If you've been waiting for a comprehensive, informed review of the new Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct (they take effect January 1), wait no longer. Robert A. Creamer, who co-chaired the ISBA/CBA Joint Committee on Ethics 2000, offers his take on what changes and what remains the same in his cover story for the October Illinois Bar Journal.
Practice News
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October 5, 2009 |
Practice News
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October 5, 2009 |
Practice News
Cynthia Y. Cobbs, director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced today that the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Melissa S. Barnhart as an associate judge of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit. Ms. Barnhart received her undergraduate degree in 1982 from Illinois State University and her J.D. in 1986 from the John Marshal Law School. Ms. Barnhart had been affiliated with Pilmer & Barnhart in Yorkville.
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October 2, 2009 |
Practice News
Helen Gunnarsson reports in the October Illinois Bar Journal that a new law drafted by ISBA’s Family Law Section Council should bring some order to Illinois’ confusing, inconsistent scheme for awarding attorney fees in family law cases.
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September 29, 2009 |
Practice News
By Lisa Colpoys For members of the Illinois legal profession, pro bono practice support resources are as easy as a click away, at www.IllinoisProBono.org. That website, which is hosted by Illinois Legal Aid Online, now offers web pages with resources targeted at specific types of pro bono practitioners, including senior attorneys, federal government attorneys, corporate counsel, paralegals, and law students. Each homepage is customized for the target audience, and features video interviews with pro bono volunteers and articles specific to doing pro bono work. These homepages may be accessed via the internet at:
- http://seniorattorneys.illinoisprobono.org
- http://governmentattorneys.illinoisprobono.org
- http://corporatecounsel.illinoisprobono.org
- http://paralegals.illinoisprobono.org
- http://lawstudents.illinoisprobono.org
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September 29, 2009 |
Practice News
The Supreme Court of Illinois announced the appointment of attorney Douglas L. Jarman as Circuit Judge at Large of the Fourth Judicial Circuit. This appointment fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John Coady on Oct. 3, 2009. Jarman, 51, has practiced in nearly every area of civil law. He has also served as the attorney for numerous local government entities, including the City of Hillsboro and the Villages of Panama and Irving. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served in the White House Communications Agency. Jarman is a graduate of Triopia High School; Eastern Illinois University and Southern Illinois University School of Law. This appointment will be effective Oct. 19, 2009, and will terminate when the position is filled by the general election of 2010. The Fourth Judicial Circuit is comprised of nine counties: Christian, Clay, Clinton, Effingham, Fayette, Jasper, Marion, Montgomery and Shelby.
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September 26, 2009 |
Practice News
[A recent discussion about high-maintenance clients on the ISBA general listserver inspired Huntley lawyer and ISBA Assembly member TJ Thurston to draft the following policies, which he was kind enough to let us share.]
ATTORNEY-CLIENT RULES AND POLICIES
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September 25, 2009 |
Practice News
Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans will administer the oath of office to the newly elected Cook County associate judge on Friday, October 30 at 11 a.m. The induction ceremony will be held at the Assembly Hall of the James R. Thompson Center, concourse level, 100 W. Randolph in Chicago. The following judges will be sworn in:
- Carmen Kathleen Aguilar
- Clarence Lewis Burch
- LaGuina Clay-Clark
- Neil H. Cohen
- Stephen James Connolly
- William Edward Gomolinski
- William Richard Jackson Jr.
- Demetrios George Kottaras
- Bernard Joseph Sarley
- Jeffrey L. Warnick
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September 24, 2009 |
Practice News
From the law clerk's point of view, that is. Newly minted lawyer and former clerk Crystal Sava offers great advice to lawyers who want to get the most from their clerks while treating them fairly. (That's what every lawyer wants, right?) Here's some representative advice from Ms. Sava: "DON’T underestimate your law clerk. In most cases, your law clerk is either still in law school or has just finished law school. Of course, this means the law is still fresh and memorable, and your clerk has learned (or is learning) to think like a lawyer and outside the box." Read more in the latest issue of The Catalyst.
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September 24, 2009 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court disbarred 10 lawyers, suspended 32, censured four and issued reprimands to four others this week in its latest disciplinary filing. Most of the suspensions take effect on Oct. 13. More information on each case is available on the Web site of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
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September 21, 2009 |
Practice News
In the latest ISBA Education Law newsletter, authors describe a pair of U.S. Supreme Court cases from last term in which students prevailed over their local school districts. In Forest Grove School District v. T.A., the high court held that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act lets parents recover the cost putting their child in private school even though the student didn't previously receive special ed through the public school. "It is now clear that whether or not a child has been identified as eligible for special education services, IDEA’s provisions can afford parents an opportunity to seek recovery of their costs in placing their child in a private school by claiming that the public school district failed to provide their child with a free, appropriate public education and that the private school is providing an appropriate specialized program and services," wrote Mary Kay Klimesh in her article about the case. And in Safford Unified School District v. Redding, the Court found that a strip search of a 13-year-old girl violated the Fourth Amendment. "The lesson here," writes Phil Milsk, "is that strip and body cavity searches in the schools should be used only in the rarest of occasions when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that a student is actually hiding contraband in their clothing or body cavities." Read his full summary and analysis.