Chief Justice Anne M. Burke and the Illinois Supreme Court announced today amendments to Rule 11 and Rule 371 which alter the manner of serving certain legal documents and how a rule on confidential records is applied.
Illinois Rule of Evidence 103 provides the roadmap for preserving evidentiary issues for appeal. The rule’s language, which may seem fairly straightforward, must be read in light of a mountain of caselaw that contains additional requirements and nuances that the trial lawyer should understand to avoid losing the chance to challenge a court’s evidentiary rulings on appeal. Don’t miss this in-depth look at practical trial techniques to lay the groundwork for successfully appealing trial court evidentiary rulings and avoid the most common difficulties encountered in evidence appeals.
At its meeting on June 25, 2021, the Board of Governors will fill the following vacancy:
Under 37 – Outside Cook County
Members who fill vacancies must have their designated ISBA address in the appropriate Board electoral area. Candidates for this vacancy must be under the age of 37 on June 25, 2021. By bylaw, the term of this Under 37 seat will be for one year (ending at the Annual Meeting 2022). This seat will be filled for a full three-year term by election during the regular 2021/2022 election cycle.
The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) fully agrees with the Illinois Supreme Court’s well-reasoned decision to temporarily pause the implementation of the legislatively enacted judicial redistricting plan in order for the Court to faithfully execute the plan. The efficient and orderly administration of justice is of the utmost importance to the ISBA and its members. While we recognize that judicial redistricting is a legislative act properly carried out by the General Assembly, our Supreme Court nonetheless retains administrative and supervisory authority over all courts in Illinois. The piece of legislation creating Illinois’ new judicial districts (Public Act 102-0011) will necessitate substantial changes to the filing of appeals and the administration of justice. As the Court noted in its Order issued this morning, the legislation will require “updates to e-filing and case management systems software, redistribution of staffing and judicial resources, and training of judicial stakeholders and education of the public and members of the bar.” On behalf of the ISBA, I applaud our Supreme Court’s leadership and foresight in recognizing that the changes necessitated by this legislation must be properly and thoughtfully implemented in order to ensure the efficient and orderly administration of our justice system.
A renewed and intense focus is being placed on environmental justice with the intent that these concepts must have a true impact on regulation, permitting, and enforcement. Join us on June 23 for this online program that explores what private practitioners have experienced while working with environmental justice considerations in the past, as well as what they anticipate given the renewed emphasis. Agricultural attorneys, cannabis law counsel, environmental lawyers, new attorneys, and general practitioners with all levels of practice experience will gain a better understanding of both the state and federal governments’ perspective and developments in environmental justice at both levels of government.
The Illinois Supreme Court today issued an order pausing the implementation of the 2021 judicial redistricting.
As of late April 2021, more than 50 percent of adults in the U.S. had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This is welcomed progress, but the pandemic is not going away yet. In fact, the vaccination campaign may get more challenging as it now has to reach people who are more hesitant to take vaccines, writes Craig Colbrook, legislative counsel for the Illinois Office of Comptroller, in his July Illinois Bar Journal article, “Finding a ‘New Normal’ With COVID-19 Vaccines.” Employers—and the attorneys who represent them—can play an important role here, Colbrook suggests. If they properly respond to the vaccines, then they can protect their employees, return to a safe and productive workplace, and help the country end the pandemic. But there are risks, too. Colbrook explores the legal exposure that employers face regarding employee vaccination and lays out three options employers can take: 1) requiring employees to take a COVID-19 vaccine; 2) incentivizing employees to be vaccinated; or 3) encouraging employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
The past year has tested our health, patience, and resolve. So, why not blow off some steam by entering the Illinois Bar Journal’s Creative Writing Contest?
Send us your poems, short stories, creative essays, or other forms of written expression capturing the essence of lawyering during the COVID-19 pandemic and we’ll pick a finalist who will receive a gift card and whose winning submission will be printed in an upcoming issue of the Illinois Bar Journal.
The rules are simple:
This is part three of a three-part video series on the Illinois Supreme Court’s remote access policy and e-filing developments, presented by the ISBA’s Standing Committee on Legal Technology.
The Illinois Supreme Court is seeking an experienced attorney to serve as the court's clerk.
The clerk of the Supreme Court is an officer appointed by the Court (Ill. Const. 1970, Art. VI, § 18 (a)), reports to the court, and serves at the court’s pleasure. This senior level position is the court’s principal case processing and records manager who operates the clerk’s main office in Springfield and a satellite office in Chicago through a staff of 13 deputies whom the clerk recruits, selects, trains, and supervises. The clerk is also responsible for planning, developing, and implementing policies and procedures necessary to execute the responsibilities of the office.