The undergraduate Mock Trial Team for the University of Illinois is hosting its 16th Annual Illinois Invitational Tournamenton October 14 - 15, 2023, at the Urbana-Champaign campus. The Illinois Trial Team is in need of Central Illinois lawyers to judge the tournament on both Saturday (10/14) and Sunday (10/15).
If, as scheduled, the federal gift and estate tax exemption is reduced by roughly 50 percent effective Jan. 1, 2026, how does that reduction affect federal estate taxes payable by decedents whose lifetime gifts exceed the available exemption at the time of death? This is one of many questions addressed by Gary R. Gehlbach in his October Illinois Bar Journal article, “To Gift or Not to Gift.”
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the two civil opinions handed down Thursday, September 21, 2023, by the Illinois Supreme Court.
The Illinois Supreme Court announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on September 21, 2023. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.
The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice (ATJ Commission) is seeking two volunteer members to serve on its Forms Committee. The expected term of service is three years.
WHAT: The grand opening program and tour of the new Learning Center, with Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission Executive Director John Lupton serving as speakers at the event.
As James A. Rapp reminds us in his September Illinois Bar Journal article, “Hello, Goodbye … Planning for Retirement Success,” about one in eight lawyers is 65 years old or older, which means facing the challenge of succession planning is here for many lawyers and firms. Rapp suggests that lawyers and firms should consider what experiences—good and bad—they have had within the firm and with other lawyers or firms when lawyers retire and recommends that lawyers and firms develop a perspective consistent with the interests of the lawyer involved, the firm, and most importantly, the firm’s clients.
The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Illinois attorney Lea S. Gutierrez to serve as the new Administrator of the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) effective October 23, 2023.
Illinois has a long history of pretrial reform efforts starting with the abolishment of bail bondsmen in 1963. Those efforts continue as Illinois becomes the first state to abolish cash bail on September 18, 2023.
In his September Illinois Bar Journal article, “Busting the Myth About Corporate Trustee Fees,” Jay E. Harker notes that many Illinois attorneys—some regularly, some occasionally—draft revocable, living trusts, and that all of them know firsthand that clients overwhelmingly prefer to designate family members as their successor trustees. This very often this works out just fine for all concerned, Harker notes. But he suggests that some estate-planning scenarios scream for serious consideration of a corporate trustee.