The ISBA is seeking input from attorneys whose practices include rural areas and small towns in Illinois.  Many areas of Illinois outside of urban areas are experiencing a shortage of attorneys to meet the needs of their residents. Experienced practitioners have sometimes struggled to connect with newer attorneys to expand or transition their practices.  The ISBA is asking our affiliated bar associations to forward a short survey to their members and request that they complete the survey by Friday, August 28. The goal of the survey is to understand what issues prevent newer attorneys from moving to rural areas, and how best the ISBA can address those issues.

Join us online from 10 until 11 a.m. on Wednesday, September 23 to learn what documentation is needed for your client to get paid on their construction project. Topics include the importance of sworn owner’s and contractor’s statements, lien waivers, and construction disbursing escrow; Illinois’ proper payment system and the documentation required to limit the owner’s exposure; the reasons for needing additional information by title companies; and what a contractor and subcontractor need to provide in order to get paid.

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down one opinion on Thursday, August 20. In People v. Sophanavong, the court considered whether a circuit court’s failure to strictly comply with the requirements to proceed without a presentence investigation report requires remand for a new sentencing hearing or whether a defendant can waive the issue by pleading guilty as well as forfeit the claim by failing to raise it in a postplea motion. People v. Sophanavong

Colleen Boraca, Clinical Associate Professor, Northern Illinois University College of Law March 10, 2020 was a fairly normal day. Although it was spring break, two law students were working with me at the NIU Health Advocacy Clinic, a law-school based legal clinic that is located onsite in Aurora at Hesed House, the second largest homeless shelter in Illinois. In the morning, one of the students interviewed a potential client, “Jane,” who was looking for representation with her Social Security case. After the meeting, the students and I debriefed about they handled their interview with Jane and brainstormed areas for improvement. After that session, the students worked on PowerPoint slides for an upcoming presentation on SNAP benefits. We saw Jane again while serving lunch at Hesed House that day, and she told us that she would see us next week. The students left clinic that day, enthused to work on Jane’s case and hopefully change her life if they could secure disability benefits for her.