Many of us find ourselves sharing our workspaces with new “co-workers” during Illinois’ stay-at-home order. We want to see yours!

For the ISBA’s Member Appreciation Month Instagram contest, we want you to share photos of your new “coworkers” (these can either be the childlike or furry variety) for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card.

The winning Instagram post and account will be featured on the ISBA's social media channels and in The Bar News.

The ISBA has canceled the 2020 Annual Meeting due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The meeting, scheduled for June 18­–20 in St. Louis, will not be rescheduled. The officers of the ISBA made this difficult decision giving priority to the health and wellbeing of our members and staff.

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 April 2020 there were more than 400 referrals given.

Here are the results for April 2020:

This May, we're celebrating you during Member Appreciation Month. To help you meet your MCLE requirements, we're offering a second free live CLE webinar for the first 600 member registrants on May 29 from noon until 1 p.m.

Learn how limited scope representation can help you expand your practice while also addressing the growing problem of access to justice in Illinois. Join us online for this comprehensive overview of unbundled legal services – also known as limited scope representation – and how these services can benefit you, your client, and your community in a multitude of ways.

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

Applicants must demonstrate a quick analytical ability, good judgment, and superior communication and courtroom skills. Applicants must be team players who exhibit the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff, and client agencies. Applicants must have demonstrated capacity to function, with minimal guidance, in a highly demanding environment.

Applicants will be expected to do their own legal research and writing and will be substantially self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings. Applicants must also demonstrate excellent computer literacy skills to include experience with automated research on the Internet, electronic court filing, and e-mail and word-processing systems.

The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), along with the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) and Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), issued the following joint press release today regarding Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Executive Order that requires Illinois residents to continue to shelter in place.

Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona has announced that it is providing free wills for first responders in the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"As part of the Illinois and Wisconsin business communities, we recognize the profound damage COVID-19 has caused for the health and livelihood of those who live and work in this region," the firm said in a statement. "Our firm has greatly treasured the commitment of doctors, nurses, medical assistants, and police and fire personnel during the pandemic."

Join us online from 12:55 until 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 28 for an in-depth look at the legal issues facing the transgender community and how you can help engage the legal system in representing this group of clients.

Attorneys with all levels of practice experience who are interested in learning and expanding their knowledge in this area and who attend this seminar will better understand: the issues facing transgenders when securing medical treatment, procedures, and/or benefits; the pending class action litigation (Monroe v. Baldwin) regarding transgender prisoners who are not receiving adequate medical treatment for gender dysphoria; the multiple legal issues facing the transgender community in the workplace; the cases currently pending before the Illinois Supreme Court concerting employment rights for transgender employees; and much more.

The legal profession is, out of necessity, practicality, or sometimes sheer stubbornness, notoriously backward looking. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, therefore, to realize that lawyers, judges, and the American legal system were largely unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic. We’re not unique in that, as most Americans seem taken aback by the virus. In many jurisdictions, court dockets have slowed or halted. But that hasn’t stopped the remainder of an attorney’s work from moving forward. Deadlines must be met, motions must be drafted, discovery must be served, and rulings must be issued. In his May Illinois Bar Journal article, “Law in the Time of COVID-19: Looking Backward While Moving Forward,” Brad Taylor asks how does a practitioner fulfill his or her myriad professional responsibilities while self-quarantining, practicing social distancing, and occasionally grappling with masses of frenzied, toilet-paper-obsessed shoppers? Not easily, Taylor says, and not without changing the way we perceive, at least in the short term, how legal professionals perform their roles.

Enter the ISBA’s Member Appreciation Month Facebook contest for your chance to win a $100 Visa gift card.

The winner’s name will be announced on the ISBA's Facebook page and in The Bar News.

To enter, simply like and comment on our Facebook Contest graphic posted today. A winner will be selected at random.