Justice Rita B. Garman of the Supreme Court of Illinois has begun an application process for a Resident Circuit Court vacancy in the Sixth Judicial Circuit.
The vacancy will be created by the retirement of Chief Judge Dan L. Flannell on January 13, 2017. Judge Flannell has been a Resident Circuit Judge since 1988.
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursdays's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the criminal case People v. McDonald and the civil cases Schweihs v. Chase Home Finance, LLC and In re M.I.
By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender
Defendant Stanley McDonald stabbed his partner, Larry Gladney, resulting in Gladney’s death. A paramedic who had responded to the scene testified that Gladney was very combative as they tried to treat him. Gladney smelled of alcohol and had needle track marks indicative of drug use. Later testing showed a BAC of .19 and cocaine in Gladney’s system. Gladney died two days later, with the cause being a stroke resulting from a stab wound to his right cheek which had damaged his carotid artery and caused a blood clot.
At its December 10 meeting, the ISBA Assembly approved the recommendations of the ISBA Task Force on the Future of Legal Services, voted to support adoption of the Uniform Bar Exam in Illinois, and endorsed legislation and an ethics rule change to expressly authorize collaborative process. The Assembly also voted to oppose adoption of ABA Model Rule 8.4(g), an anti-discrimination provision that critics regard as too subjective.
Futures report. The futures task force grew out of concern about the creation of court-licensed nonlawyer legal service providers, also know as LLLTs, in Washington state (for more, see the September 2015 Illinois Bar Journal cover story). The task force recommends against the adoption of an LLLT program in Illinois.
The group also studied broader challenges to the profession, including the rise of internet-based legal service providers, the impact of technology on legal practice, and the increasing number of self-represented litigants. The task force recommends that the ISBA create a consumer-oriented lawyer directory, provide technology and practice-management education and resources to members, and establish a standing committee on the future of legal services, among other measures. The report and recommendations will be the subject of the January 2017 Illinois Bar Journal cover story.
Ian Sharping of the City Colleges of Chicago discusses the benefits and challenges of pro bono work.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. Our firm is a 14-attorney general practice firm located in Dayton, Ohio. Two of our attorneys focus their practice on personal injury defense and the others are transactional attorneys. While the practice is doing well overall, our litigation work is dropping off. I would appreciate any ideas that you have pertaining to marketing a litigation defense practice.
By Susan L. DeCostanza | Director, Guardian ad litem for Adults Program
You may not have realized that you can visit an elder in your community and log pro bono hours at the same time, but you can. And the need for both is great! In Cook County, when a petition for guardianship of an adult is filed, the court will appoint a Guardian ad litem to complete an investigation in all cases in which the Respondent will not appear in court. The Guardian ad litem visits the Respondent at his or her residence, interviews the Respondent and ultimately reports back to the court regarding the results of the GAL investigation.
Learn how to write better non-disclosure agreements and safeguard your clients’ confidential information! Non-disclosure agreements are used in a wide variety of contexts, including corporate negotiations, intellectual property transactions, and the employment cases, to name a few. A strongly-drafted non-disclosure agreement can better position clients for protecting and enforcing their rights. Join us via the Internet on January 18, 2017 for a basic to intermediate look at: how to avoid the potential pitfalls that could erode the purpose of the non-disclosure agreement; the recent cases that provide best practice lessons for drafting these agreements; why non-disclosure agreements are needed; the decision to make the agreement unilateral or mutual; how to define confidential information; how to draft ownership and work product clauses; how to craft a legal remedy for a breach of agreement; and much more!’
