The U.S. Attorney's Office Northern District of Illinois is accepting applications for assistant United States attorney openings in its Civil Division in Rockford.

Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least two years post-J.D. legal experience. U.S. citizenship is required.

Preferred qualifications include excellent academics, significant litigation experience, civil law experience, strong legal writing skills, and a demonstrated commitment to public service.

A recently-amended Illinois Supreme Court Rule requires the following language to be added to all civil summons:

“E-filing is now mandatory for documents in civil cases with limited exemptions. To e-file, you must first create an account with an e-filing service provider. Visit https://efile.illinoiscourts.gov/service-providers.htm to learn more and to select a service provider. If you need additional help or have trouble e-filing, visit http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/FAQ/gethelp.asp or talk with your local circuit clerk's office.”

The language, "or talk with your local circuit clerk's office" was added to the Rule on July 19. The amended Rule takes effect immediately. 

Asked and Answered 

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I started my firm as a solo practitioner nine years ago in New Orleans. My practice focuses on maritime defense litigation. Over the years I have added associates and currently I have six associates working for me. I am overwhelmed with work – from the legal work that I am doing in addition to business development and firm administration. My thought is that I should consider restructuring the firm by making some of my associates partners so I can offload and share some of the administrative responsibilities. I would like your thoughts. What are other firms in my situation doing?

The Illinois Bar Foundation (IBF) has announced the recipients of its “Access to Justice” grants, which will be distributed to nonprofit legal aid organizations statewide.

The 2018 Illinois Bar Foundation grant recipients are as follows:

Pinckneyville Police Officer James Holder received a Law Enforcement Award from the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) on July 17 during a Pinckneyville Police Pension Board meeting. ISBA 2nd Vice President Dennis Orsey presented the award.

The Law Enforcement Award recognizes sworn law enforcement officers for conduct that promotes justice and to distinguish those individuals whose service to the public brings honor and respect to the entire criminal justice system. 

Northern Illinois University law students will soon have another opportunity to gain valuable real-world experience when they represent prisoners in federal court this fall.

The NIU College of Law and the P. Michael Mahoney (Rockford) Chapter of the Federal Bar Association recently announced their partnership and launch of the Prisoners’ Rights Program.

Illinois is one of only 10 states that do not define "reasonable doubt" for juries.

Illinois courts have a well-established precedent to refrain from defining for juries what "beyond a reasonable doubt" means. The principle also is baked into the Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions-Criminal, which informs trial courts to not provide a definition instruction, stating: "reasonable doubt is a term which needs no elaboration and we have so frequently discussed the futility of attempting to define it that we might expect the practice to be discontinued." 

Richard Zuckerman, a former member of the ISBA Board of Governors and a long-standing, active member of the ISBA Family Law Section, was installed as president of the Peoria County Bar Association on July 9, 2018. Pictured at the ceremony are ISBA 3rd Vice President Anna Krolikowska, Mr. Zuckerman, Peoria County Bar Association Immediate Past President Michele Miller, ISBA 2nd Vice President Dennis Orsey, ISBA President Elect David Sosin, and ISBA President James McCluskey.

The legal practice at the Administrative United States Penitentiary, located in Thomson, Ill., is seeking a senior Consolidated Legal Center (CLC) attorney. 

Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least one year post-J.D. legal experience. 

Prior experience in correctional law is desired though not required.