What should you do if your counterpart calls you “honey” or “sweetie”? How should you deal with a colleague who has a reputation for treating women (or men) in a demeaning way? While many CLE programs praise the value of diversity and inclusion, this program will help you do something to change the status quo in your negotiations as attorneys. Join us online from noon until 1 p.m. on Friday, May 8 to examine your techniques for unconscious bias and learn ways to make the profession more inclusive by countering the gender biases that may be negatively impacting your negotiations.

In times of crisis, people come together in numerous ways. One is by sharing stories. The ISBA's publications team is interested in your coronavirus experience-whether funny, sad, inspiring, or eye-awakening. Submit your coronavirus story and we will select standouts to run in ISBA publications, including the Illinois Bar Journal's May 2020 issue. A story can pertain to your personal life or your law practice, as long as the coronavirus plays a central role in the telling. 

A notice of appeal is a very simple pleading and in most instances may be as short as one page. All that is required for a notice of appeal to be effective is that it be timely filed, name the party who is appealing, specify the judgment or parts of the judgment being appealed, and describe what relief the party appealing is seeking from the Illinois Appellate Court. However, as past ISBA President  J. Timothy Eaton notes in his April Illinois Bar Journal article, “The Timely and Properly Filed Notice of Appeal,” its simplicity should not overshadow its importance. Many appeals have been lost before they could be heard on the merits, Eaton writes, because the appellate court lacked jurisdiction. The appellate court’s jurisdiction is dependent upon a proper notice of appeal being timely filed. Without it, only extraordinary remedies by the Illinois Supreme Court can save the appeal. Eaton, partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Chicago, walks through the ins and outs of a notice of appeal properly and timely filed.

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down two opinions on Thursday, April 2. In People v. Brown, the Supreme Court found that a circuit court unnecessarily reached a constitutional issue in its determination that requiring someone to have a FOID card for an in-home weapon is unconstitutional. In Crim v. Dietrich, the Court addressed post-trial motions and remanded for a new trial de novo on only the issue raised in the post-trial motion.

The U.S. Attorney's Office Northern District of Illinois is accepting applications for an assistant United States attorney opening in its Criminal Division.

The applicant selected will represent the U.S. Government as an AUSA in a wide range of unique and complex cases. 

The Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), Chicago is seeking a Consolidated Legal Center (CLC) attorney advisor.

The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Pretrial Practices (Commission) has released its final report concerning pretrial reform in the Illinois criminal justice system.

The ISBA knows that these are uncertain times. With the governor’s stay-at-home order extended until the end of April, it’s more important now than ever that we stay connected.

The ISBA is asking interested members to submit video clips of themselves offering other attorneys advice during the COVID-19 pandemic. That can be professional advice, personal advice, or even tips for maintaining a work-life balance with the entire family at home.

Join us  via live webinar from noon until 1 p.m. on Friday, May 1 for Virtual Magic: Making Great Presentations Online (via Webinar from Your Home or Office). Given the new reality of social distancing and working from home, online presentations have become a daily necessity. However, if you approach a virtual presentation or online CLE program the same way you do an in-person talk, your chances of success will be limited. The good news is that a great remote presentation is relatively easy to create and deliver if you understand the dynamics of online audiences. Get the tools you need to connect with and influence others when you can’t be there in person. Attorneys who attend this online seminar will better understand: how to avoid the five common mistakes that derail most virtual presentation; how to incorporate proven strategies to keep your remote audiences engaged; and how to increase the effectiveness of your remote presentations and CLE webinars.

Hackers break into digital homes by exploiting weaknesses. Those knowledgeable about passwords say attorneys need to make sure their passwords are sufficiently strong, consider two-factor authentication and other additional defenses, and explore the possibility of using a password manager to create and store their digital keys. “You have to start with what your passwords are intended to provide—security,” Chad Beckett, of the Beckett Law Office in Urbana and Tuscola and chair of the ISBA Standing Committee on Legal Technology, tells the Illinois Bar Journal in its April 2020 feature article, “Getting Real About Passwords.” In the article, Beckett and other tech-savvy professionals share expert advice on creating secure passwords, how to manage them all, and why it’s essential that attorneys use strong passwords.