ISBA members:

The health and wellbeing of our members are always paramount concerns. In keeping with this important priority, we have decided to once again hold the ISBA Annual Meeting virtually. The 145th Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, June 25, 2021. The Annual Meeting will include the organizational meeting of the Board of Governors and a meeting of the Assembly. Both meetings will be conducted by Zoom. ISBA section councils and committees will be holding their organizational meetings via Zoom in the months of June and July.  

Law Bulletin MediaTM announced today that it has appointed Peter V. Mierzwa as president, effective immediately. Mierzwa becomes the 10th president in the company’s 166-year history, following Mike Kramer, who passed away in December.

Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. (ATG®) announces it has signed a definitive agreement to sell the business of its subsidiary, ATG Trust Company, to Midland Trust Company (MTC), a subsidiary of Midland States Bancorp, Inc., of Effingham.

The ISBA’s Women & the Law Committee will celebrate International Women’s Day virtually this year on March 8.

This year’s event will feature a panel women judges who will discuss the role of women judges and attorneys in combating racism and sexism.

Since 2013, ISBA members have received free on-demand CLE (sponsored by ISBA Mutual) that enables them to satisfy all MCLE requirements. Currently, ISBA provides over 600 hours of On-Demand CLE programming in a wide array of topics that are relevant to virtually every ISBA member. This benefit results from the tireless efforts of many dedicated ISBA volunteer CLE program coordinators working with the ISBA staff who plan and produce programs presented by our sections and committees. We proudly recognize those coordinators responsible for CLE programs presented throughout fall 2020. Please join us as we thank them for all they do to enhance the profession!

The Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) has been chosen as one of 80 inaugural grant recipients for the Illinois’ Restore, Reinvest, Renew (R3) Program. Through this grant of $29,805, PILI will bring more pro bono legal services to low-income people in Southern Illinois.

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 January 2021 there were more than 500 referrals given.

Here are the results for January 2021:

After more than four decades of practice in estate planning, estate administration, and real estate law, Gary Gehlbach (also, a member of the Illinois Bar Journal Editorial Board) shares a plethora of tips he has accrued over the years and that came to him during restless nights and in half-conscious streams, usually around 5 a.m. The 17 tips--all easily digestible and highly practical--include “address all contingencies,” “don’t use a legal life estate,” “avoid absolutes,” and “consider potential beneficiaries with special needs.” With nearly every tip, Gehlbach provides good reasons for it and an example or two from his practice.   

There are a number of reasons why you might be considering starting your own law firm—from a desire to have more freedom and independence to take the cases you want, to an unwanted downsizing with your current law firm. Regardless of the why behind your decision, it’s the how that’s most important. Join us for this two-part series that gives you all the information you need to ensure that your decision to branch out on your own will be successful.

The Illinois Supreme Court issued one opinion on Thursday, February 4. In Rehfield v. Diocese of Joliet, the Supreme Court held that a fired Catholic principal can't sue the school for her termination because the diocese’s actions are protected by constitutional religious freedom guarantees.