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Michael Rothstein installed as leader of appellate barBy Stephen Anderson Citing Aristotle’s principles of persuasion – ethos, pathos and logos – Gino L. DiVito said of his law partner, Michael I. Rothstein, that he has “the qualities of character, competence and conviction that are required of those who would lead.” With that, DiVito, a retired appellate justice, administered the oath of office to Rothstein as the 41st president of the Appellate Lawyers Association. Other new officers installed June 13 in Chicago are Vice President Gary S. Feinerman, former Illinois solicitor general; Secretary Jean M. Prendergast of Crisham & Kubes, Chicago, and Treasurer William P. Hardy of Hinshaw & Culbertson, Springfield. A 1987 graduate of the Boston University School of Law who also is a certified public accountant, Rothstein has been active in the appellate bar since 2001, when he began several years of service as chair of the rules committee. He worked with the ISBA Special Committee on Appellate Practice to draft several proposals, and he testified at Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee hearings on issues that affect appellate practice. In his remarks on June 13, Rothstein noted that 304 of the association’s 377 members have offices in Cook County. He pledged to expand outreach to downstate appellate lawyers through collegial and educational programs. A partner in Tabet, DiVito & Rothstein since its founding in 2001, Rothstein practiced previously with Phelan, Pope & John and with Quinlan & Crisham, where he and DiVito were partners. During the investigation of U.S. House speaker Jim Wright in 1988 and 1989, Rothstein was an assistant outside counsel to the House Ethics Committee. Rule changes adoptedThe Illinois Supreme Court on June 4 entered orders that amended portions of various rules that apply to appellate practice. In Rule 90(c) on Documents Presumptively Available, a provision was added to require that pages of a package submitted to arbitrators “should be numbered consecutively from the first page to the last page … in addition to any separate numbering of the individual documents comprising” it. The amendment was effective July 1. A corrected text of amended Rule 303 was adopted May 30 and made effective June 4. Three sections of Rule 341 on the form and length of appellant and appellee briefs were amended, effective July 1. In (a) Form of Briefs, “Quotations of two or more lines in length may be single-spaced; however, lengthy quotations are not favored and should be included only where they will aid the court’s comprehension of the argument.” Footnotes, although discouraged, also “may be single-spaced.” In (b) Length of Briefs, the page limit of 50 on briefs and 20 on reply briefs “excludes pages containing Rule 341(d) cover, the Rule 341(h)(1) statement of points and authorities, the Rule 341(c) certificate of compliance, the certificate of service, and those matters to be appended to the brief under Rule 342(a). In (c) Certificate of Compliance, the exclusions stated in (b) are included.
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