The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For the month of April 2014, ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:
Here are the results for April 2014:
Joseph Hudson, a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, has received a Presidential Commendation from the Illinois State Bar Association for his extensive work on a complex case that involved a non-lawyer doing business on mechanics lien cases.
The award was presented by ISBA President Paula H. Holderman during the organization’s Board of Governors meeting in Chicago on May 2.
The case, which took five years to resolve, involved Steve Boucher, owner of Contractor’s Lien Services, who filed invalid liens against property owners and was charged with intimidating homeowners either to pay debts they didn’t owe or to overpay for debts incurred with contractors. Boucher hired lawyers to draft legal documents for the firm’s clients.
The matter was brought to the attention of the ISBA Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, which in turn worked with the State’s Attorney’s office and the Illinois Attorney General's office who brought a lawsuit against Boucher and his company, and sought a permanent injunction to prevent the defendant from engaging in selling mechanics lien filing and collections services in Illinois.
A judge ruled that the case constituted the unauthorized practice of law and enjoined the plaintiff and his company from engaging in selling mechanics lien filing and collections services in Illinois.
The text from Mr. Hudson's acceptance speech is available below:
ISBA President Paula H. Holderman interviews ABA Past President Laurel Bellows in Part 2 of a two-part interview. In this interview this discuss the ABAs Gender Equity Task Force and how gender bias impedes a law firm's goals of growth, talent development and profitability.
All ISBA members with their dues paid by March 1, 2014 are eligible to vote for contested races in their area. All eligible voting members may vote for Third Vice President; members with voting addresses in Cook County may also vote for Board of Governors, Under Age 37 Cook County.
Competing in this years contested races are Russell Hartigan and David Sosin for 3rd Vice President and Dennis Lynch and Anna Krolikowska for the Under 37 Board of Governors seat for Cook County.
Voting ends at 4:30 p.m. CT Wednesday, April 30th. Paper ballots must be received at VR Election Services in Texas by 4:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, April 30 in order to be counted.
If you have not received your e-ballot, please check your email spam folder under the suffix "vres.us”. If your e-ballot is not in your spam folder, or if you received an electronic ballot and want to vote by paper ballot, please contact VRES at (800) 218-4026 or custserv@vres.us.
Election results will be provided by the Tellers of the Election no later than May 10, 2014.
Nearly two dozen volunteer attorneys helped answer over 350 phone calls, emails and Skype calls at the 33rd Annual Ask A Lawyer Day on Saturday, April 26. Those calls helped members of the public resolve their legal issues or gave them the next steps toward resolving those issues. The endeavor also garnered much positive media coverage throughout Illinois.
On hand to answer calls in the Chicago office were (seated, left to right) Donald Young, Kristi Vetri, Timothy Travers, Pamela Menaker and Scott Blumenshine; (standing, left to right) Rhonda Sallee, Tejas Shah, Lawrence Karlin and Erik Gruber. Volunteers not pictured because they were still answering calls were Sam Cannizzaro, Joyce Wixson and Rebecca McDade. The ISBA would like to extend a hearty thank you to volunteers in the Chicago and Springfield offices and especially to Jim Reilly, who answered over 100 emails.
During its Annual Meeting on April 18 at its Chicago headquarters, ISBA Mutual Insurance Company re-elected several board members to another three-year term. They are Jack Carey, David A. Decker, James J. DeSanto, Robert K. Downs, Christopher Mullen and John E. Thies.
The board also announced its newest member, Paula H. Holderman, president of the Illinois State Bar Association, who was elected to a three-year term.
In remarks at the meeting, Jon DeMoss, president and CEO of ISBA Mutual Insurance Company, stated that “the company has retained our “A” Excellent Rating from A.M. Best Rating Company and that the Board of Directors declared a 10 percent policyholder dividend for 2013 equaling $1.7 million.” The company has returned a total of $14.7 million to policyholders since 2000.
ISBA President Paula H. Holderman speaks with ABA Past President Laurel Bellows on the importance of court funding.
ISBA President-Elect Richard D. Felice (from left), ISBA President Paula H. Holderman, Rep. Mike Quigley, past ABA President Laurel Bellows, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride and CBF legislative director Jessica Bednarz at an April 9, 2014 dinner honoring Rep. Quigley in Washington, D.C. As part of ABA Days, the Illinois delegation lobbied on Capitol Hill for increased funding for the Legal Services Corporation and against tax reform bill that would negatively impact lawyers and other professional service providers.
The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For the month of March 2014, ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:
Here are the results for March 2014:
The ISBA Young Lawyers will host the annual Soiree on April 25 at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. The evening will include an Open Bar, Hors d'oeuvres, Dancing, Casino Games, and Raffle. Proceeds benefit the YLD Children's Assistance Fund.
WHEN: Friday, April 25, 2014, 8–11 p.m.
WHERE: Hard Rock Hotel, 230 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago
WHAT: Event will include open bar, hors d’ oeuvres, dancing, and raffle. This year the Soiree will also feature blackjack, craps, and roulette casino games for guests to enjoy. Cocktail/Semi-formal attire preferred.