Illinois Supreme Court Assigns Hon. Margaret Mullen to Second District Appellate Court

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Celeste Antoinette Niemann

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the assignment of Judge Margaret J. Mullen, Ret. to the 2nd District Appellate Court. Judge Mullen is being assigned to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Donald C. Hudson on April 11, 2023. The assignment is effective May 11, 2023, and will continue until June 1, 2027, or until further order of the Court. 

When Not To Bypass Passive Voice

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Celeste Antoinette Niemann

First District Illinois Appellate Court Justice Michael B. Hyman says this about the passive voice in his Judging Your Writing column in the May Illinois Bar Journal: “An abundance of passive sentences tends to force the reader to work harder to understand what is being said. Think statutes, rules, and regulations. They usually read as if composed by a committee of theoretical physicists whose native tongue is German. Yet, while junior to active, passive has an indispensable role in writing that essentially goes unnoticed.”

ISBA Releases Judicial Advisory Poll Results for the 2023 Reappointment of Associate Judges

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Celeste Antoinette Niemann

Associate judges are subject to reappointment every four years. The reappointment is accomplished through the casting of secret ballots by circuit court judges in their circuit. Successful candidates receive votes that tally three-fifths (60%) or greater in favor of their reappointment. Voting concludes prior to the beginning of the new associate judge terms. The new term of office for each reappointed associate judge will begin on July 1, 2023, and terminate on June 30, 2024.

Creating and Managing Your Firm’s Budget

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Celeste Antoinette Niemann

In the Illinois Bar Journal’s May cover story, “Creating and Managing Your Firm’s Budget,” Jeffrey Krause, attorney and senior consultant with Affinity Consulting Group, says “too many firms—too many households for that matter—they create a budget as this thing that they want to do, and then never follow through on it. They don’t actually make it a working document that they have to use in their business. You have to refer to it all the time—and stick to it. If you’re not looking at it to see whether you’re on track, you’re probably off track. It sounds so common sense, but if you don’t look at it until next year, that doesn’t accomplish anything.”