Found a good deal on a Windows laptop? Better look inside first and see which processing chip is running the thing. In the Illinois Bar Journal’s June Pointers From Practice HQ column, Jeffrey R. Schoenberger describes the crucial differences between Intel chips and Qualcomm’s ARM processors. “For users who want a laptop that sleeps and wakes instantly, runs cool to the touch, often features cellular connectivity, and has indisputably the longest battery life in a Windows laptop, ARM-based machines should be your go-to option,” Schoenberger advises.
Illinois Bar Journal
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June 23, 2025 | Practice News
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June 16, 2025 | Practice News
At the end of his first year as an associate, Jeffrey L. Grinde Jr. reflected on his “many ups, many downs, and a lot of in-betweens.” His experiences inspired him to “find various ways to learn from other people’s successes and failures,” which he pursued through reading books by authors who have things to say about “writing, thinking, and living well.” In the June Illinois Bar Journal, Grinde recommends some of his favorite books about living a successful life in his article, “Too Many Books, Too Little Time.”
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June 9, 2025 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has determined that the odor of raw cannabis, but not burnt cannabis, provides probable cause on its own to search a vehicle, notes Emily L. Fitch in her June Illinois Bar Journal article, “Sights, Smells, & Searches.” Fitch goes on to explain how the Court found “harmony” between the arguably contradictory Vehicle Code and the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act by determining that each is consistent with the requirement to store cannabis in an odor-proof container.
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June 2, 2025 | Practice News
“Probate typically is straightforward until it’s not,” says Chicago trusts and estates attorney Sarah LeRose. “When you find yourself in that complicated position, having a resource is helpful. And that’s what we were trying to accomplish.” LeRose and Colleen Sahlas, a trusts and estates attorney from Oak Brook, presented tips for avoiding “Probate Pitfalls” in a recent ISBA continuing legal education program, which is highlighted in the June 2025 Illinois Bar Journal.
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May 28, 2025 | Practice News
Justice Michael B. Hyman of the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court, says, like sorcery, artificial intelligence-drafted content seems to draft itself. Lawyers can rapidly produce everything from motions and memos to case analyses, client communications, pleadings, and wills in seconds. While Justice Hyman has concerns about judges using generative AI in decision writing and reasoning, he suggests generative AI seems a dream come true for lawyers.
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May 19, 2025 | Practice News
In “Collaborating With Clients & Colleagues,” Danielle Davis Roe’s Pointers From Practice HQ column in the May Illinois Bar Journal, Davis Roe says you don’t need a complex document-management system to collaborate effectively with clients. By using Microsoft SharePoint’s document library and shared folders, your firm can reduce document chaos while keeping everything secure and easy to access.
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May 12, 2025 | Practice News
Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), a fiduciary must discharge his or her responsibility “solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries and for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to participants and their beneficiaries” and “with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence” that a prudent person “acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use.” In her May Illinois Bar Journal article, “Taking Stock,” Samantha J.
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May 8, 2025 | Practice News
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court examined the due process required during civil forfeiture proceedings in Culley v. Marshall.5 The petitioners, two individuals seeking recovery of vehicles seized and subject to forfeiture in Alabama, asked the Court to rule that due process in civil forfeiture proceedings be examined under the doctrine developed by the Court in Mathews v. Eldridge. Specifically, the claimants attempted to retrieve their property through a preliminary postdeprivation hearing. In Zachary J.
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May 1, 2025 | Practice News
As the world changes, so does the practice of law. Each generation of lawyers brings to the profession its own values, priorities, and ideas, but not without influence from older lawyers and not without impact on future ones. In the May issue of the Illinois Bar Journal, we asked several members of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division to reflect on their work ethic and work-life balance; their use of technology and preferred sources of news; and the value they place on mentorships, career growth, and bar association involvement.
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April 22, 2025 | Practice News
An organization’s internal investigation can be stressful for all involved. Notwithstanding an employee’s desire to be helpful and cooperative, questioning by the organization’s lawyer is likely viewed with some trepidation, acknowledges Charles J. Northrup in his ethics column, “Clear and Unambiguous Duty” in the April Illinois Bar Journal. Let’s face it, Northrup continues, when lawyers come asking questions, it means (sometimes) there is a problem.