Starting in September and continuing through November, the ISBA is hosting a four-part continuing education program on the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The CLE program will be surveying the latest in FOIA developments in a series of lunchtime webinar CLE presentations, the first of which was an overview on Sept. 10. The October 2025 Illinois Bar Journal provides an overview of all sessions, based on interviews with various presenters in public and private practice.
ISBA members, sign up to receive The Bar News' biweekly e-newsletter by emailing emailpreferences@isba.org
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September 30, 2025 | Practice News
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September 30, 2025 | Practice News
The Judges and Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative (JPLI) has selected Scott Block, Behavioral Health Administrator, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, from a highly competitive pool of candidates, to serve on its national Advisory Group. -
September 30, 2025 | ISBA News
Small law firms across Illinois just scored a major win. Smokeball, the industry-leading legal practice management software platform and legal AI trailblazer, today announced an exclusive relationship with the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) to provide all members with complimentary access to Smokeball Bill, its powerful trust accounting and billing solution. -
September 29, 2025 |
Practice News
Chicago, IL, September 26, 2025– Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres (CFDB) announced that the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, today affirmed in full the trial court’s judgment in favor of CFDB’s client, Lisa Podmajersky, reinforcing the validity her father, John Podmajersky, Jr.'s estate plans, concluding a multi-year, complex litigation.
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September 26, 2025 | CLE
Civil Appeal Basics: How To Handle an Appeal in the Illinois Appellate Court from Start To Finish Live Webcast Friday, October 24, 2025 11:00 a.m. – 12:05 p.m. 1.0 hour MCLE credit -
September 23, 2025 | Practice NewsChief Justice Mary Jane Theis and the Illinois Supreme Court announced today the approval in concept of a new Community Justice Worker Program (Program) to allow for certified individuals who are not lawyers to provide limited legal assistance in designated high-need areas of law under the supervision of an Illinois-licensed attorney.
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September 23, 2025 | Practice NewsJustice Mary K. O’Brien and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Terra Costa Howard as a Resident Circuit Judge in the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit (DuPage County), Fifth Subcircuit. Ms. Costa Howard is being appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Paul Fullerton. The appointment is effective October 17, 2025, and will conclude on December 7, 2026.
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September 23, 2025 | Practice NewsThe Illinois Supreme Court issued attorney disciplinary orders during its September 2025 Term of Court. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.
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September 22, 2025 | CLE | Events
On September 11-12, 2025, the ISBA presented the NextGen Symposium 2025: Illinois' New Bar Exam Focuses on Getting Students "Practice Ready" at the ISBA Regional Office, 20 S. Clark Street, Chicago. The event was co-sponsored by the Illinois Bar Foundation. Illinois Supreme Court Justice David K. Overstreet presented Past President John E. Thies (2012-13) with a Certificate of Recognition during the first day of the NextGen Symposium 2025 after introducing the John E. Thies Excellence in Legal Education Award. -
September 22, 2025 | Practice News
U.S. Circuit Court law clerk Matthew N. Preston II spent considerable time running the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT through extensive testing in various aspects of his work and life. His article “The Law Clerk’s Law Clerk” in the September 2025 Illinois bar Journal is his firsthand account of that experience. Preston describes how tools like ChatGPT might help—and hinder—the judiciary, particularly the law clerks tasked with preparing judges for their decisions.