One of the most well-known and effective ways of impeaching witnesses is to confront them with a prior statement that is inconsistent with their trial testimony. However, practitioners must be wary of engaging in incomplete impeachment, which occurs when: 1) a party asks a witness about an alleged prior inconsistent statement; 2) the witness denies making the statement; and 3) the party fails to prove up the impeachment by introducing evidence that the statement was in fact made. As Arlo Walsman explains in his September Illinois Bar Journal article, “The Incomplete Impeachment Conundrum,” this is because a long line of Illinois cases holds that it can be reversible error for a trial court to allow incomplete impeachment. In his article, Walsman examines the existing law surrounding incomplete impeachment and provides practical tips for lawyers to consider when confronting witnesses with their prior inconsistent statements. Knowing this law, he says, will help attorneys prevent favorable judgments from being reversed on appeal.
Illinois Bar Journal
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September 21, 2021 | Practice News
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September 13, 2021 | Practice News
On July 20, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held in United States v. Ruth that Illinois defines cocaine more broadly than the federal government. Because the Illinois definition of cocaine covers more than the corresponding federal definition, prior Illinois cocaine convictions can no longer be used to enhance a federal drug defendant’s mandatory minimum sentence. In his September Illinois Bar Journal article, “Cocaine Isn’t What It Used to Be,” Thomas Drysdale explores how sentencing enhancements are built into federal drug laws, how and when those enhancements can be applied, why Illinois cocaine convictions are no longer predicate offenses after United States v. Ruth, and what the potential consequences of Ruth will be going forward.
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September 7, 2021 | Practice News
Yes, it can be challenging for smaller law firms and solo attorneys lacking a tech staff to keep on top of the latest in everything from videoconferencing, to social media, to running a practice virtually. But lawyers don’t need a lot of technological expertise to expand their digital toolkits. The cover article in September’s Illinois Bar Journal discusses how practitioners and smaller law firms can better serve clients by staying abreast of the latest technology. Technology is one of the themes of the ISBA’s annual Solo & Small Firm Conference (SSFC) on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 and the IBJ interviewed several of the conference’s presenters for this article.
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August 23, 2021 | Practice News
Every August, the Illinois Bar Journal publishes its annual Legislative Roundup of bills pass by the General Assembly and signed by (or awaiting the signature of) the governor. Take a few minutes to scan through the list of new laws curated by Jim Covington, the ISBA’s director of legislative affairs. The online version of the Legislative Roundup is updated as Gov. Pritzker signs each bill as it becomes a public act. Covington pays special attention throughout the year to legislation affecting lawyers and the practice of law, not least regarding trusts, estate planning, real estate, family law, civil litigation, business law, criminal justice, and juvenile law.
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August 16, 2021 | Practice News
On June 28, 2019, Gov. Pritzker signed into law an ambitious legislative plan that creates a unique opportunity for data-center owners to receive significant tax exemptions for the rehabilitation or construction of data centers located in Illinois. The legislation allows the state to issue tax exemptions and abatements related to qualifying data-center projects conditioned on: 1) entering into a project labor agreement; and 2) complying with the “responsible bidder” requirements of the Illinois Procurement Code. But are the state’s plans overly ambitious? To find answers, read James Connolly Jr. and Joseph P. Sweeney’s August Illinois Bar Journal article, “Illinois and the Data Center Game.”
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August 9, 2021 | Practice News
In his August Illinois Bar Journal article, “Are Mindfulness & Meditation Relevant for Lawyers?”, retired attorney Jeffrey H. Bunn asks what exactly are mindfulness and meditation? How can they impact the daily practice of law? When and where do we meditate? How long do we need to meditate? And how often do we need to do it? His answers to these and other questions make the case that mindfulness and meditation can help attorneys better manage their thoughts and emotions in a variety of situations that lawyers encounter every day involving difficult clients; unpleasant work peers; contentious opposing counsel; or challenging judges, arbitrators, and mediators.
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August 2, 2021 | Practice News
The Illinois Bar Journal’s August cover article collects best practices from experts on hiring and retaining good employees and addressing toxic elements in the workplace, such as bullying by colleagues and supervisors. Taking steps on both ends of the employee spectrum, your best performers will thank you, and most likely stay around a lot longer knowing you’re looking out for them. The article is based on several interviews with ISBA CLE program presenters addressing workplace management and culture.
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July 19, 2021 | Practice News
Law firms are not immune from the controversies surrounding sexual misconduct in the workplace. Managing in the #MeToo environment has changed the dynamic of the employment relationship. In his July Illinois Bar Journal article, “At What Cost?” retired U.S. Equal Employee Opportunity Commission investigator William S. Hubbartt offers advice for preventing and responding to incidents of sexual harassment in the law office. Unfortunately, as Hubbartt explains, even though the spotlight of the #MeToo movement has faded from daily news and has been replaced by other issues, multiple stories continue to appear in the legal and mainstream media reporting allegations by law firm employees against employer law firms.
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July 12, 2021 | Practice News
“Bamboozled. Hoodwinked. Defrauded. Those words send shivers up our spines, as we have all probably been taken for a ride once or twice in our lives,” writes Danya Shakfeh in her July 2021 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Justifiably Defrauded?” Shakfeh notes the legal definition and standard for demonstrating fraud makes it hard for plaintiffs to prove, or even plead, fraud. Illinois courts have made fraud an extremely subjective and fact-specific claim, she adds. This subjective standard is evidenced by the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court’s September 2020 decision in Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust v. Feiner. Given the many ways a person can lie, the varying levels of information available, and the sophistication of plaintiffs, Shakfeh goes on to discuss how Illinois courts are presented with an array of decisions with no objective standard to determine whether a plaintiff justifiably or reasonably relied on a defendant’s representations.
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July 6, 2021 |
Practice News
In their July 2021 Illinois Bar Journal column, The Resolution, Dr. Mary L. Milano and Kenya A. Jenkins-Wright, provide an update on the ISBA’s Steering Committee on Racial Inequality, which seeks to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion based on the ISBA’s equal justice resolution and to move collaboratively toward the resolution’s goals through a variety of means. To date, Milano and Jenkins-Wright note, the committee has undertaken public education in areas such as: claim rights in our property tax system; standards of nursing homes, particularly in minority areas; lending practices; and disciplinary practices in education that impact students of color disproportionately. The committee also spearheaded continuing legal education programming on addressing areas of unequal justice and practices resulting from bias, whether conscious or unconscious. “Our education for the public subcommittee continues to educate the public on how issues of diversity, bias, and equity affect all communities in various social, economic, and ethnic ways,” the authors say. “The future is beckoning. Lawyers need to be at the forefront of its framing and its becoming. It is all worth the risk and it all demands our commitment.”