The energetic, new ISBA Senior Lawyers Section has scheduled a series of three free Friday afternoon seminars designed for the attorney who is age 55 or older or has practiced for 25 years or more.

Titled “From Legal Practice to What's Next: The Boomer-Lawyer's Guide to a Smooth Transition,” the first program will take place from 1 to 4:05 p.m. Friday, March 16, at the ISBA Chicago Regional Office.

Leading-edge baby boomers may be ap--proaching retirement age but do not necessarily plan to head for rocking chairs. They may taper their practices, making time for the pursuit of personal interests that had been sidelined, or may find those pursuits the sole focus.

Either way, successful change requires careful planning. This is the objective of the seminar, which will be moderated by ISBA past president Loren S. Golden of Elgin.

After opening remarks at 1 p.m., a full slate of timely topics will be presented by speakers who are well-informed on issues that affect the senior lawyer.

1:05 p.m. – Rule of Professional Conduct 1.17: Sale of a Law Practice and Transitioning Your Practice. John H. Maville of the Law Offices of John H. Maville, Belvidere, will review the mechanics of the recent rule and how to utilize it.

1:50 p.m. – ARDC on Receiverships under Supreme Court Rule 776, with John R. Cesario, senior counsel of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, Chicago.

He will explain the role of ARDC in appointing a receivership when a lawyer is unable to properly discharge responsibilities to clients because of disability, disappearance or death, and no partner, associate executor or other responsible party is capable of conducting the lawyer's affairs.

2:10 p.m. – Registration Status with ARDC. John Cesario will relate the implications of different registration categories provided by the ARDC in Supreme Court Rules 756.

2:20 p.m. – Registration Status with the ISBA: How the membership categories work and the options that are available for retired lawyers.

2:45 p.m. – Malpractice Considerations: The need for continuing coverage during retirement. Speakers are Kurt Bounds of the ISBA Mutual Insurance Co. and Loren Golden.

3:05 p.m. – File Retention. John Cesario will explain the lawyer's duty to retain files, what needs to be kept, and for how long.

3:25 p.m. – Pro Bono Opportunities, and reporting requirements under Supreme Court Rule 756(f).

Speakers are Richard Hess of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago; Margaret C. Benson, executive director of Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation; Michael O'Connor, executive director of Prairie State Legal Services, and Linda Rothnagel of the Waukegan Office.

3:45 p.m. – Mentoring: Participation in the ISBA MentorCenter and informal mentoring in the legal community, with Jill P. O'Brien of Laner, Muchin, Dombrow, Becker, Levin & Tominberg, Chicago.

3:55 p.m. – MCLE Requirements: The new rules and reporting periods, with Jeanne B. Heaton, ISBA director of continuing legal education.

Similar seminars, with some additional speakers, are planned Friday, April 27, at the Holiday Inn, Collinsville, and Friday, May 11, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield.

The establishment of a Senior Lawyers Section was approved Dec. 6 by the ISBA Board of Governors after hearing a proposal from past president Richard L. Thies of Urbana.

Thies and past president Leonard F. Amari of Chicago were co-chairs of a Special Committee on Master Attorneys appointed by President Irene F. Bahr to review ways the association can help members who are at or near retirement transitions.

Thies told the board that the ISBA has 11,777 members who are either 55 years of age and older or have practiced for at least 25 years.

“As ISBA's membership matures, it is important to provide a forum for serving the variety of needs of those members,” he said, and to create opportunities for continued service to the bar.

In addition to the educational seminar described above, the proposal includes establishing a regular publication, reviewing insurance and retirement benefits, and proposing rules to remedy licensing concerns of retired lawyers who want to continue in limited practice.

Among others are mentoring younger lawyers on professionalism and ethics, partnering with sections and committees to provide institutional memory, and designing travel programs for senior lawyers that take into account their financial means and medical needs.

Opportunities for public service would be encouraged, such as pro bono and pro se assistance, volunteering as mediators or guardians ad litem, and acting as ambassadors of the profession in communities.

Members of the special committee are Judge Carole Bellows and Loren Golden, both past presidents; Robert Creamer, John Damisch, Paul Freehling, Richard Hess, Patrick Hughes, Eugenia Hunter, John Kincaid, Judge Lola Maddox, James Montgomery and Gerald Schur.

Freehling, Hughes and Montgomery are Laureates of the ISBA Academy of Illinois Lawyers.