Every client and trial are different. But successful trial lawyers know that winning a case requires deep preparation and attention to detail that begin long before jurors are seated and the trial starts. Recently, in an ISBA CLE titled The Eight Things Every Trial Lawyer Should Know, Illinois attorneys and judges shared characteristics all good trial attorneys have in common. The Illinois Bar Journal features their key takeaways in the April 2021issue.

Their tips and tricks cover eight aspects of trial law: presenting and arguing motions in limine, selecting a jury, making objections, establishing proofs through direct examination, controlling a witness on cross examination, handling the jury instructions conference, delivering a closing argument, and maintaining professionalism during an adversarial process.

The Illinois Supreme Court’s Volunteer Pro Bono Program for Criminal Appeals currently has cases available in all five appellate districts that have complete records available and are ready to be briefed.  

Attorneys who meet eligibility criteria can submit a volunteer application to the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts. 

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the two Illinois Supreme Court opinions handed down Thursday, March 18. In People v. Burge, the Supreme Court denied a defendant’s motion to withdraw her guilty plea after she asserted that it was involuntary because she was unaware she would lose her job if she pled guilty. In Ciolino v. Simon, a defamation case that arose from a documentary about an exoneration scandal, the Supreme Court considered whether the one-year window when the suit could be filed opened when the movie premiered at a publicized film festival.

In his March 2021 Illinois Bar Journal article, “A Promise of Clear Title,” Philip J. Vacco asks whether the term “warranty deed” must be interpreted as imposing upon the seller an obligation to provide a general warranty deed. In the author’s opinion, the answer is “no.” If we give the language used in these contracts its plain meaning, Vacco writes, the seller is obligated to provide a warranty deed but, without further specification, the seller is left to his own accord as to what type of warranty deed he will deliver to meet this obligation. Given these options, Vacco asks why anyone would allow their client to provide a general warranty deed when the use of a special warranty deed meets the seller’s contract obligations.