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CLE Fest kicks off Annual MeetingThe 132nd ISBA Annual Meeting from Thursday through Saturday, June 26 to 28, at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis Riverfront Hotel (formerly Adam’s Mark), will commence with a CLE Fest. Beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday, this series of two-hour educational programs on 12 topics will permit an ISBA member to earn as many as eight hours of MCLE credit. The CLE Fest will continue at 8 a.m. Friday, offering nine topics for up to six additional MCLE hours. Here is a golden opportunity to supplement the required credits for the period that will end June 30, or to begin accruing credits for the next reporting period. The Annual Meeting opening reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday is sponsored by the ISBA Mutual Insurance Co., which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Face painters and caricaturists will be on hand for children. From 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Friday, the Committee on Law Office Management and Economics will hold a breakfast symposium, “Making Alternative Billing Work.” A Day Camp Room for children of ages 4 to 12 will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday with books, videos and craft stations. Lunch is included. The annual awards luncheon is scheduled for Friday noon, when ISBA members will be recognized for their contributions to the profession and to access to justice for the underserved. The annual reception and banquet (black-tie optional), with installation of Jack Carey as president, will take place Friday night. The popular Ralph Butler Band will offer musical entertainment and dance tunes. A hospitality room for children of ages 4 to 16 will be open from 6 to 10:30 p.m. In addition to paints and crayons, highlights include video games, foosball and air hockey. At 8 a.m. Saturday, the 13th annual networking breakfast, sponsored by the Committee on Women and the Law, the Committee on Minority and Women Participation and the Southern Illinois University School of Law, will precede the 9 a.m. meeting of the ISBA Assembly. The semi-annual convening of the Assembly will not be anticlimactic, despite its occurring on the morning after the installation of a new president. The final event of the 132nd Annual Meeting before adjournment, the Saturday session will provide the first opportunity for ISBA members to hear Carey’s plans for action during the next 12 months. Retiring President Joseph G. Bisceglia and Executive Director Robert E. Craghead will recap the past year and give impetus to an ambitious agenda for the future of the bar association and legal profession. The issue of whether to support or oppose conducting an Illinois Constitutional Convention in 2010 will be debated by the Assembly. The question will be on the statewide general election ballot in November. The ISBA Board of Governors on May 16 voted to oppose calling for a ConCon, citing concerns for amendments that might be proposed by a variety of special interest groups. The Assembly will elect three members to two-year terms on the Agenda and Program Committee, which has primary responsibility for inclusion of matters to be heard on the floor. Two Cook County slots on the committee need to be filled, along with one for outside Cook County. Among progress reports that will be presented are that of the Committee on Strategic Marketing for Illinois Lawyers, by co-chairs Carl R. Draper and Richard Zuckerman, and legislative activities, by counsel Daniel L. Houlihan. Informational reports, either spoken or written, will be provided on behalf of the ISBA Mutual Insurance Co., the Illinois Bar Foundation, the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, the Lawyers Trust Fund and the Lawyers’ Assistance Program.
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