The Illinois State Bar Association will honor the Class of 1964 Distinguished Counsellors on Thursday, Nov. 20. This title is conferred annually upon those ISBA members who are completing their 50th year of practice.The 2014 Class will be honored at a special luncheon at The Standard Club located at 320 South Plymouth Court, Chicago on Thursday, November 20, 2014. A reception will begin at 11:15 a.m., and lunch is scheduled for noon. You and your colleagues will be recognized during the formal program following lunch.Honorees receive one complimentary ticket to attend the luncheon. Additional tickets may be purchased in advance at $75 per person. Members of the “Class” and their guest(s) will be seated at special tables, each seating 10 persons. All tickets will be held for pick up at our registration table immediately prior to the luncheon.Tickets to the luncheon are available and may be purchased online at www.isba.org/distinguishedcounsellorsluncheon. Any questions regarding the luncheon may be directed to Kim Weaver at kweaver@isba.org.Congratulations to the 1964 Class of Distinguished Counsellors:
ISBA members, sign up to receive The Bar News' biweekly e-newsletter by emailing emailpreferences@isba.org
-
November 7, 2014 |
ISBA News | Events
-
November 6, 2014
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 October 2014, ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:Here are the results for October 2014:1,070 phone referrals made by Lawyer Finder staffMost requested areas of law: Family (239), Personal Injury (126), Civil Disputes (105), Employment Law (98), Criminal Law (87), Real Estate (96) and Civil Rights (42).22,529 visits to IllinoisLawyerFinder.com (20,177 unique visitors)Want to be part of the ISBA Lawyer Finder Service? Call (800) 252-8908 and ask for the Legal Department, or visit www.illinoislawyerfinder.comClients should call (800) 922-8757.
-
November 6, 2014
Torts 101: A premises owner has a duty to keep the place up so as not to put an invitee in harm's way. Exception: if a danger is open and obvious, the invitee can see it, and thus the owner has a defense if the invitee, say, trips over a big crack in the sidewalk. Exception to the exception: "[I]f a plaintiff is distracted by something that prevents her from seeing where she is going, she is able to recover when she trips over an open and obvious hazard," as Judge Daniel T. Gillespie and Greg Connor put it in their article in the most recent issue of Trial Briefs. (Trial Briefs is the newsletter of the ISBA's Civil Practice & Procedure Section.)But what is a distraction? The Illinois Supreme Court addressed that question a few weeks ago in Bruns v. City of Centralia. They ruled that the distraction exception was not available to a plaintiff who didn't see a crack in the sidewalk because she was looking at the steps and door of the building she was about to enter. Find out more and read the authors' analysis.
-
November 5, 2014 |
ISBA News | Events
Join judges and lawyers from across the state to conduct the business of the bench and bar and celebrate professional achievements. Highlights include an Opening Reception, a luncheon presentation by Attorney General of the United States Eric H. Holder, Jr., and an evening celebration honoring the Justices of the Supreme Court of Illinois. Additional programs and business meetings will be held throughout the conference. All this camaraderie takes place at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, steps away from the holiday pageantry Chicago offers during this time of year.Find out more and register at www.isba.org/jointmeeting
-
November 5, 2014 |
Practice News
Q. Many years ago I represented a husband in a divorce. The ex-wife just came to me and wants me to represent her in a personal injury matter. Can I?A. RPC 1.9 prohibits a lawyer from representing someone in a matter that is the same or substantially related to a matter in which the lawyer previously represented a client. Although there are many facets of this rule when applying it to specific situations, one of the major concerns is to protect confidential information that may have been gained in the prior representation that could be used to the detriment of the former client.For a discussion of this point see In re Estate of Klehm, 363 Ill.App.3d 373, 299 Ill.Dec. 825 (1st Dist. 2006). View the case on FastcaseISBA members can browse past ISBA Ethics Opinions, access our Ethics Hotline, and other resources on the ISBA Ethics Page.2 comments (Most recent November 7, 2014)
-
November 5, 2014 |
Practice News
Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. Our firm is a five attorney personal injury plaintiff law firm located in San Francisco. We have 2 equity partners, one non-equity partner and two associates. One hundred percent of our fees are contingency fees. Our attorneys work on some cases together. We do not keep time sheets.The two equity partners are compensated based upon their ownership interests and this has worked well. We are looking to improve our compensation for the non-equity partner and the two associates. Currently they are paid salaries and a percentage of firm collected fee revenue over a certain threshold. We feel that they have not been profitable and we have been overpaying them. We would appreciate your thoughts.
-
November 4, 2014 |
CLE
Is there a cannabis facility knocking at your permitting window? Do you know how the regulations impact your zoning? Do your clients know how to answer all of the questions being raised? What risks does your community face from cannabis facilities setting up shop in your neighborhood? How will the state's monitoring impact your local government? Don't miss this two-hour live webcast on Thursday, November 13, 2014 that addresses each of these questions and more, including: how the state will be monitoring these facilities; how cannabis dispensaries and cultivation centers will be regulated; local zoning issues that are arising from Illinois' new medical marijuana laws; agreements between facilities and the local government; and possible ways to address the potential risks that these facilities bring to the community. Attorneys with all levels of practice experience working in the local government, health care, or agricultural arenas who attend this online seminar will be better equipped to effectively advise their clients as medical cannabis facilities look to locate to your jurisdiction.The seminar is presented by the ISBA Local Government Law Section and qualifies for 2.0 hours MCLE credit.Click here for more information and to register.
-
November 4, 2014 |
Practice News
By Judge Barb Crowder, EdwardsvilleThe Third Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee continues to expand its services to veterans in honor of their service to this country. Madison County has a large number of veterans, many of whom are in reduced circumstances or homeless. Madison County started the first Veterans’ Court in the State of Illinois to help veterans navigate the criminal justice by connecting them with volunteers and with social services to assist with the problems that led many of the veterans to criminal court. The Pro Bono committee has focused on legal advice for civil court problems being experienced by veterans and has provided legal advice to veterans near each Veterans Day. For 2014, the Third Circuit Pro Bono Committee and the Madison County Veterans Assistance Commission are excited to announce the creation of the Third Circuit Veterans Legal Assistance Project (VLAP). The circuit’s programs for veterans have grown since the pro bono committee started in 2011. It provides:
-
November 4, 2014 |
Practice News
Chief Justice Rita B. Garman announced Tuesday the Illinois Supreme Court's appointment of DeWitt County State's Atty. Karle Eric Koritz to fill the judicial vacancy of Resident Circuit Judge of DeWitt County in the Sixth Judicial Circuit.The appointment is effective December 5, 2014, and will terminate December 5, 2016. He will fill the vacancy created by the death of the Honorable Garry W. Bryan.Chief Justice Garman recommended to the Supreme Court that Mr. Koritz be appointed after an application and review process that included evaluation by a specially selected screening committee."This is a tremendous and humbling honor for me and I would like to thank Chief Justice Garman and the Illinois Supreme Court for the confidence they have placed in me with this appointment," said Mr. Koritz. "It has been a privilege to serve as state's attorney of DeWitt County and it will be a privilege to follow Judge Bryan to the bench."Mr. Koritz graduated from the University of Illinois College of Law in 2005, attending law school after teaching high school history and government for one year in the mountains of northeast Tennessee.Following his admission to the Illinois bar in November 2005, Mr. Koritz joined the Peoria law firm of Quinn, Johnston, Henderson & Pretorius with an emphasis on defending medical malpractice cases. He joined the McLean County state's attorney's office in 2007 where he obtained extensive jury trial experience in cases ranging from simple traffic and DUIs to Class X felonies, including homicide.In 2008, he was named "Hero of the Highway" by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.He was elected state's attorney in November 2012.
-
November 4, 2014 |
Practice News
New attorneys will be admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday, November 6, with Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court presiding and administering the attorney's oath at five separate locations to a total of 1,874 candidates.Supreme Court Justices Anne M. Burke and Mary Jane Theis will preside over and administer the attorney's oath at bar admission ceremonies in the First Judicial District on November 6.A group of 1,489 will be admitted in the First Judicial District during two ceremonies Thursday, both being held at the Arie Crown Theater, 2301 Lake Shore Drive. The first ceremony will begin at 9:45 a.m.; the second ceremony will start at 12:45 p.m.The candidates being sworn in have passed the Illinois state bar examination and an ethics examination, and have been certified by the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness.Justice Burke will preside and administer the attorney's oath during the morning ceremony. Guests for the 9:45 a.m. ceremony include: James R. Carroll, of the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar; Celestia L. Mays, president of the Cook County Bar Association; and Spiridoula Mavrothalastis, president of the Hispanic Lawyers Association. Attorney Bruce M. Kohen of Highland Park will make the motion to admit the class.