WHAT: Oral arguments for two cases, People v. Hoffman and Hulsh v. Hulsh, will be held before the Illinois Supreme Court and an audience of over 900 students and local community members. A question-and-answer session between students and attorneys will follow the oral arguments.
WHEN: 10 a.m., Tuesday, March 18, 2025 (Media members are asked to arrive by 9 a.m.). The introduction, which includes SIU System President Dan Mahony and SIU Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane, will start at 9:45 a.m.
Marcia M. Meis, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced today that the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Thomas E. St. Jules as an associate judge of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit.
Mr. St. Jules received his undergraduate degree in 2005 from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa and his Juris Doctor in 2008 from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. St. Jules is currently affiliated with Llamas St. Jules LLP in Aurora, Illinois.
When your client fails to show for trial, judges can conduct one in absentia, but they are obligated to ensure that statutory requirements are met before commencing, notes Charles Golaszewski in his March Illinois Bar Journal article, “Evading Trial.” Golaszewski states prosecutors and defense attorneys must be prepared to argue whether a trial in absentia is warranted in light of the statutory requirements and the circumstances of the case. But if the judge decides to start the trial without the defendant, both parties will need to adjust their trial strategies.
If one thing is clear from the Illinois Bar Journal’s March cover story, it’s that now is not the time to ignore cyber-security threats. The article, “How Cyber-Secure Are You?,” unpacks a pair of ISBA continuing legal education programs held in late 2024 that provided guidance on common cyber vulnerabilities for lawyers. The article explores various concerns, including ethics, compromised emails, hacking tactics, financial-information vulnerabilities, and what lawyers can do to safeguard their computer and network systems from cyber-criminals.
The topic of immigration in the U.S. has always been controversial, including during Abraham Lincoln’s time. In his February Illinois Bar Journal column, “Lincoln, Immigrants, and the American Dream,” retired judge and Lincoln historian Ron Spears revisits Lincoln’s views on immigration, formed as the country, not yet 100 years old, continued to experience wave after wave of population growth due to people from all over the world seeking a better life here.
The Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee will hear comments on six proposals on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at a public hearing beginning at 10 a.m. at the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, 222 N. LaSalle Street, 13th Floor, in Chicago. All proposals must be approved by the Illinois Supreme Court before they can take effect.
The hearing will be livestreamed.
The Illinois Supreme Court will leave the Illinois Supreme Court Building in Springfield behind for a day and “ride the circuit” to hear oral arguments at Southern Illinois University (SIU) in Carbondale on March 18, 2025.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases starting at 10 a.m. (all guests are asked to be seated by 9:30 a.m.), on Tuesday, March 18, at the SIU Student Center, located at 1255 Lincoln Dr. in Carbondale. The cases before the court will be People v. Hoffman and Hulsh v. Hulsh.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) software can produce apparently quality legal work, leading some to wonder whether an attorney’s work will become streamlined and efficient at best or redundant at worst. The good news? Although generative AI technology appears to be changing the legal industry rapidly (or is at least marketed as doing so), the obligations for being an attorney are changing at a decidedly slower pace. In his February 2025 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Prompt Service,” Joshua L.
The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed attorney Ashley N. Shambley of Chicago to serve as a member of the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) Review Board effective on January 1, 2025, and expiring on December 31, 2027. The ARDC is the Supreme Court agency that investigates allegations of lawyer wrongdoing in Illinois.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agence currently has the following open positions: