Illinois Bar Journal

In “Public Records Shortcuts,” the title of Jesse Bowman’s Finding Illinois Law column in the September issue of the Illinois Bar Journal, Bowman, associate law librarian for technology initiatives and instruction at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Pritzker Legal Research Center, summarizes two free internet tools that can be used to search more than 70,000 public databases on the internet. Bowman compares these two services (Search Systems and BRB Publications), demonstrates how they work, and lists their pros and cons. Similar, more powerful search tools are available for a price, Bowman notes. But why not take these free services for a test run and see what they can do?

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act  provides financial protection to employees whose earning power has been temporarily diminished or terminated due to a work injury. The system is designed to replace income lost when an employee suffers an injury. The Act also provides some protections for injured employees and specifically prohibits a retaliatory discharge for exercising workers’ compensation rights. But when do retaliatory discharge claims have merit? In Daniel C. Katzman’s September Illinois Bar Journal article, “Falling Into a Pink Slip,” Katzman explores protections provided to employees who are injured in their employment, the obligations employers have to injured employees, and what cases decided by Illinois courts have to say about the rights of the employer and injured employee.

For its September 2020 cover article, the Illinois Bar Journal spoke with a handful of speakers who will be presenting at the Illinois State Bar Association’s Solo and Small Firm Conference on Oct. 29-30. The conference, offered virtually this year, will present advice and perspectives on how to set priorities, manage one’s time, and keep in close touch with clients all while exploiting the nimble advantages of being a solo or small firm. Another prominent theme will reframe success during the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn and set the foundation for long-term success. Among key takeaways: Solo practitioners and small-firm attorneys would be wise to redouble their focus on communication and problem solving.

In their August 2020 article, “Discovery Wars,” Madhavi K. Seth and Vikram S. Arora explore Illinois and federal professional and procedural rules when preparing a client’s employees as knowledgeable witnesses and contacting the adverse party’s employees for evidence. Being aware of the sanctions that attorneys may face for not meeting their obligations under the rules is important, Seth and Arora argue, not least because, in discovery, litigators can find themselves walking a fine line between zealous advocacy and ethical pitfalls. Modern American jurisprudence has led many attorneys to seek guidance on their obligations under Illinois procedural and professional conduct rules when preparing their client’s employees as witnesses and contacting an adverse party’s former or current employees during discovery.