Practice News

Join ISBA members for a group admission at the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, June 6, 2011. Only 40 out of 50 a few more spots are available so sign up now! For an application for admission, event and hotel reservation form, contact Janet Sosin, jsosin@isba.org, or (800) 678-4009 or (312) 726-8775. Applicants will be placed on the list on a first come basis. A special group rate is available at the Willard InterContinental Hotel for the admittee, family and guests. Planned Events:

• Reception Sunday, June 5, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Willard InterContinental Hotel for admittees and guests
• Group Admission to the U. S. Supreme Court, Monday, June 6
• Continental Breakfast at the U. S. Supreme Court for admittees and guests

To be eligible, you must be an active lawyer member of the ISBA and admitted to practice more than 3 years.

The Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday that Thomas E. Griffith, Jr., an attorney for 25 years, has been appointed a circuit judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit. Mr. Griffith was appointed to fill the Circuit Court vacancy created by the November 3, 2010 retirement of Judge Theodore E. Paine. The appointment is effective February 4, 2011 and will expire December 3, 2012. Justice Rita B. Garman recommended the appointment of Mr. Griffith after a review process by a special citizen screening committee. The committee unanimously recommended Mr. Griffith to fill the at-large circuit court vacancy. Mr. Griffith graduated cum laude from Millikin University with a B.A. degree in History. He received his juris doctor degree from Tulsa University Law School in 1985. Before his appointment to the bench, Mr. Griffith worked for 23 years as a partner with the law firm of Erickson, Davis, Murphy, Johnson, Griffith & Walsh, Ltd. in Decatur. From 1985 to 1987, Mr. Griffith served as Macon County assistant state’s attorney. He has been a member of the Capital Litigation Trial Bar since September 2002. A resident of Decatur, Mr. Griffith is married with four children. The Sixth Judicial Circuit is comprised of six counties: Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Macon, Moultrie and Piatt.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin today announced the formation of a bipartisan screening committee to assist in selecting Federal District Court Judges for the Northern District of Illinois. There are currently three vacant judgeships in the Northern District, and the immediate task of the screening committee is to review applications and make recommendations to Durbin for filling current and future vacancies. Applications for these positions are available on Senator Durbin’s website. The deadline for submission of completed applications is Monday, Jan. 31. The screening committee will be comprised of 10 distinguished Illinoisans drawn from various aspects of the legal profession including former judges, prominent litigators, bar association leaders, and former prosecutors and defenders. Dick Devine, former Cook County State’s Attorney and current partner at the law firm of Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson LLP, will chair the committee.  (A complete list and short bios of all panel members is included below.) “Making recommendations to the White House on judicial nominees is one of the most important jobs I have as a U.S. Senator, and I am particularly pleased that these outstanding Illinoisans have agreed to advise me in selecting the best possible candidates to recommend to President Obama,” said Durbin.

Okay, not dummies. Rookies. If any of your p.i. clients' medical bills have been paid by Medicare (highly likely), you should get an early start on the laborious and complicated process of making sure Medicare gets its due. Otherwise, the feds can hold up your case and your client's payday. So writes Angelica Wawrzynek in the latest issue of the ISBA YLDNews. And, she wryly observes, "Medicare started having liens on cases after many of your senior partners started practicing, and the procedures for getting these liens resolved have become more and more particular over the years. Make yourself a valuable part of the team by mastering the process." How? Here's how.