The Public Servant

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Standing Committee on Government Lawyers

2015 Articles

2015 Ethics Extravaganza—Another well-received CLE production By Mike Jadron April 2015 The Ethics Extravaganza, held on March 6, 2015, provided an interactive experience focusing on ethical issues encountered by the governmental lawyer.
Beware the errata sheet! By Kevin Lovellette & Summer Hallaj April 2015 A hypothetical scenario that illustrates the type of situation in which a government lawyer may find himself or herself when an opposing party seeks to retrospectively alter the substance of a witness’ original deposition testimony.
Committee on Government Lawyers co-sponsors “Human Trafficking and the Commercial Exploitation of Children” seminar By Eileen M. Geary April 2015 A summary of this popular program held in October 2014.
The first Roz Kaplan Award By Karen Dimond September 2015 Kate Kelly is the recipient of the very first Roz Kaplan Award.
From the Chair By Marylou Lowder Kent September 2015 A message from Committee Chair Marylou Lowder Kent.
From the Chair By Kevin Lovellette June 2015 A recap of the Committee's work this past year from Chair Kevin Lovellette.
Legislative summary of the 99th General Assembly September 2015 A summary of Public Acts 99-001 through 99-100, which may be of interest to the government bar.
An overview of Illinois’ pregnancy fairness laws By Justin L. Leinenweber April 2015 As of January 1, 2015, new provisions in Illinois law establish that pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy or child birth are now protected under the Illinois Human Rights Act.
Stone Street Partners v. City of Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings—Non-lawyers cannot represent corporations at administrative hearings By Patrick T. Driscoll, Jr. (Ret.) April 2015 The Appellate Court of Illinois, in Stone Street Partners, LLC v. City of Chicago Dept. of Administrative Hearings, reviewed the issues of notice to corporations of municipal code violations and the propriety of non-lawyers appearing on behalf of a corporation at a municipal administrative hearing.
Time to rethink absolute prosecutorial discretion? By Evan Bruno June 2015 Prosecutors should never lose sight of their sacred duty to do the right thing. This applies not only to prosecuting criminals, but also— perhaps even more so—deciding whether to prosecute in the first place.
When the term “shall” is directory: The Illinois Supreme Court reinforces the presumption that statutory language that issues a procedural command to a government official is directory, rather than mandatory By Barbara Goeben June 2015 In light of these decisions, a trial court litigator must consider prejudice when arguing about a procedural violation of a statute. Further, appellate attorneys should also consider this precedent in defending an alleged procedural violation by a governmental official.