The Center for CLE

Property issues are key hurdles in family law

The practice of matrimonial law is becoming increasingly complex, especially in the critical area of financial considerations.

The ISBA Family Law Section next month will present two sessions of a timely Law Ed seminar titled “Property Issues in Family Law.” They will take place Thursday, Sept. 21, at the Chicago Athletic Association, and Friday, Sept. 29, at the Holiday Inn, Collinsville.

Program coordinators are Roza B. Gossage of Belleville, who is moderator for the Chicago seminar, and section council vice chair Gregory A. Scott of Springfield, moderator of the Collinsville seminar. The schedule follows.

9 a.m. – Division of Future Interests (Pen----sions, Stock Options) in Property Estates, with David C. Ainley of Berger Schatz, Chicago.

9:45 a.m. – Pitfalls and Traps to Avoid in Division of Property, Including Tax Problems and Expenses of Sale, with Paul A. Osborn of Ward, Murray, Pace & Johnson, Sterling.

10:45 a.m. – Workers' Compensation; Personal Injury and Civil Litigation; Judg--ments, Settlement or Potential Claims; Are They Child Support, Property to Be Divided, or Both? with section council secretary Paulette M. Gray of The Gitlin Law Firm, Woodstock.

11:45 a.m. – Luncheon period.

1 p.m. – Discovery of Marital Assets in the Other Party's Name: How to Discover the Hidden Assets, with Alan Pearlman of Northbrook.

1:45 p.m. – Pension and Valuations of Pensions; How to Investigate the Proper Division; Use of QDROs and QILDROs, and Pitfalls to Avoid, with William J. Scott of Beck, Houlihan & Scott, Wheaton.

2:45 p.m. – Case Law Update, with Robin R. Miller of DaRosa & Miller, Wheaton (in Chicago), and Julie K. Katz of Keehner, Cannady & Katz, Belleville (in Collinsville).

3:15 p.m. – Commingled and Trans-muted Property; Reimbursements Owed Between Marital and Non-Marital Estates, with Martin G. Shaw of Shaw, Jacobs & Associates, St. Charles (in Chicago), and Tanya J. Stanish of Jenner & Block, Chicago (in Collinsville).

Domestic violence seminar opens fall Law Ed slate

Two ISBA sections and three committees will present the Law Ed seminar, “Hot Topics in Domestic Violence,” from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, at the Chicago Athletic Association.

Featured speakers include Illinois Attorney General Lisa M. Madigan, Cook County State's Attorney Richard A. Devine, and Supervising Judge Gloria G. Coco of the Cook County Domestic Violence Court.

The participating ISBA entities are the Child Law Section, Family Law Section, Committee on Women and the Law, Com-mittee on Minority and Women Participation and Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

Program coordinators and moderators are Chicago attorneys Annemarie E. Kill of Avery Camerlingo Kill, and Yolaine M. Dauphin of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. The schedule follows.

9 a.m. – Introductions and Opening Remarks by Lisa Madigan and Richard Devine.

9:30 a.m. – Overview of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, with David H. Hopkins of Schiller, DuCanto & Fleck, Chicago, who chaired the ISBA task force that rewrote the act several years ago.

10:45 a.m. – Nuts and Bolts of Hearings on Civil Orders of Protection, with Mary Katherine Avery of Avery Camerlingo Kill, and Kimberly J. Anderson of Anderson & Boback, Chicago.

11:45 a.m. – Luncheon period.

12:45 p.m. – What All Attorneys Should Know About Orders of Protection in Criminal Court.

Speakers are Judge Gloria Coco, assistant Cook County state's attorney Paul Pavlus, and Erica L. Reddick, supervisor of the Cook County public defender's Domestic Violence Division.

2 p.m. – Domestic Violence and Child-ren, with Thomas Grippando, civil justice counsel for the Cook County public defender.

2:30 p.m. – Working with a Domestic Violence Advocate, with Julie Neubauer of the Downs Law Offices, Sycamore.

2:50 p.m. – Issues in Same-Sex Domestic Violence, with Lisa Gilmore of the Horizon Community Services Center on Halsted, Chicago.

3:30 p.m. – Relief Under the Crime Vic--------tims Compensation Act, with Jennifer Kuhn of Chicago, chief of the Illinois Attorney General's Crime Victims' Services Division.

3:50 p.m. – Rights Under the Victims Economic Security and Safety Act, speaker to be announced.

4:10 p.m. – Immigration Issues in Do--mestic Violence Cases, with Sherizaan Min-Walla of the National Immigration Justice Center, Chicago.

4:30 p.m. – Concluding remarks.

Criminal justice panel explores ethical issues

Two representatives of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission will discuss ethical issues for prosecutors and defense attorneys in the ISBA Law Ed seminar, “Hot Topics in Criminal Law.”

The Criminal Justice Section will conduct the seminars from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, at the DoubleTree Hotel, Bloomington, and Friday, Oct. 13, at the DoubleTree Hotel, Oak Brook.

Program coordinator is Randall B. Rosenbaum of Urbana, Champaign County public defender and president of the Illinois Public Defender Association. Topics and speakers follow.

9 a.m. – Criminal Law Update. Rosen-baum will review recent decisions from the U.S. and Illinois Supreme Courts and Appellate Courts.

9:30 a.m. – DUI Update on recent changes to the traffic code and Illinois court decisions. Speaker for the Oak Brook program is Cook County Judge Daniel M. Locallo.

10:15 a.m. – Criminal Law Ethics, information on ethical issues pertaining to criminal law practitioners.

Speakers are Wendy J. Muchman of the ARDC, Chicago (in Chicago program), and Garry S. Rapaport of the ARDC, Springfield (in Bloomington).

11 a.m. – Crawford v. Washington Issues. Judge Donald D. Bernardi of the 11th Circuit, Bloomington, will discuss recent opinions and statutory changes subsequent to the U.S. Supreme Court opinion on certain hearsay issues.

12 noon – Expungements. Assistant Cook County state's attorney Sandra M. Blake of Maywood will explain what offenses can be expunged or sealed, and the process to do so.

Experts to explain maze of election law procedures

This being an election year – with ballots packed full of names of judicial, legislative and governmental candidates – the ISBA Local Government Law Section has scheduled an omnibus Law Ed seminar on related legal issues.

“Illinois Election Law: Help Candidates Negotiate the Regulatory Maze that Stands Between Them and Victory” will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, at the UBS Tower Conference Center, Chicago.

Section council past chair Robin L. Perry of Perry & Associates, Spring Grove, and deputy Champaign city attorney Patricia A. Crowley are program coordinators and moderators.

The distinguished panel includes section council past chair Lynn E. Patton of Springfield, assistant Illinois attorney general and chief of the Opinions Bureau.

Others are Steven S. Sandvoss of Springfield, general counsel to the Illinois State Board of Elections; Mathias W. Delort of Robbins, Schwartz, Nicholas, Lifton & Taylor, Chicago, and McHenry County Clerk Katherine C. Schultz of Woodstock.

The panelists will kick off the seminar with a General Introduction to the Election Process: Basic qualifications for candidacy, necessary filing documents for public or party offices, when and where to file nomination papers.

The discussion will include the authority and responsibilities of the election board, election day considerations, and procedures for conducting a vote canvass and for contesting an election.

At 10:30 a.m., the nuts-and-bolts presentation will move on to an In-Depth Discussion of the Petition Process covering the following topics.

Residency, citizenship and age requirements; party affiliation; reasons for not being able to hold office; incompatibility of office; statement of candidacy; voters' signatures; economic interest statement; time period for filing nomination papers, method of filing, and proper place for filing.

The seminar will break for lunch as 12 noon and resume at 1 p.m. with a review of New Law in the Election Code.

At 2 p.m., the all-important State Campaign Financial Disclosure requirements will be explored.

Topics are the campaign disclosure act, political committees, reporting and disclosure, keeping records of contributions, and enforcement of complaints.

At 3 p.m., the Ethical Issues of participating in an election will be aired, including the responsibilities of the petition circulator and the candidate, and the loyalty oath.

Judges, lawyers invited to pleadings symposium

“Pleadings and Motions: A Symposium for Judges and Lawyers” will be presented from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, in the Chicago Athletic Association by the ISBA Bench and Bar Section and the Civil Practice and Procedure Section.

The ISBA Law Ed seminar is coordinated by 3rd Circuit Judge Barbara L. Crowder of Edwardsville, chair of the Bench and Bar Section Council. She will open the program with introductions and serve as moderator for the following topics.

9:15 a.m. – Civil Complaints: Plaintiff's Perspective, with Shawn S. Kasserman of Corboy & Demetrio, Chicago.

He will discuss drafting the complaint, anticipating possible motions, learning what the elements should be, and responses to defense motions.

10:30 a.m. – Civil Complaints: Defendant's Perspective, with Panos T. Topalis of Tribler, Orpett & Meyer, Chicago. He will review common problems with complaints, 2-615 and 2-619 motions, answers, and summary judgment.

11:30 a.m. – Judicial Panel: Common problems with pleadings, ordering amended complaints vs. dismissal, summary judgment motions, and allowing amended complaints.

Panelists are Appellate Justice Susan F. Hutchinson of the 2nd District, Woodstock, and Judge Ronald S. Davis of Cook County's 1st Municipal District Court, Chicago.

12 noon – Luncheon period.

1:15 p.m. – Discovery Issues, with Kevin J. Stine of Mathis, Marifian, Richter & Grandy, Belleville. He will cover plaintiff and defendant discovery motions, attempts to resolve before motions, and sanctions sought.

2 p.m. – Judicial Perspective on Discovery Disputes: Ruling from the bench and sanctions, with Judge Michael P. McCuskey of U.S. District Court for the Central District, Urbana.

2:30 p.m. – Ethics and ARDC Issues: Conflicts of interest, Rule 4.2, privilege, and communications involving employees, former employees and non-managers.

Speakers are Chicago attorneys Mary T. Robinson, administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission; George B. Collins of Collins & Bargione; assistant Cook County state's attorney Craig M. Sandberg, and Leonard Murray.

3:30 p.m. – Motions in Limine and Sidebar Motions, with James E. O'Halloran III of Deutsch, Levy & Engel, Chicago.

Bankruptcy reform reviewed

The ISBA Law Ed seminar, “Bankruptcy Reform in Practice: One Year After Passage,” will be conducted Friday, Sept. 22, at the Rockford campus of Northern Illinois University, by the Commercial, Banking and Bankruptcy Law Section.

Section council vice chair Joseph P. Cham-ley of Evans, Froelich, Bath & Chamley, Champaign, is program coordinator and moderator.

At 9 a.m., section council chair Stephen R. Olson of the Illinois Credit Union System, Naperville, will open the seminar with a welcome and introductions. The schedule follows.

9:05 a.m. – Debtors' Perspective (all chap-ters), with William L. Balsley of Balsley & Daghlberg, Loves Park.

9:50 a.m. – Administration of the New Act: U.S. Trustee's Office and Panel Trustees. Speakers are Sheree G. Dandurand, an assistant U.S. trustee in Madison, Wis.; Lydia S. Meyer, Chapter 13 trustee of Rockford, and Megan Heeg, Chapter 7 trustee of Dixon.

10:45 a.m. – Creditors' Rights: New Strategies Under the Act, with Faiq M. Mihlar of Heavner, Scott, Beyers & Mihlar, Decatur, and Ronald M. Carlson, senior vice president of AMCORE Bank, Rockford.

11:30 a.m. – Judges' Perspective, with U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Manuel Barbosa of Rockford.

Child custody seminar meets GAL training requirements

It's not too late to plan on attending the two-day ISBA Law Ed seminar, “Education for Attorneys in Child Custody Matters,” on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 17-18, at the Holiday Inn, Collinsville.

This seminar provides attorneys enough hours to meet the Illinois Supreme Court's GAL educational requirements contained in Rule 906, effective July 1, 2006.

On-site registration is available at the joint presentation of the ISBA Family Law Section and the Bench and Bar Section. Program coordinators are Belleville attorney Roza Gossage and 3rd Circuit Judge Barbara L. Crowder of Edwardsville.

Seminar fees are $150 for ISBA members and $250 for non-members. Section member discounts apply.

The Aug. 17 program will begin at 9 a.m. with Introduction and Instructions from Gossage. Other topics are:

9:15 a.m. – Supreme Court Custody Rules: What Must Be Done and by Whom, with Judge Crowder.

10:30 a.m. – Child Rep/GAL/Attorney for Child: Statutory Descriptions and Differences, with 7th Circuit Judge Steven H. Nardulli of Springfield.

11 a.m. – Custody Statutes: IMDMA and UCCJEA, Burdens of Proof and Elements, with Howard W. Feldman of Feldman, Wasser, Draper & Benson, Springfield.

12 noon – Luncheon break.

1:15 p.m. – Children's Developmental Stages and Impact of Extended Families, with Dr. David Clark of Chesterfield, Mo.

2:15 p.m. – Parental Alienation Syndrome: Theory and Case Law, with 18th Circuit Judge John W. Demling of Wheaton.

3 p.m. – Case Law Update, with Adrienne W. Albrecht of Sacks, Albrecht & Gubbins, Kankakee.

The schedule of topics and speakers for Aug. 18 follows.

9 a.m. – Introduction and Instructions, with Judge Crowder.

9:15 a.m. – Relevant Privacy Issues, Case Law, GAL Actions, Ethical Concerns, with Elizabeth Levine Levy of Levy & Stipes, Edwardsville, and Scott C. Colky of Colky & Kirsh, Chicago.

10:45 a.m. – More Privacy and Related Laws, and GAL Suggestions, with Levy and Colky.

11:45 a.m. – Luncheon break.

1 p.m. – Domestic Violence: Impact on Families and Court Issues, with Margarette Trushel of Oasis Women's Center, Alton.

2 p.m. – Drugs and Alcohol: GAL Issues, Testing and Orders, with 19th Circuit Judge Michael J. Chmiel of Woodstock.

2:45 p.m. – Pitfalls and More Ethics: Insur-ance Coverage, Conflicts, Immunity and Mal-------practice, with Charles J. Northrup of Sorl-ing, Northrup, Hanna, Cullen & Cochran, Springfield.

3:30 p.m. – Checklists for Appointed Attorneys and Report Writing for the Court, a judicial panel.

Speakers are 3rd Circuit Judge Nelson F. Metz of Edwardsville, 4th Circuit Judge Kathleen P. Moran of Carlyle and 20th Circuit Judge William C. Norton of Belleville.

ARDC Committee to offer practical ethics advice

The ISBA Law Ed seminar, “Practical Ethical Advice from ARDC Complaints to Courtroom Dilemmas,” will be conducted from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in the Chicago Regional Office.

A presentation of the ISBA Committee on the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, the program is coordinated by committee member Gawain Charlton-Perrin of CNA Insurance Co., Chicago, who also is the moderator.

She will open the seminar with remarks about the ARDC complaint process and related issues. The program follows.

9:45 a.m. – The ARDC Complaint Intake and Developments Process, with ARDC chief counsel James J. Grogan of Chicago.

10:15 a.m. – Responding and Defending ARDEC Complaints, with Warren Lupel of Weinberg Richmond, Chicago.

11 a.m. – Proceedings Before the ARDC Hearing Board, with Richard W. Zuckerman of Peoria.

11:30 a.m. – Roundtable Discussion on ARDC Complaint Issues, with Grogan, Lupel and Zuckerman.

12 noon – Luncheon period.

1 p.m. – Opening Remarks for Courtroom Ethical Dilemmas, with moderator Charlton-Perrin.

1:15 p.m. – Ethical and Courtroom Dilemmas for the Plaintiff Practitioner, with David C. Wise of Burke, Wise & Mahoney, Chicago.

2 p.m. – Ethics in the Courtroom, with Cook County Judge Kathy M. Flanagan of Chicago.

3 p.m. – How Legal Malpractice Issues Can Become ARDC Complaints, and Defense Issues, with Thomas P. McGarry of Hinshaw & Culbertson, Chicago.

3:45 p.m. – Conflict Issues for Illinois Practitioners: Small Firms and Laterals, with Mia P. Jiganti, director of conflicts administration at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, Chicago.

Basic skills course planned

Every attorney who will be or has been ad--mitted after Jan. 1, 2006, must take a basic skills course within one year of admission, unless one has practiced in another jurisdiction.

To fulfill this requirement of the new minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) rule, the Illinois State Bar Association and Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) have developed a two-and-a-half-day course to meet the 15-hour basic skills requirement under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 793.

In addition, participants will receive money-saving bonus offers from both the ISBA and IICLE.

Scheduled Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 17-19, at the Northwestern University School of Law, the program includes practical guidance for success in practice. Among them are:

Tips for establishing a law practice; time-management techniques; a judge's perspective on courtroom techniques and conduct; primers on depositions, discovery, and pleading; effective negotiation techniques, and avoiding conflicts of interest.

Tuition for the skills curriculum, which regularly is $295, will be only $79 with this special offer.

An ISBA member who attends will receive two ISBA Law Ed seminars free during the second year of membership (a $230 value). Seminars are only $15 each for first-year members.

Join IICLE Edge for $79 and attend the program free, plus a complimentary single-volume practice handbook, a three-month trial subscription to SmartBooks, and the opportunity to purchase 6 more practice handbooks at half price.

Call (800) 252-8062 to enroll in IICLE Edge and get registered. (To be eligible to join, one must have been licensed to practice law after Jan. 1, 2006.)

ADR panel Sept. 21 to be lawyer's mediation guide

Mediation: What's it all about? A thorough explication will be provided during an ISBA Law Ed seminar from 12 noon to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, in the Chicago Regional Office.

“Mediation in Illinois: A Lawyer's Guide to the Mediation Process” is a presentation of the ISBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. Section council chair Stephen B. Cohen of Kelly, Olson, Michod, DeHaan & Richter, Chicago, is program coordinator and moderator.

The seminar will open with The Anatomy of Mediation – basic nuts and bolts, myths and bias, dealing with pro se litigants, trial option and defense counsel self-interest, plaintiff options and the advantage of self-determination, judicial economy and litigation expenses.

The speaker is Steven A. Johnson of Merrillville, Ind., a veteran mediator of more than 100 cases a year, who is experienced in both defense and plaintiff perspectives, and is a recognized expert on employment law.

At 12:45 p.m., Imaginative Solutions to Deadlock and Different Mediation Methodology will be discussed by Richard H. Donohue of Mathewson & Smyth, Chicago.

His presentation includes the uses of non-evaluative mediation, evaluative mediation, problem-solving mediation, and dual mediation.

At 1:30 p.m., ISBA President-elect Joseph G. Bisceglia of Jenner & Block, Chicago, will offer A Case for Using Attorneys as Mediators.

Topics include understanding the legal aspects to the case, evaluation of the case, the ability to deal with multiple litigants, the importance of position papers, and drafting settlement agreements.

At 2:15 p.m., Ethical Considerations for Attorneys Acting as Mediators will be reviewed by Mary T. Robinson, administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, Chicago, and Marce Gonzalez Jr. of Merrillville, Ind.

At 3:15 p.m., Prof. Thomas D. Cavenagh of North Central College, Naperville, will speak on Controversial Issues and Case Law Summary. His remarks will cover the status of Supreme Court mediation rules, the use of non-lawyer mediators, and recent court decisions.

At 3:45 p.m., a panel will discuss the hypothesis, Should the Supreme Court Adopt Comprehensive ADR Rules and Pre-Exemption of Local Rules?

Panelists are Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans of Cook County Circuit Court, retired judge Jerome M. Orbach of Chicago, and Champ W. Davis of Davis McGrath, Chicago.

They will focus on the case for preserving local rules, if any; whether local rules have the force of being Supreme Court rules; the impact of the Uniform Mediation Act, as adopted in Illinois, on local rules adopted on authority of the Supreme Court; Rule 905, the new mandatory family mediation rule.

From 4:15 to 4:30 p.m., speakers will answer questions from the floor.