Join us from noon until 1 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21 for "Workers’ Compensation and COVID-19 Rebuttable Presumption." Come ready with questions as we have a lively discussion with a respondent’s and petitioner’s attorney about the new law providing a rebuttable presumption of compensability under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act for a COVID-19 diagnosis. The panel will debate the new law’s effectiveness and strategy for handling a COVID-19 claim. The panelists will also discuss the impact on non-COVID-19 cases and whether a different remedy exists outside of workers’ compensation.

The Illinois State Bar Association is inviting members to submit articles for publication in the Illinois Bar Journal (IBJ), our award-winning monthly publication that is sent to 28,000 attorneys throughout the state.

When you become an author for the IBJ, you not only establish yourself as an authoritative subject matter expert, but you can also claim CLE credit for your work.

Child custody laws, driving with cannabis in one’s system, probating wills and estates—state laws addressing these and many other matters are often crafted with feedback from the ISBA, whose members have a seat at the legislative table because of their ISBA section involvement and the Association’s legislative affairs program. It is often said that the Association’s dozens of sections (and its special committees and task forces) represent its beating heart. Most of the ISBA’s networking, continuing legal education, and legislative involvement take place through these specialized groups. The October Illinois Bar Journal devotes its cover story to the tactics and strategies of the ISBA’s rigorous, hands-on legislative affairs program in which ISBA members are given an opportunity to shape the bills that often end up on the governor’s desk.

Campaign season for the 2021 Illinois State Bar Association election began October 1, for open leadership seats of third vice president (outside Cook County) and one seat each for the following Board of Governors seats: Area 1 (Circuit 18), Area 6 (Circuits 7, 8, and 9), and Area 8 (Circuits 3 and 20). There is also one Board of Governors seat in Cook County. There are 26 open seats for Cook County Assembly.

Self-represented litigants in the Illinois Appellate Court face many unique challenges without adequate resources to help them through the appeals process. A new pro bono opportunity, Illinois Free Legal Answers for Civil Appeals, is now providing them with more legal assistance. Illinois Free Legal Answers for Civil Appeals was developed in partnership with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice, the American Bar Association and the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI). 

The Illinois Supreme Court today amended Rules 212, 306, 315, 316, 318, 341, 368, and 705.

The changes go into effect October 1. 

Join us from 1:30 until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7 for "Workers’ Compensation Update—Virtual Edition, Part 2." Get the information you need to protect your practice from the ethical pitfalls that can arise when representing a workers’ compensation case, the case law updates you need to effectively represent your clients, and the insight you need regarding occupational accidents in light of today’s pandemic with this information program.