Although Illinois caselaw appears to suggest there is no duty to defend an insured (including an additional insured) before a suit, an insurer has a good-faith duty to its insured to respond to a demand made before suit and will often rely on two “black letter” rules to determine their responsibility. One rule is that they have no obligation to pay defense costs incurred before the insured tenders the claim to the insurer; the other rule is that the insurer owes no duties to the insured until the insured is sued. In his January 2020 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Tender-Hearted Insurers,” Scott O. Reed explains that while both rules are a rough approximation of the limits Illinois courts have placed on a liability insurer’s early-stage duties in a claim, caselaw contains exceptions and qualifications to those rules. Reed suggests that knowing the contours of these guides to an insurer’s early-stage duties will allow counsel for insureds and insurers to make informed recommendations to their respective clients about how to resolve conflicts over early-stage costs and settlements.
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January 27, 2020 |
Practice News
The Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) has announced the names of eight law student interns who will work at public interest law agencies in Chicago during the spring semester. School-year Interns work 200 hours part-time during the semester with PILI providing a living stipend, as well as ensuring quality supervision by experienced attorneys and providing extra educational, networking and advising opportunities.
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The Illinois Supreme Court handed down eight opinions on Friday, January 24. Full summaries of the opinions are available below.
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Join us from 8:55 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30 in Chicago or via live webcast to increase your understanding of current and ongoing state, local, and property tax issues with this informative half-day program. Attorneys with intermediate practice experience who attend this seminar will better understand: current and future property tax proposals that may affect your client; the latest court and administrative agency case updates; the new sources of tax revenue and potential tax changes that are currently being explored; the interactions between the taxpayer and governmental agencies; and much more.
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The deadline to submit nominating petitions for the ISBA election is Friday, Jan. 31, at 4:30 p.m. at either the Illinois Bar Center, 424 S. 2nd St., Springfield, or the Chicago Regional Office at 20 S. Clark St., Suite 900, Chicago. Members of the ISBA will elect a third vice president, two Board of Governors seats in Cook County, and 21 seats for Cook County Assembly. One board seat is open in each of the following Areas: Area 3 (Circuits 12, 13, 16, 21, and 23), Area 4 (Circuits 10, 14 and 15), Under Age 37 – Cook County, and Under Age 37 Outside Cook County (Circuits 1-23).
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January 21, 2020 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Leslie D. Davis of Chicago to serve as a member of the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (A.R.D.C.) Review Board effective Jan. 10 and expiring on Dec. 31, 2021. The A.R.D.C. is the Supreme Court agency that investigates and prosecutes allegations of lawyer wrongdoing in Illinois. Davis is a partner in the Chicago office of Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP. She concentrates her practice in commercial litigation, including product liability, employment counseling, and insurance litigation. She has led numerous arbitrations and chaired and/or co-chaired many cases to verdict for Fortune 500 companies in state and federal court.
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The question facing Illinois courts interpreting the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) has been how best to interpret the meaning of “aggrieved.” Was an individual aggrieved if the defendant violated the statute or did the individual need to have sustained “some actual injury or harm, apart from the statutory violation itself, in order to sue under the Act”? Illinois appellate courts had reached conflicting decisions on this question, but on Jan. 25, 2019, the Illinois Supreme Court resolved this split and held, in Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entertainment Corp., that a person is aggrieved in the legal sense “when a legal right is invaded by the act complained of ….” In his January 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Still a Wild Ride,” Charles N. Insler, a partner in the St. Louis office of HeplerBroom LLC, where he concentrates on complex commercial litigation matters, follows BIPA litigation developments after Rosenbach.
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January 21, 2020 |
Events | ISBA News
Volunteers are needed for the 2020 ISBA High School Mock Trial Invitational, which will be held March 14-15 at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign-Urbana. This program provides an opportunity for students to learn what it is like to prepare and present a legal case before the Illinois courts. Participating students gain a better understanding of the justice system and improve their knowledge, skills, and ability to articulate in a reasoned, thoughtful manner.
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Join us from 8:55 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7 in Chicago for the 2020 Federal Tax Conference. Increase your understanding of federal taxation in this full-day seminar, including how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was implemented in 2019, how the treasury has interpreted the Act, and what guidance is still needed. Attorneys with intermediate practice experience who attend this seminar will better understand: the regulatory updates for individuals that you need to be aware of; the recent changes to estate and gift tax law; the significant legal developments in 2019 affecting corporate and partnership taxes; the various ethical issues facing Illinois tax attorneys; the unique tax considerations for cryptocurrencies; and the options your clients have when they are unable to pay their tax liabilities.
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The Illinois Supreme Court announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on Jan. 17, 2020. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.