Perhaps no one has been more outspoken regarding the importance of oral arguments in appellate courts than Illinois Supreme Court Justice Karmeier, who has reiterated the importance of providing appellate counsel an opportunity to “isolate and clarify the core issues in a case and to direct the court’s attention to matters that may have been overlooked or misunderstood.” As chief justice, he categorized the “interactive nature” between counsel and the justices as being “invaluable” to the court’s decision-making process and emphasized the importance of the interaction between the justices themselves during oral argument. Justice Karmeier also lauded oral argument as a key component to “providing public visibility and institutional legitimacy to our system of judicial review.” All of these statements came to fruition in an amendment of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 352, known affectionately by some as “Thou shalt oral,” which into effect July 1, 2018, and has had a significant impact on appellate advocacy. In her November Illinois Bar Journal article, “Oral Arguments: More and Less Remote,” Amanda Hamilton discusses the steady increase in oral arguments in Illinois appellate courts and why Illinois appellate practitioners must be prepared to present and defend their positions on complex issues at oral argument with increasing frequency.
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November 23, 2020 | Practice News

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November 20, 2020
Chief Justice Anne M. Burke and the Illinois Supreme Court announced today the amendment of Rule 23, which will allow litigants to cite unpublished opinions from the Illinois Appellate Courts for persuasive purposes. Amended Rule 23 is effective Jan. 1, 2021. The Illinois Supreme Court Rules including Amended Rule 23 can be found on the court's website.12 comments (Most recent November 24, 2020) -
November 19, 2020 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court today announced the amendment of Rule 113. The changes go into effect December 1. -
November 19, 2020 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court handed down seven opinions on Thursday, November 19. They included opinions in two criminal cases and five civil cases. -
November 19, 2020 |
Practice News
The U.S. Attorney's Office Central District of Illinois is accepting applications for an assistant United States attorney opening in its Criminal Division. Applicants must be United States citizens or nationals; submit to a background investigation, credit and tax checks, and drug test; be registered for selective service, if applicable; and have a J.D. degree and active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction).
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November 17, 2020 |
ISBA News
Congratulations to Bridget Schott for winning a Visa gift card in the ISBA's Instagram Contest! With the COVID-19 pandemic nudging many attorneys to work at home, we asked members to share photos of their new workspaces, wherever they may be.
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November 17, 2020 | CLE
Don’t miss the remainder of this online series that explores everything you need to know about trademark law, patents, licensing, protecting your client’s identifiable information, the ethics issues to be aware of, and what happens when your client tries to register a scandalous trademark! -
November 16, 2020 | Practice News
The term “hindsight bias” is defined as “the tendency, after an event has occurred, to overestimate the extent to which the outcome could have been foreseen.” A new trend in Illinois is for litigants to attempt to introduce evidence of hindsight bias through opinion testimony by experts in human factors or psychology. These opinions have been commonly offered by defendants in negligence cases to argue that jurors should not judge their conduct with the benefit of hindsight information learned after a plaintiff’s injury; instead, they should consider only the information that a defendant possessed at the time of his alleged negligence. As Arlo Walsman notes in his November Illinois Bar Journal article, “Hindsight is 20/20,” the Illinois Appellate Court has not yet ruled on the admissibility of expert-opinion testimony regarding hindsight bias and trial courts have reached different conclusions on this issue. In his article, Walsman highlights the legal issues surrounding the use of expert-opinion testimony on hindsight bias and practical tips for lawyers to consider when confronted with such evidence. -
November 13, 2020 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on November 13, 2020. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.
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November 13, 2020 |
ISBA News
Enter the ISBA’s Twitter contest for your chance to win a $100 Visa gift card! In 280 characters or less, tell us what ISBA member benefits you find most useful. Be sure to tag @ISBALawyer and use the hashtag #isbabenefits A winner will be chosen at random.