ISBA News

Ballots were distributed to all eligible voters* on Monday, March 28, 2016. ISBA's election provider VR Election Services (VRES) emailed e-ballots to members with valid email addresses and mailed paper ballots to members without valid email addresses on Monday, March 28, 2016. The last day to request a paper ballot was Friday, April 15.

If you have not received your e-ballot, please ask your Information Technology (IT) person to check the email spam folder under the suffix "vres.us" to see if your e-ballot is there. IT can adjust the spam filter settings to allow the e-ballot to reach you. If your e-ballot is not in your spam folder, please contact VRES at 800-218-4026 or custserv@vres.us.

Your e-ballot will contain instructions on how to cast your vote electronically. If you prefer to vote by paper ballot, you may request one by contacting VRES at 800-218-4026 or custserv@vres.us. The last day to request a paper ballot was Friday, April 15.

All eligible voters* may vote for Third Vice President. Those with ISBA addresses that fall in one of the following districts/circuits are also eligible to vote in their respective Board of Governors race. Candidate bios can be viewed in the March Illinois Bar Journal.

Cook County: First Judicial District Board of Governors

Judicial Circuits 1-23: Under Age 37 outside Cook County Board of Governors.

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The Illinois Bar Foundation (IBF), the charitable arm of the Illinois State Bar Association, has received a cy pres award of approximately $11,000 as recommended by McGuire Law, P.C., in Chicago.                 

The donation represents the remaining funds from a class action settlement the firm won in 2015, Murray et al v. Bill Me Later, Inc. (Northern District of Ill., Case No. 12CVO4789), according to Myles McGuire, principal at the firm.

“We chose the Illinois Bar Foundation because of its fine work helping ensure that all Illinois residents receive access to justice,” he said. “Their efforts to support other lawyers who have fallen on hard times financially also figured in to our decision. They were a natural choice.”

ISBA leaders met with law school deans Thursday at the Chicago Office to address the important issues raised in the Report and Recommendation of the Special Committee on the Impact of Current Law School Curriculum on the Future of the Practice of Law in Illinois.

Through this collaborative effort, the ISBA hopes to refine and expand the Report’s recommendations. The ultimate goal is to identify realistic ways that legal educators and the practicing bar can work together to ensure that future generations of Illinois lawyers are fully prepared to represent the interests of clients.

ISBA President Umberto Davi said, “The adoption of this Report is an important step as we strive to begin a discussion with Illinois’ law schools about improving the skills of those entering the practice of law.”