinking resources.
The center has formal relationships with the Northwestern University School of Law clinical program for first-hand experience among law students, and with the law firm of Baker & McKenzie for training in special education issues.
For more information, call executive director Jann Dragovich at (312) 908-4463.
124th Annual Meeting is June 22-25 at The Abbey
Herbert H. Franks of Marengo will be installed Saturday, June 24, as president of the Illinois State Bar Association. The installation dinner will be a highlight of the 124th ISBA Annual Meeting at The Abbey on Lake Geneva, Wis.
Other incoming state bar leaders and the offices they will hold are Timothy Eaton of Chicago, president-elect; Loren S. Golden of Elgin, second vice president, and Terrence J. Lavin of Chicago, third vice president.
The Annual Meeting will conclude the tenure of Chicago attorney Cheryl I. Niro as president. She was installed in June 1999 at the Grand Geneva.
ISBA members who plan to attend the 2000 meeting are urged to make reservations early with The Abbey or its nearby affiliated resorts, Interlaken and Lake Lawn Lodge. A reservation form is published on page 7 of this issue of the ISBA Bar News.
A full schedule of educational seminars, special events and business meetings of ISBA section councils and committees is planned over the three-day weekend. The boards of the Illinois Bar Foundation, ISBA Mutual Insurance Co. and the Illinois Pro Bono Center also will meet at The Abbey.
The opening reception will take place Thursday evening, June 22. The annual awards luncheon is scheduled for Friday, June 23, and the Assembly will meet at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 24.
Everyone in attendance at the Annual Meeting is invited to a special program on women's health from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon Saturday, June 24. The complimentary presentation is titled "Don't Ignore Your Health: Bring Some Certainty into Your Life."
Gayle L. Nelson of the Committee on Minority and Women Participation will be moderator for a panel that includes Annabelle S. Volgman and Lynne T. Braun of the Rush Heart Institute, Chicago. Advance registration is required.
Annual Meeting brochures will be available soon, and special sections of information will be published in future issues of the ISBA Bar News.
11th Minority Conference May 6 at John Marshall
The Illinois State Bar Association will conduct its 11th annual Minority and Women Attorneys Conference on Saturday, May 6, at The John Marshall Law School. Chicago attorney James D. Montgomery will be the keynote luncheon speaker.
Emilio E. Machado, chair of ISBA Committee on Minority and Women Participation, and conference chair Leslie A. Hairston will open the program at 8:45 a.m. with welcoming remarks and introductions.
Presentations during Session I from 9 to 10:10 a.m. are Developing a Practice: Financing and Marketing; Real Estate: Basic Issues in Forming Partnerships and Corporations for Your Clients; Family Law: Domestic Relations; Civil Practice: Motion Practice, Federal and State Courts.
Presentations during Session II from 10:20 to 11:30 a.m. are Developing a Practice: Technology, Billing, Docketing;
Criminal Practice: How a Case Starts; Making a Living Your Way: Contractual Work; Workers' Compensation: Where Do We Start?
Presentations during Session III from 11:40 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. are Developing a Practice: How to Practice Safe Law; Real Estate: Land Acquisition and Tax Increment Financing; Family Law: Quadros, Qildros and Other Pension Retirement Plan Issues; Using Revocable Living Trusts for Estate Planning.
The concluding luncheon and speech by James Montgomery will begin at 1 p.m.
The conference is co-sponsored by the Asian American Bar, the Black Women Lawyers, Chinese American Bar, the DuPage Women Lawyers, the East Central Illinois Women Attorneys, the National Bar Association (Region 7), the Puerto Rican Bar, the Springfield Coalition of Black Attorneys, the Winnebago County Bar, the Winnebago County Women's Bar, and the Women's Bar of Illinois.
For registration details, pick up a brochure in the ISBA Chicago Regional Office or call the membership services department, (800) 252-8908.
The ISBA will conduct its second Conference of Bar Presidents and Vice Presidents from 12 noon to 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 12, at the Renaissance Hotel, Oak Brook. Letters of invitation are being mailed.
Christopher G. Perrin of Springfield, chair of the ISBA Committee on Membership and Bar Activities, will offer introductory remarks during the luncheon that opens the conference.
Conference chair Stuart H. Wolf of Arlington Heights will introduce ISBA President Cheryl I. Niro and President-elect Herbert H. Franks for brief comments.
At 12:45 p.m., Terrence J. Lavin of Chicago, an ISBA board member and incoming third vice president, will provide an update on the work of the Task Force on Multidisciplinary Practice.
At 1:30 p.m., ISBA general counsel Dennis A. Rendleman and Stuart Wolf, attorney for the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association, will discuss residential real estate transactions and a recent memorandum from a real estate firm stating that outside attorneys are not necessary at closings.
At 2:30 p.m., John Noble, president of the Kane County Bar Association, and 18th Circuit Judge Ann B. Jorgensen, vice chair of the ISBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Council, will review ADR issues.
At 3:15 p.m., attendees will separate into breakout groups for discussions. Niro will provide closing comments at 4:15 p.m.
Computer survival skills await Boot Camp squad
ISBA technology gurus Todd H. Flaming of Schopf & Weiss, Chicago, and David B. Yavitz of Lake, Toback & Yavitz, Chicago, will conduct a Basic Computer Training Boot Camp on Friday, April 27, at the ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
Flaming and Yavitz are past chairs of the Committee on Legal Technology, which has planned an informative program for attorneys, paralegals, secretaries and staff from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Professional computer training instructors from MacAcademy Windows Academy will participate.
Tuition for ISBA members and their staffs is $125 for the first registrant and $115 for each additional member of the same firm. Non-member tuition is $200. The seminar schedule follows.
9 a.m. Windows Operating System Basics; how to access features of the Windows 95/98 operating system.
10:15 a.m. Microsoft Word, Basic and Intermediate; creating and saving documents, editing and formatting text, finding spelling and grammar help, printing, inserting page numbers and breaks, selecting fonts, finding and replacing text, and using tabs, leaders, borders and shading.
1:30 p.m. Microsoft Powerpoint Basic; how to use software to make courtroom presentations, create slides, format text, manipulate objects, and use clip art.
2:30 p.m. Microsoft Excel Basic; spreadsheet training, inputting information and formulas, saving files, editing and formatting cells, using spell checker, and printing.
3:45 p.m. Internet Browser and E-mail Basics; how to use e-mail programs and access the World Wide Webb, using Netscape and Internet Explorer web browser programs.
To obtain a registration form and Boot Camp brochure, call Brenda Todt at (800) 252-8908. Registration with Visa or MasterCard may be made by facsimile to (217) 525-0420.
The deadline for nominations for the first two Young Lawyer of the Year Awards has been extended until Friday, May 19. The Young Lawyers Division will present the awards during the its during the ISBA Annual Meeting in June at The Abbey on Lake Geneva, Wis.
Plaques will be presented to a Cook County lawyer and a downstate lawyer under the age of 37 for contributions that enhance the standing of young lawyers in the profession and community activities in public service, volunteer work and pro bono representation of the indigent.
The recipients will be selected by a committee of the Young Lawyers Division from nominations made by individuals, bar associations and civic organizations. Call Teri Litwiller at the Illinois Bar Center, (800) 252-8908, for nomination forms.
General practice honor offered
Nominations will be accepted through Monday, May 1, for the annual ISBA General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section Tradition of Excellence Award. Last year's recipient was Chicago attorney Arthur Gorov (ISBA Bar News, April 3, page 6).
The award will be presented at a luncheon Friday, June 23, during the ISBA Annual Meeting at The Abbey on Lake Geneva, Wis. The recipient must be able to attend.
All Illinois lawyers and sitting or retired judges are eligible for recognition based on nature of practice, continuing legal education commitment and community service contributions that enhance the standing of general practitioners.
Nominations may be made by individual colleagues, community organizations, bar associations and others who understand why a particularly deserving lawyer's work and life are exemplary.
Details of the nominee's career, professional achievements and civic activities should be included, along with a statement of the reasons the individual should be considered for the award.
For a list of required information and Tradition of Excellence Award criteria, write to the ISBA General Practice Section, Suite 900, 20 S. Clark St., Chicago, Ill. 60603, or send a facsimile to (312) 726-9071.
Tradition of Excellence Award nominations must be mailed to the law office of section council member Donald A. LoBue, 1020 S. Seventh St., Springfield, Ill. 62703.
Special committee begins development of child representative training model
Implementation of the work of a previous ISBA task force was discussed March 28 during an organizational meeting of the ISBA Special Committee on Child Representative Training and Resources.