Jeff Krause, partner and senior document management consultant at Affinity Consulting Group, says he’s often surprised by how many people remain unaware of everything included with Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 offers many useful apps and features beyond the traditional Office programs, he writes in his October Illinois Bar Journal Pointers From Practice HQ column, “Word and Excel Online.” “For reasons lost on me,” Krause continues, “many people refuse to even try or seem to openly dislike Word and Excel Online.

At the December 13, 2024, meeting of the ISBA Assembly, four “At-Large” Delegates to the ABA House of Delegates will be elected, two from Cook County and two from the area outside Cook County. The nominees for these positions must be members of the ISBA, in good standing, and from the appropriate area at the time the ABA term commences. The elected delegates will serve for two-year terms commencing June 2025 and will join the ISBA delegation in August at the ABA annual meeting in Toronto.

Chief Judge Diane S. Sykes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Brian Slade to a 14-year term as United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Mr. Slade succeeds Bankruptcy Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar who retired on August 30, 2024. Mr. Slade will take the oath of office and join the bankruptcy bench in Chicago on November 25, 2024. 

In coordination with Fastcase, the Illinois State Bar Association has offered a free legal research member benefit since 2006, providing access to cases, statutes, and regulations. In 2023, Fastcase merged with vLex, a global leader in legal intelligence, raising questions about the future of this essential service. But rest assured: vLex Fastcase remains committed to democratizing the law and enhancing legal research tools. This member benefit has been substantially upgraded with enhanced features, while keeping the service completely free for ISBA members.

Get the updates you need on real estate law – from the legislative changes and recent case law that may impact your client or law practice, to the importance of having a succession plan in place in the event of your death, disability, or retirement.

Organizational Summary

The Illinois Judges Association (IJA) consists of over 1250 current sitting and retired Illinois state court judges. The Association supports judicial excellence and professional development and judicial education, fosters public confidence in an independent judiciary, works to preserve the independence of the judiciary by educating the public and students, and promotes a diverse judiciary that administers justice in a fair and impartial court system.

Position Summary

The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) is proud to announce it was awarded $5,000 from the Coalition for Juvenile Justice and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to support activities related to Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM), raising awareness of the 50th Anniversary of the federal Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Act (JJDPA), and Juvenile Detention in Illinois.

 In her October 2024 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Much Ado About Little,” Katherine Hanson questions whether, as some legal scholars have claimed, that the COVID-19 pandemic may have paved the way toward extinction of the doctrine of forum non conveniens due to the technological innovations the pandemic ushered in.