Join us online from 11 a.m. until noon on Wednesday, Dec. 4 to gain a better understanding of the range and scope of bias in the legal profession, how it affects hiring, evaluation, and selection of leaders, as well as the actions needed to integrate diversity and inclusion in the law office and in the larger community.

Topics include: nationwide law firm studies and surveys; how bias is both explicit and implicit; how unequal gender distribution in certain roles creates implicit associations; how evaluation of a work product can be negatively influenced by the worker’s race and/or gender; the connection between implicit bias and subtle negative messaging; the importance of being open to the existence and influence of cognitive biases; and how to use training, reverse mentoring, accountability, and other activities to integrate diversity and inclusion in both the law office and the community.

Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court justices welcomed 1,459 new attorneys to the legal profession on Nov. 7 during admissions ceremonies held at five different locations across the state. 

ISBA staff members were in attendance at all five ceremonies to welcome the state's newest attorneys to the profession, take photos, and talk about the benefits of ISBA membership, which is free for one year for new admittees. Member benefits can be activated by filling out the New Admittee Membership Form. 

All of those who were sworn in have passed the Illinois State Bar Examination and a required ethics examination and were certified by the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness. They bring the total number of Illinois-licensed attorneys to approximately 96,500.

The Illinois Bar Foundation will honor Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education Executive Director Michael J. Rooney and Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis with the 2019 Distinguished Service to Law & Society Awards at the annual Fellows Breakfast on Friday, Dec. 6 at the Westin O'Hare in Rosemont. Allen N. Schwartz of Kralovec, Jambois & Schwartz will receive the 2019 Honorary Fellow Award.

The deadline for making lodging reservations for the 2019 Joint Midyear Meeting is before 5 p.m. on Nov. 10. Reservations received after this date will be subject to availability.

To make reservations, please contact the Westin O'Hare directly at 888.627.8517 and be sure to identify yourself as an ISBA Joint Midyear Meeting attendee.

The Joint Midyear Meeting, hosted by the Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association, will be held Dec. 5-7, 2019, at the Westin O'Hare in Rosemont. The online registration deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 27.

The Nominating Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County today announced its selection of the 30 candidates who will seek appointment to 15 associate judge vacancies by a vote of the circuit judges. All of the candidates received across-the-board positive ratings from the bar associations.

The nominating committee employed a comprehensive approach in the nomination process that considered multiple aspects such as a variety of legal experience in the public and private sectors, and diversity of race, ethnicity and gender.

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 October 2019 there were more than 800 referrals given.

Here are the results for October 2019: