Prior to initiating civil litigation, lawyers often attempt to resolve matters by sending a prelitigation demand—often through a demand letter—instead of immediately filing a lawsuit. Prelawsuit demands can be a cost-efficient way to avoid litigation by demanding relief or putting the opposing side on notice of potential litigation. However, what happens when a client has a civil claim and a potential criminal claim or professional discipline complaint that can be brought against an opposing party or their counsel?
Illinois Bar Journal
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The Illinois State Bar Association invites Young Lawyers Division (YLD) attorney members to establish yourselves as experts in your practice area and compete for your share of $5,000 in prize money by entering the Annual Lincoln Award Legal Writing Contest.
Submissions should be useful, practical articles on topics important to practicing lawyers. Submissions will be considered for publication in the Illinois Bar Journal.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law on May 13, 2022, the first major overhaul of the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act (the “Act”) since its enactment in 1994. Over the span of 30-plus years since the original effective date of the Act, developments in electronic communication, new statutes, and real-world practical experience all generated the need for a thorough review. In his July Illinois Bar Journal article, “Material Defects,” Michael J. Rooney, a key drafter of the legislation, provides an in-depth walk-through of the Act’s finer points.
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Veteran family law attorney Rory T. Weiler is profiled in the July Illinois Bar Journal as the 2022-23 Illinois State Bar Association president, the 146th in the association’s history. Weiler tells the IBJ about his plans for initiatives serving urban legal deserts, protecting the practice of law, and empowering members.
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In Feb. 22, 2021, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law HB 3653. Among the many provisions contained within HB 3653 (now Public Act 101-0652) is the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA), a massive overhaul of Illinois’ cash bail system. The PFA makes Illinois the first state to eliminate monetary bail, creating a system in which defendants will be released or detained pending trial based on their risk of nonappearance and/or their perceived dangerousness. If the individual does not fit a certain set of predetermined criteria, they must be released. In his June Illinois Bar Journal article, “Illinois, Out on Bail,” Thomas A. Drysdale compares Illinois’ new law to the federal criminal system, which has operated without cash bail for more than 35 years.
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In February 2021, the Illinois General Assembly enacted sweeping changes to the state’s criminal justice system. The 764-page bill (now Public Act 101-0652), which has since been amended in part, addresses police conduct, bail reform, and pretrial release among other issues. In their June Illinois Bar Journal article, "To Release or Not to Release," Emily L. Fitch and Brenda M. (Duke) Mathis note that many prosecutors across the state opposed the changes in the bill while many defense attorneys embraced them.
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In Suburban Real Estate Services, Inc. v. Carlson, the Illinois Supreme Court tried to reconcile two lines of caselaw governing when a legal malpractice claim involving a transaction accrues under Illinois’ two-year statute of limitations. However, as Mark Bernstein and Joel Bertocchi note in their June Illinois Bar Journal article, "From the Start," as much clarity as the Court delivered in Carlson, it left some questions unexamined.
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Like many organizations that took a look in the mirror following the murder of George Floyd, the Illinois State Bar Association made diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the ISBA one of its top priorities. One major accomplishment during the past year is a comprehensive DEI assessment of the ISBA prepared by diversity consultants Richard Harvey of Saint Louis University and Kimberly Norwood of the Washington University School of Law.
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When writing or editing on behalf of your boss, you need to keep two things in mind, writes Patrick Barry in his May Illinois Bar Journal article, “Anticipatory Edits.” Barry, a writing professor at the University of Chicago Law School, says always consider “the actual people who are going to review your writing; and the likely changes they’ll make to it. By implementing those changes yourself—before the document ever hits your boss’s desk or inbox—you can save them a lot of time and cognitive effort. I doubt they’ll hold that against you. One way to think about anticipating the edits of your boss is to view the process as a form of targeted foresight. You need to make informed predictions about a particular person’s future revisions and then adjust your current draft accordingly.”
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Even when reports are made and charges are filed, cases involving domestic violence are notoriously difficult to prosecute, states Charles Golaszewski in his May Illinois Bar Journal Article, “Propensities, for Evidence and Violence.” Given that domestic violence occurs between family and household members, most of the abuse takes place in the home, meaning that eyewitnesses to specific incidents are rare. Since most victims do not seek medical treatment following incidents of abuse, prosecutors commonly lack documentation of physical injuries to corroborate a victim’s allegations. In domestic violence prosecutions, corroboration in any form is hard to come by, which, in turn, makes it difficult for a fact finder to find a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.