ISBA President Hon. Russell W. Hartigan (ret.) served as keynote speaker for the LaSalle County Bar Association’s Annual Law Day Dinner on May 3 at Senica’s Deer Park Golf Club in Oglesby.

Hartigan discussed his ties to the Illinois Valley and ISBA member benefits, including Fastcase, free CLE, and the Lawyers’ Assistance Program.

Law Day, which is held on May 1 every year, began in 1958 through a proclamation by President Dwight Eisenhower. It is a day when Americans celebrate their liberties and appreciate the ideals of equality and justice under the law. 

The restaurant industry is the nation’s second-largest private sector employer with a workforce that exceeds 14 million people. An industry of this magnitude inevitably faces a wide range of legal issues, making it important for you to stay abreast of the concerns that are unique to this type of business.

Lisa M. Nyuli, partner at Ariano Hardy Ritt Nyuli Richmond Lytle & Goettel P.C., discusses how to plan for when a practicing attorney with your firm becomes disabled or dies.

Nearly two dozen volunteer attorneys helped answer hundreds of questions that came in by phone and e-mail at the 37th Annual Ask A Lawyer Day on April 28 in Springfield and Chicago. Attorneys were qualified to answer questions on more than 30 areas of law, and the majority of the questions fielded were about domestic/family, personal injury, and estates. The calls helped members of the public resolve their legal issues with additional information or gave them the next steps toward resolving those issues, such as a lawyer referral. 

Asked and Answered 

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

Q. I am the owner of a solo real estate practice in Merced, California. I have two staff members that work for me. I am the only attorney in the firm. I am sixty years old. While I am concerned about the long-term exit from the practice, I am also concerned about office coverage in case something would happen to me in the short term. I appreciate any recommendations that you may have.

The election of Anna Krolikowska as ISBA third vice-president created a vacancy for the Under 37 Cook County seat on the Board of Governors.

Additionally, there is a vacancy on the Board of Governors in Area 4 (Circuits 10, 14, and 15).

The Board will fill the vacant positions at its July 20, 2018 meeting. Both terms will be for one year and begin immediately. Any member who wishes to be considered as a candidate should email a letter of interest and a current biographical statement to the Executive Director’s office at kweaver@isba.org by July 6, 2018.

New attorneys will be admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday, May 10, with Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court justices presiding and administering the attorney's oath to 401 new attorneys at five separate locations across the state. 

All of the candidates set to be 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 will bring the total number of licensed attorneys in Illinois to approximately 96,500.

The largest group, 275, will be admitted in the First Judicial District during three ceremonies at the James R. Thompson Center Assembly Hall, located at 100 W. Randolph St., in Chicago. The ceremonies will be at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 2:30 p.m. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke will preside over the 9 a.m. ceremony, Illinois Appellate Justice Cynthia Y. Cobbs will preside over the 11:30 a.m. ceremony, and Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis will preside over the 2:30 p.m. ceremony.  

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 2018 there were more than 1,000 referrals given.

Here are the results for April 2018:

We've partnered with ISBA Mutual Insurance Company to bring back pro photographer Kari Bedford for one day of free business portrait sittings for 84 lucky members.