ISBA CLE

Divorce Basics for Pro Bono Attorneys-2009

Presented by the ISBA Standing Committee on Delivery of Legal Services

Champaign
Friday, October 2, 2009
I Hotel and Conference Center
1900 South First Street (map and directions)
1:00 – 4:45 p.m.

Award-Winning Program!!**

Available at No Cost to Attorneys Who Agree to Take a Pro Bono Case This Year*

3.5 MCLE credit hours

There is a large unmet need for pro bono attorneys to handle simple divorces, and there are many attorneys whose willingness to assist in meeting this need outweighs their substantive knowledge in this area. This program is designed to meld these two issues together by training practitioners on how to handle a pro bono divorce. Topics include the basic laws of divorce, how pro bono attorneys handle a simple divorce (from initial client interview to final judgment), fee waivers, publication of notice, the Children First program, judicial expectations in uncontested divorces, visitation, child support….and much more! In exchange for the commitment to handle just one pro bono divorce, attendees receive free training and MCLE credit!

Program Coordinator/Moderator:
Richard D. Chase, Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc., East St. Louis

1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Nuts and Bolts of Divorce
This segment uses legal pleadings as its framework to examine both the basic substantive laws of divorce and the basic procedural laws for divorce.
Julie Keehner Katz, Keehner, Cannady & Katz, P.C., Belleville

2:30 – 3:00 p.m. Handling a Pro Bono Divorce
In this segment, the speaker provides an overview of how pro bono attorneys handle simple divorces—from initial client interviews to final judgments.
Lola P. Maddox, Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc., Alton

3:00 – 3:15 p.m. Break

3:15 – 4:15 p.m. Logistics of Pro Bono Divorce
The speaker examines multiple facets of the pro bono divorce—from fee waivers to processing in another county or state, from publication of notice to the Children First program. The various sources of support in handling a pro bono divorce will also be discussed.
Joan A. Spiegel, Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc., Alton

4:15 – 4:45 p.m. Pro Bono Divorces: A Judicial Perspective
This segment analyzes judicial expectations in simple, uncontested divorces. Topics include prove-up of grounds, visitation, child support, debt, property, jurisdiction, service of process, notice of hearing, default, and more!
Arnold F. Blockman, Circuit Court Judge, Champaign County Courthouse, Urbana

* The international Association for Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA) presented ISBA with the Award for Outstanding Achievement for its Continuing Legal Education program, Divorce Basics for Pro Bono Attorneys—2008, in the Public Interest category. The Public Interest category is designed to recognize an organization’s outstanding commitment to provide programs, publications, scholarships, or other related activities that support the public interest and/or provision of legal services to the poor or underrepresented.

**Upon your registration and attendance at the program for no cost, your name and contact information will be forwarded from ISBA to either Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance, Inc. or Prairie State Legal Services. They will contact you to arrange your pro bono work. If you do not wish to volunteer for a pro bono case, you may purchase this program through our FastCLE store after December 1, 2009.