ISBA News

Teams from 45 high schools statewide will participate in the 30th annual Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) High School Mock Trial Invitational Friday and Saturday, March 30 and 31 at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Public Affairs Center – Lower Level, One University Plaza, in Springfield.

The eight top-scoring teams will compete in the final round on Saturday, March 31, for the state championship. The winner will represent Illinois at the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Albuquerque, New Mexico, May 3-6, 2012. [The trials will begin Friday, March 30, at 11:15 a.m. and will continue through Saturday afternoon. The final round will begin at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 31].

“The mock trial program is a rare opportunity for Illinois high school students to compete in a high-level academic endeavor,” says Lauren E. DeJong of Park Ridge, chair of the ISBA’s Standing Committee on Law Related Education for the Public, which conducts the program.

“Students must analyze complex information, apply logic and deductive reasoning, communicate effectively, and use other critical thinking skills in the trial scenario,” she continued. “The ISBA offers this opportunity for the students to come together, after months of hard work and preparation, to challenge each other and stimulate discussion.”

"Scams and Cons" and "Psychology of the Scams" will air on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago, at 10 p.m. Scams and Cons will air on Tuesdays, March 27 and April 10, and Psychology of the Scams will air on Tuesdays, April 3 and 17. These half-hour programs are presented by Illinois Law, a cable production of the Illinois State Bar Association. Illinois Law programs are available for online viewing at iln.isba.org/blog/illinois-law-video.

Appearing on the shows are Eric Salcedo, Office of the Illinois Attorney General; Katie Walsh, director, Senior Citizen Services, Cook County Sheriff’s Office; program moderator Gilda Hudson-Winfield, Law Offices of Gilda Hudson-Winfield, in Chicago; and Detective Sergeant James Hennelly, Financial Crimes/Public Corruption, Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department, in Maywood.

The 33,000-member organization, with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public.

The Illinois State Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division will host its Annual Bean Bag Party and Tournament on Saturday, March 10, from noon to 4 p.m. Please join us in supporting this event to benefit the Illinois Bar Foundation/YLD Children’s Assistance Program. The YLD Children's Assistance Fund is a special fund of the Illinois Bar Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable entity.

• When: Saturday, March 10, 2012 from noon to 4:00 p.m.
• Where: Mahoney’s Pub and Grille, 551 N. Ogden Ave. (on Ogden near Grand),Chicago
• What: Appetizer bar and domestic draft beer, mixed well drinks and soft drinks
• Cost: $35 per person per wristband or $100 for entrance fee for Bean Bag Tournament for a team of two with two wristbands. You must be 21 years old and older to participate.
• Deadline: Bean Bag Team registration and wristband registration open until Friday, March 9 at noon and thereafter wristbands can be purchased at the door the day of the event
• Register at www.isba.org/sections/yld/beanbag

Prizes will be given to the first and second place teams. Questions? Contact: Matthew Coleman, mcoleman@ridgeassoc.comor or Elizabeth McKillip, Elizabeth.mckillip@icemiller.com.

The Illinois State Bar Association helped provide a special photograph of Abraham Lincoln to Beecher City High School. The photograph, made by Alexander Hesler in 1860, was reproduced from glass plates and made available through the Illinois State Historical Society.

The ISBA and Beecher City Merchants Association purchased the photo for the school. At the school assembly presentation of the photo, photographer PJ Ryan talked about the photographic significance of the image; area Lincoln buff and businessman Jerry White told the students about Lincoln, the poet and leader, and attorney William Austin of Effingham, representing the Illinois Bar Association, talked about Lincoln, the self-educated lawyer. Posing with the photo are (from left) Jerry White, student council officers Mitch Kline, Mitchell Zacha and Breeanna Strauch, William Austin and PJ Ryan.