A practical training program on advanced features of “Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel for Legal Applications” will be presented by the ISBA Committee on Legal Technology from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 12, at the Holiday Inn, Collinsville.

Committee chair David M. Clark of Clark and Partners, Dundee, is program coordinator for the Law Ed seminar, which is designed for attorneys, paralegals, secretaries and staff.

The speaker is Richard A. Kinner of Springfield, a professional computer training instructor in legal-specific applications. He will explain how to master the full power of the desktop programs and save endless hours.

The morning session, from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., will be devoted to Microsoft XP Word. The following features will be discussed.

Text vs. paragraph formatting; Page setup as required by Illinois Supreme Court Rules 341 and 344; Tables, Redlining and tracking changes, Mail merge, Templates and styles, Toolbars, Macros, Footnotes and endnotes, Tips and tricks.

There will be a luncheon break from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.

The afternoon session, from 1:15 to 4:30 p.m., will cover Microsoft XP Excel, including these features:

Formulas and functions, Cell formatting, Page setup, Sorting and filtering, Data validation, Hiding and protecting worksheets, Grouping and subtotals, Creating macros, Tips and tricks.

Because of the difficult nature of providing training to a large group, this will not be a hands-on program.

“Hot Topics in Tort” is the title of an ISBA Law Ed seminar that will be presented by the Tort Law Section from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, May 5, at the Chicago Athletic Association.

Program coordinator and moderator is section council member Albert E. Durkin of Miroballi, Durkin & Rudin, Chicago, who serves on the ISBA Assembly. After Durkin's opening remarks, the program will continue as follows.

9:15 a.m. – Damages: Recent Cases Update, with Joseph J. Miroballi of Miroballi, Durkin & Rudin, Chicago.

10 a.m. – Expert Discovery and Disclosure Issues, with Alice E. Dolan of Dolan & Nisivaco, Chicago.

11 a.m. – Legal Technology in the Law Office and Courtroom, with Eric Berglund of Zognoli McEvoy Foley, Chicago.

11:45 a.m. – IPI Update, with section council chair James P. Ginzkey of Hayes, Hammer, Miles, Cox & Ginzkey, Bloomington.

12:30 p.m. – Luncheon period.

1:30 p.m. – Opening Remarks by section council past chair Darcy L. Proctor of Ancel, Glink, Diamond, Bush, DiCianni & Rolek, Chicago.

1:45 p.m. – Forum Non Conveniens, with Cook County Law Division Judge Diane J. Larsen.

2:30 p.m. – Liens: Medicare Set-asides and the Healthcare Lien Act, with David A. Bryant of Daley, DeBofsky & Bryant, Chicago.

3:30 p.m. – Ethical Issues in Representing a Minor or an Incomtenent Person in Tort Law Claims, with section council member Karen McNulty Enright of Winters, Enright, Salzetta & O'Brien, Chicago.

4:15 p.m. – Insurance Coverage Issues, with section council member George G. Leynaud of the Law Offices of Leynaud & Leynaud, Peru.

The ISBA Labor and Employment Section will conduct a Law Ed seminar, “Employment Litigation Update: Rules, Regulations and Case Law,” from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, May 19, in the Chicago Regional Office.

Section council member Cathy A. Pilkington of Chicago, the program coordinator and moderator, will open the seminar after a welcome from section council chair William J. Borah of Homewood. The schedule follows.

9:05 a.m. – Statutory and Regulatory Re---view, with section council member and newsletter editor Michael R. Lied of Howard & Howard, Peoria, who also serves on the Bar Publications Board.

His review includes the state's Human Rights Act, Unemployment Insurance Act, Wage Payment and Collection Act, Whistleblower Act, Minimum Wage Law, and Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

Also the Fair Labor Standards Act, the grievance procedure under the Americans with Disabilities Act, anti-retaliation whistleblower protection under Sarbanes-Oxley, and ERISA non-interference provisions.

9:25 a.m. – Pre-Suit Charges and Claims: Review of Recent Case Law and Regulations, with ISBA Assembly and section council member Colleen M. McLaughlin of Wheaton.

Her discussion includes procedures in drafting the charge and general pleading issues; retaliation, defamation and retaliatory discharge; fact-finding conference, good cause and investigations; mediation and arbitration.

Also the Illinois Human Rights Act; contracts vs. agreements under the Wage Payment and Collection Act; at-will employment under National Railway; overtime and Fair Labor Standards Act exemptions; Illinois Minimum Wage Act and classifying employees.

10:10 a.m. – Pre-Trial Practice, Discovery and Motions: Review of Recent Case Law, with retired Cook County judge Richard A. Siebel of Bell, Boyd & Lloyd, Chicago.

He will cover enforcement of restrictive covenants; employee handbooks and trade secrets; protective orders and protecting proprietary information; disclosure of personnel records and employee access.

Also light-duty assignments and excessive absences; discovery issues as to calculation of damages; conducting discovery, re insurance coverage; summary judgment considerations.

11:20 a.m. – Trial Evidence and Damages Issues: Review of Recent Case Law, with James S. Whitehead of Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood, Chicago.

He will explore failure-to-promote claims and proof issues; claims for reinstatement; retaliation claims, proof and motivating factors; methods of proof and establishing causal link; calculation of emotional distress damages; settlement agreements and releases; evidence of and calculating mitigation.

12:10 a.m. – Questions and answers.

The ISBA Real Estate Law Section and Environmental Law Section will make two presentations next month of the Law Ed seminar, “Environmental Considerations Involved with Illinois Real Estate Trans-actions.”

They will take place from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Friday, May 5, at the Illinois Education Association, Springfield, and Friday, May 12, at the DoubleTree Hotel, Oak Brook.

Program coordinators for the Real Estate Law Section Council are vice chair Ted M. Niemann of Schmiedeskamp, Robertson, Neu & Mitchell, Quincy; ISBA Assembly member Myles L. Jacobs of Brumund Jacobs Hammel Davidson, Joliet, and Michael L. English of Russell, English, Scoma & Beneke, Princeton.

Program coordinators for the En--vironmental Law Section Council are chair Phillip R. Van Ness of Webber & Thies, Urbana, and William J. Anaya of Arnstein & Lehr, Chicago, who serves on both section councils.

The following program schedule follows a welcome and introductions.

9:10 a.m. – Federal and State Liability and Defenses. Topics include Tort, the Illinois Environmental Protection Act (Section 21 and Ostro line of cases), and CRECLA/RCRA and Citizens' Suits.

Speakers are Claire A. Manning of Brown, Hay & Stephens, Springfield, Environmental Law Section newsletter co-editor, and Thomas J. Krueger of Chicago, associate regional counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

9:40 a.m. – State and Federal Exemptions from Environmental Liability: Lenders, Fiduciaries, Prospective Purchasers, and Adjacent Property Owners. Speakers are Krueger and Anaya.

10:35 a.m. – Commercial Contract for Sale or Purchase, Commercial Lease, and Commercial Mortgage. The following topics will be discussed:

Strategies for sellers, buyers, lenders, developers and tenants; Due diligence clauses (scope, timing and theory); Caveat emptor, warranties, representations and “as is” clauses; Releases, covenants and indemnities; Insurance policies and available coverage.

Speakers are Environmental Law Section Council past chair William D. Seith of Total Environmental Solutions, Lombard, and Anaya, plus Niemann in Springfield and English in Chicago.

12 noon – Luncheon period.

1 p.m. – The USEPA “All Appropriate Inquiry” Rule, 70 Fed.Reg. 66070, and 40 CFR Part 312.

Speakers are Environmental Law Section Council vice chair Eugene P. Schmittgens Jr. of Lathrop & Gage, St. Louis; Eileen L. Furey of Chicago, associate regional counsel of the USEPA, and Brian Boevers of Conestoga-Rovers & Associates, St. Paul, Minn.

2 p.m. – Illinois Site Remediation Pro-gram (SRP). Topics are Tiered Approach to Corrective Action Cleanup Objectives (TACO), No Further Remediation (NFR) letters, Underground Storage Tanks (LUST Fund), and No Further Action (NFA) letters.

Speakers are Environmental Law Section Council members Raymond T. Reott of the Reott Law Offices, Chicago, newsletter co-editor, and Joseph E. Svoboda of Springfield, chief legal counsel of the Illinois EPA.

3:15 p.m. – Federal and State Statutory Update: Illinois Administrative Orders, Illi--nois Community Right to Know. and Federal Phase II Storm Water Regulations (affecting construction).

Speakers are Manning and Environ-mental Law Section Council member Joseph R. Podlewski Jr. of Schwartz, Cooper, Greenberger & Krauss, Chicago.

A panel of eight federal judges will provide recommendations and advice during “Handling Civil Matters from Pleadings to Appeal and Special Considerations for Federal Practice,” an ISBA Law Ed luncheon seminar on Friday, May 5, at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel, Springfield.

ISBA members who plan to attend are invited to submit discussion topics or questions in advance by e-mail to tketterman@whitfield-mcgann.com.

The seminar is sponsored by the ISBA Federal Civil Practice Section and the Seventh Circuit Bar Association. The seminar fee of $35 includes a box lunch.

Federal practice areas that are scheduled for review are pleadings and filings, discovery, settlement conferences, motion practice, trials, appellate considerations and trends.

Central District judges on the panel are Jeanne E. Scott and Byron G. Cudmore of Springfield, Michael H. Mihm and John A. Gorman of Peoria, and Michael P. McCuskey of Urbana.

Southern District judges are J. Phil Gilbert of Benton and Clifford J. Proud and Donald G. Wilkerson of East St. Louis.

Program coordinators and moderators are Travis J. Ketterman of Whitfield & McGann, Geneva, and Devlin J. Schoop of Laner, Muchin, Dombrow, Becker, Levin & Tominberg, Chicago. They are associate newsletter editors of the Federal Civil Practice Section.

Guidelines for MCLE credit under Supreme Court Rule 795(e) are unclear where box lunches are provided for consumption while a seminar is in progress. Appropriate credit will be applied when the rule has been clarified.

The ISBA State and Local Taxation Section, which includes some of the best-informed lawyers in the area of real estate tax issues, will share that expertise in a Law Ed seminar next month.

“Property Tax Assessment Practice Tips and Update for the Practitioner” will be presented from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, May 19, at the Chicago Athletic Association.

Program coordinator and moderator is ISBA Assembly member John K. Norris of Rubin & Norris, Chicago, a section council associate newsletter editor. He will open the seminar with a 15-minute overview, which will be followed by a series of specific topics.

9 a.m. – Cook County Board of Review Procedures, Rules and Practice, with associate editor Thomas A. Jaconetty, chief deputy commissioner of the Cook County Board of Review.

9:30 a.m. – Tax Objection Complaints in the Cook County Circuit Court, with Whitney T. Carlisle of McCracken, Walsh & De La Van, Chicago.

10 a.m. – Tax Assessment Practice in the Collar Counties, with section council member Timothy E. Moran of Schmidt, Salzman & Moran, Chicago, who serves on the Task Force on Unauthorized Practice of Law.

10:45 a.m. – The Alternative General Homestead Exemption, or the “7 Percent Solution”: An Update on its Effects, with Gary H. Smith of Chicago.

11:15 a.m. – Exemptions: Substance and Procedure, with associate editor Mark R. Davis of O'Keefe, Lyons & Hynes, Chicago.

11:45 a.m. – Latest Developments in the Cook County Department of Revenue, with associate editor Julie-April Montgomery, deputy director of the Cook County Department of Revenue.

12:15 p.m. – Luncheon period.

1:15 p.m. – Recent Case Law Develop-ments, with section council secretary Karen J. Dimond of Chicago, an assistant Cook County state's attorney and member of the ISBA Assembly.

1:45 p.m. – Ethics in the Field of Property Tax: Forming the Right Relationships, with Thomas J. McNulty of Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, Chicago.

2:30 p.m. – How to Obtain Property Tax Relief for Landmark Properties, with section council member and newsletter co-editor Mary Ann Connelly of the Law Offices of Terrence Kennedy Jr., Chicago.

3 p.m. – Valuation of Power Plants and Special Use Properties, with associate editor William J. Seitz of Fisk, Kart, Katz & Regan, Chicago.

3:30 p.m. – Intervenors: Are They In--visible? with section council member Frederic S. Lane of Robbins, Schwartz, Nicholas, Lifton & Taylor, Chicago.

4 p.m. – PTAB Rule Changes and New Developments, with ISBA Assembly member James W. Chipman, executive director of the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, Springfield, vice chair of the Administrative Law Section Council and member of the Local Government Law Section Council.

4:30 p.m. – Recent Developments Affect-ing Tax Sales and Tax Deed Proceedings, with associate editor Matthew A. Flamm of Flamm & Teibloom, Chicago.

An ISBA Law Ed seminar on “Bankruptcy Reform in Practice: One Year After Passage” will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 12 noon Friday, April 28, at the Hotel Pere Marquette, Peoria, by the Commercial, Banking and Bankruptcy Law Section.

The extensive review of bankruptcy reforms that took effect in 2005 will include observations by federal bankruptcy judges and trustees.

Section council chair Timothy J. Howard of Howard & Howard, Peoria, will open the seminar with introductions. The schedule follows.

9:05 a.m. – Debtors' Perspectives (all Chapters), with section council member Sumner A. Bourne of Rafool & Bourne, Peoria.

9:50 a.m. – Administration of the New Act, a panel headed by section council member James L. Magill of Peoria, assistant U.S. trustee in the Central and Southern Districts.

Others are ISBA Assembly member Jeffrey D. Richardson of Tietz & Richardson, Decatur; Phillip Stephen Miller of Acton & Snyder, Danville, and Mariann Pogge of the Pogge Law Office, Springfield.

10:45 a.m. – Creditors' Rights: New Strategies Under the Act, with section council member Julia E. Jensen of DiMonte & Lizak, Park Ridge, and Faiq M. Mihlar of Heavner, Scott, Beyers & Mihlar, Decatur.

11:30 a.m. – Judges' Perspectives, a panel discussion with U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judges Thomas L. Perkins of Peoria and Mary Gorman of Springfield.

Program coordinators and moderators are section council secretary Joseph P. Chamley of Evans, Froehlich, Beth & Chamley, Champaign, and council member John Roska, staff attorney for the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Champaign.

Two upcoming presentations of an ISBA civil litigation seminar will include reviews for practitioners of provisions of Supreme Court Rules 213 and 216.

The Law Ed seminars will be conducted by the Civil Practice and Procedure Section on Friday, April 28, at the Chicago Athletic Association, and Friday, May 12, at the Hawthorn Suites, Bloomington.

Titled “Update and Overview of Civil Practice and Procedure,” each program will consist of 14 civil litigation topics. Robert H. Hanaford of Chicago, the section newsletter co-editor and past chair, is the moderator. The schedule follows.

9 a.m. – Registration and Welcome, an opportunity for lawyers, judges and law students to meet.

9:45 a.m. – Proper Parties, Amended Complaints, and Relation Back Doctrine, with Shawn S. Kasserman of Corboy & Demetrio, Chicago.

10:10 a.m. – Pleadings: The Road Map Through Trial, with Robert R. Duncan of Chicago.

10:50 a.m. – Venue and Forum Non Con-------veniens,- with section council member James Matthew Pfeiffer of Fuchs & Roselli, Chicago (in Chicago), and Gwen M. Geraghty of Dykema Gossett, Chicago (in Bloomington).

11:15 a.m. – Discovery: Interrogatories, Document Production and Depositions, with section council member Hugh H. Rowden of McCarthy, Rowden & Baker, Decatur.

11:40 a.m. – Opening Statement, with John M. Stalmack of Bollinger, Ruberry & Garvey, Chicago (in Chicago), and Thomas M. Harris of Jerome Mirza & Associates, Bloomington, a member of the Illinois Bar Journal Editorial Board (in Bloomington).

12:05 p.m. – Luncheon period.

1 p.m. – Rule 213: Disclosure of Opinion Witnesses, with ISBA Assembly and section council member Russell W. Hartigan of Hartigan & Cuisiner, Chicago.

1:25 p.m. – Rule 216: Requests to Ad--mit, with Robert H. Fredian of Wiedner & McAuliffe, Chicago (in Chicago), and Timothy W. Kelly of the Kelly Law Offices, Bloomington, a member of the Tort Law Section Council, (in Bloomington).

1:50 p.m. – Third Party Evidence: In--demnity and Contribution, with Michael T. Reagan of Herbolsheimer, Lannon, Henson, Duncan & Reagan, Ottawa (in Chicago), and section council member Ronald A. Roth of Roth & Evans, Granite City (in Bloomington).

2:15 p.m. – Administrative Review: Timely Filing and Proper Filings, with Thomas M. Battista of Rock, Fusco & Associates, Chicago, a member of the State and Local Taxation Section Council.

2:55 p.m. – Motions to Dismiss Under Sections 2-615 and 2-619, with Judge Daniel T. Gillespie of Chicago, a section council member (in Chicago), and section council member P. Shawn Wood of Seyfarth Shaw, Chicago (in Bloomington).

3:20 p.m. – Motions for Summary Judg-ment: Section 2-1009, with section council member James A. Murphy of Mahoney, Silverman & Cross, Joliet (in Chicago), and Catherine J. Casey of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, Chicago (in Bloomington).

3:45 p.m. – Enforcement and Relief from Judgments, with Jeffrey D. Corso of Swanson, Martin & Bell, Chicago, a member of the ISBA Assembly and the Commercial, Banking and Bankruptcy Law Section Council.

4:10 p.m. – Closing Arguments, with E. Angelo Spyratos of Monroe, Marsh & Spyratos, Downers Grove (in Chicago), and Frank A. Perrecone of Ferolie, Perrecone & White, Rockford, a member of the ISBA Assembly and the Task Force on Unauthorized Practice of Law (in Bloomington).

4:35 p.m. – Post-Trial Motions: JNOV, New Trial, and Preserving Issues for Appeal, with section council member Sandra L. Loeb of the Law Offices of Frederick & Hagle, Urbana (in Chicago), and Robert R. McNamara of Johnson & Bell, Chicago (in Bloomington).

The 41st annual Illinois Traffic Court Conference will be conducted Thursday and Friday, June 1-2, at Bradley University, Peoria.

The event is co-sponsored by the ISBA Traffic Laws and Courts Section, with support from the Cook County Judicial Advisory Council and the Illinois Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.

The Illinois Supreme Court has approved the conference for judicial education credit, and the ISBA will apply for lawyers' MCLE accreditation when the procedure has been established.

Joseph A. Zienty of Addison, a member of the Traffic Laws and Courts Section Council, will open the conference with introductions at 10:45 a.m. after continental breakfast. The Thursday schedule follows.

11 a.m. – Immigration Issues, with An--drews P. Sagartz of Libertyville.

12 noon – Luncheon will be provided.

1 p.m. – Introductions by George Burnetti of Libertyville.

1:15 p.m. – New and Pending Litigation, with Jerome Zienty.

1:45 to 4 p.m. – Conducting a Trial: De--fendant's Rights, a special presentation by Judge Frederic Rodgers of the 1st Judicial District in Gilpin County, Golden, Colo.

The conference will adjourn to the Hotel Pere Marquette for a 6 p.m. reception and 7 p.m. dinner.

The Friday program will open at 9 a.m. with introductions by G. William Richards of Aurora, David C. Broski, president of Bradley University, and Chief Judge John A. Barra of the 10th Circuit, Peoria.

From 9:15 to 11:30 a.m., a panel discussion on DUI and Summary Suspension will be conducted by Edward M. Maloney of Ahern, Maloney & Moran, Skokie, newsletter co-editor of the Traffic Laws and Courts Section Council.

Panelists are section council members Thomas M. Moran of the Skokie firm and 18th Circuit Judge Mark W. Dwyer of Wheaton, along with Charles W. Smith of Smith & La Luzerne, Waukegan.

Larry A. Davis of DesPlaines, section council newsletter co-editor, will follow up at 11:30 a.m. with Secretary of State Hearings. Luncheon will be provided at 12:15 p.m.

At 1:15 p.m., Cook County Judge Daniel M. Locallo, a member of the Criminal Justice Section Council, will review 2005-06 Traffic Related Decisions. The conference will end at 2:30 p.m.

The registration fee of $60 includes con---ference materials, two breakfasts, two lunches, the dinner and two nights in university housing. After May 26, the fee will be $70.