A lawyer on a Zoom videoconference with other attorneys has to take a phone call during the meeting. But he forgets to press mute as he begins to discuss details of a high-stakes negotiation with the person on the phone. Lots of arm waving from the other Zoom participants ensues, but to no avail. Also, the Zoom host had left the room, leaving no one with the power to mute the attorney. Did the loquacious lawyer breach his duties to his client? What were the duties, if any, of the innocent lawyer-bystanders who were now in possession of very significant information? What about the opposing party in the real estate transaction, were she to be presented with this information? In his April Illinois Bar Journal ethics column, “No, I Am Not a Cat,” Illinois State Bar Association General Counsel Charles Northrup examines this situation—a new twist on the old “errant fax” issue made more unique by now-widely used technology.

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the Illinois Supreme Court opinion handed down Wednesday, April 21. In Elam v. The Municipal Officers Electoral Board for the Village of Riverdale, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Municipal Officers Electoral Board for the Village of Riverdale invalidating a candidate’s eligibility to run for village trustee in the general election because of invalid signatures on his nominating petition.

Giving your clients the ability to pay for your services online is a simple, secure, and proven way to get money in the door and boost your firm's bottom line.

Right now, our member benefit partners at LawPay have a limited-time offer for ISBA members that's ending soon. Sign up by April 30 and receive a $100 processing credit plus three months no monthly fee.

On September 13, 2020, Alec Mills of the Chicago Cubs found himself pitching a no-hitter game. Although it was a tense time for the pitcher, he knew that the unwritten rules of baseball would prevent any ninth-inning batter from bunting the ball and ruining his chance to make baseball history.

Unfortunately, the same sense of professionalism and civility are oftentimes lacking within the legal community, even though these traits are the mainstays of our profession and the foundation upon which lawyers practice law.

Voting is now underway in the 2021 ISBA Election. 

Ballots for the ISBA Election were distributed March 29 by our election provider Election America.  All members of the Association (except non-lawyer members) with dues paid by March 1, 2021 are eligible to vote. 

The deadline for voting is April 30, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. The canvass of the Election will be available on or before May 7, 2021.

The ISBA president elect will appoint a member to one of the underrepresented seats of the Board of Governors at the May 2021 board meeting. The member appointed to this position will serve with full board member privileges for a three-year term beginning the first day of the 2021 Annual Meeting.

While cash bail may be going away in Illinois, other pretrial release requirements remain. In his April Illinois Bar Journal article, “What Is So Special About a Bond Review?,” Jarrad Woodson reinforces why a bond review may set the tone and control pressure points of your client’s case from the very beginning. If your clients cannot afford their bail, or if bail is denied, the burden of getting them out of custody will always be present. Even if your client is waiting the case out from home, the conditions of bond could be so oppressive they make your client a prisoner there as well. Therefore, arguing effectively at the bond review stage is crucial. Your client already went through bond court, so why ask for a bond review? Ideally, Woodson notes, officials at the bond-court level do their best to work together for a fair initial bond, but sometimes this does not happen. The bond court churns and turns cases quickly. Important information about a defendant can get misplaced. This is where the beauty of bond reviews come in: You get another chance.

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the five Illinois Supreme Court opinions handed down Thursday, April 15.

The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For the month of March 2021 there were more than 600 referrals given.

Here are the results for March 2021:

Voting is now underway in the 2021 ISBA Election. The last day to request a paper ballot is April 15, 2021.

ISBA's election provider Election America emailed e-ballots to members with valid email addresses on March 29. All members of the Association (except non-lawyer members) with dues paid by March 1, 2021 are eligible to vote. The deadline for voting is April 30, 2021 at 4:30 p.m.