Joe Schomberg, an associate at the Chicago office of Sidley Austin LLP, is winner of first place and $2,000 in the ISBA’s 2020 Lincoln Award Legal Writing Contest. His article, “Major Buzzkill: The Relationship (or Lack Thereof) Between State Legalized Cannabis and the Bankruptcy Code,” will appear in the February issue of the Illinois Bar Journal.

In 2016, the Illinois Supreme Court held that unconstitutionally obtained gun convictions could be used for charging and enhancement purposes unless the defendant vacated the conviction. Two years later, the court admitted it got it wrong. A rule articulated in a criminal case rippled out into a termination-of-parental rights proceeding and culminated in a call to arms. In his December 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “The Illinois Supreme Court’s About Face in In re N.G.,” Benjamin Lawson shows how In re N.G. challenges us as practitioners to recognize when a client’s conviction is unconstitutionally obtained and to do something about it.

The U.S. Attorney's Office Northern District of Illinois is accepting applications for an assistant United States attorney opening in its Civil Division, Financial Litigation Unit.  Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least two years of post-J.D. legal experience. U.S. citizenship is required. Preferred qualifications include excellent academics, significant litigation, bankruptcy, and collections experience, strong legal writing skills, and commitment to public service.

The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For the month of November 2019 there were more than 600 referrals given. Here are the results for November 2019: