Bench & Bar

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Bench & Bar Section

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January 2025 • Volume 55 • Number 4 •

January 2025 Bench and Bar Newsletter

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In This Issue

The Most Important Thing You Can Bring to Court

By Judge Brian Weinthal

An administrative law judge shares insight on how attorneys can avoid losing credibility when appearing before a finder-of-fact.

David C. Marcus: The Unsung Civil Rights Hero

By Hon. Jesse G. Reyes

A civil rights lawyer who represented the Mendez family in the landmark case, Mendez v. Westminster.

Mandatory Arbitration Clause Found Unconscionable and Therefore Unenforceable in Nursing Home Contract

By Albert E. Durkin & Peter W. Buchcar

On October 11, 2024, the Illinois First District Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s decision to deny a Motion to Dismiss and Compel Arbitration, finding that mutually binding arbitration clauses or agreements in adhesion contracts that are so one-sided as to be deemed illusory can be substantively unconscionable and unenforceable, regardless of a severability provision.

Recent Appointments and Retirements

Recent changes to Illinois' judiciary.
LAWPAC Needs You!

The Illinois Lawyers’ Political Action Committee (LAWPAC) needs your help to fulfill its mission to support the legislative goals of the ISBA and Illinois’ legal community.

CLE

Family Law Update: Music City Conference 2026
October 2 to October 3 | Nashville, TN
Workers’ Compensation Update – Fall 2026
October 12 | Online
8 MORE Movie-Lawyers Who Would Be Disciplined in Real Life
October 14 | Online
Latest Developments in DUI and Traffic Laws
November 4 | Online
Trial Strategies and Criminal Law Update
November 6 | Chicago

Full CLE Calendar…

Featured Free On-Demand CLE

ISBA’s Guardian Ad Litem Training
11.25 hours MCLE credit, including 4.00 hours of PMCLE credit

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for subscribers’ personal use only; redistribution is prohibited. Copyright Illinois State Bar Association. Statements or expressions of opinion appearing herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Association or Editors, and likewise the publication of any advertisement is not to be construed as an endorsement of the product or service offered unless it is specifically stated in the ad that there is such approval or endorsement.

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