State Bar Associations around the country have received numerous calls and emails regarding a fraudulent email being distributed to members purportedly informing them of a Bar Complaint.  For example, the fraudulent email could be titled in the subject line: "The Illinois State Bar Association Complaint."

If you receive one of these fraudulent emails, please do not respond or click on any attachments. Delete it immediately. These emails are NOT from the Illinois State Bar Association and may contain links to files that open malicious software. Please be aware, if you are a member of another bar, that they may have experienced this as well.

For more information on email scams, please read Too Many Phish in the Sea from the April 2015 Illinois Bar Journal.

Ball games, cookouts, pool parties and summer deals from Lenovo!

ISBA member do more, go further and never stand still. That’s why June brings a home run of instant savings on Lenovo’s award winning technologies. Now’s the time to take advantage of this month’s special offer of up to 29% off select grand slam performing Laptops, Desktops, Tablets, Accessories and More! Don’t forget to prepare for rainy days, upgrade your warranty service!

Through the ISBA Member Savings Program, you get ongoing discounts, FREE shipping on all web orders, access to energy-efficient green technologies and award-winning service.

Shop now, save and enjoy:

• Up to 29% off Lenovo Desktops
• up to 27% off Lenovo Laptops
• up to 20% off Lenovo Tablets
• up to 15% off ThinkPad Laptops and ThinkCentre Desktops

Visit: www.lenovo.com/statebar

Call: 1-800-426-7235, ext. 3577 (M-F: 9am-9pm EST, Sat: 9am-6pm EST)

Be sure to check the website often – special offers change frequently.

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers E-business fee (Senate Bill 3162), Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (2015) (House Bill 4648),  Forcible Entry and Detainer Article (Senate Bill 3166),  Supplementary proceedings (Senate Bill 2845), FOIA (House Bill 4715) and Snow and ice removal (Senate Bill 2138). More information on each bill is available below the video.

Congratulations to Brandon Hummel for winning the ISBA’s May Member Appreciation Month Member Benefits Twitter Contest.

EClips keeps you current, CLE keeps you wise, both can be had for an incredible price! Best small lawyer resource in IL.

The prize is a new 9.7" iPad Pro. These were the instructions: In 140 characters or less, tell us how you're using an ISBA member benefit and why it's valuable to your practice. Our panel of judges will choose the winning tweets based on cleverness, relevancy and helpfulness.

Registration is now open for the 140th ISBA Annual Meeting. Join us at our new convenient location in Rosemont, IL for three days packed with learning and networking opportunities. The deadline for pre-registration is June 10.

We're offering 2 tracks of Solo and Small Firm Practice Institute programming, focusing on Transforming Your Practice with Technology and Establishing Your New Solo/Small Firm Practice.

We're also rolling out the red carpet for today's new lawyers. Come Friday to hear from The Good Wife's legal technical advisor and stay for an afternoon of improv with our Young Lawyers Division, followed by an all-night party celebrating the profession. 

It's the best ideas merged into one exciting conference, with more than 16 hours of CLE, 58 business meetings, an exhibit hall, and the Chicago Catz Band. It's Annual:Redone, with #moreCLEmoreFUN.

View the schedule at www.isba.org/annual/schedule

Register at www.isba.org/annual/registration

Illinois Attorney Heather Fritsch, author of Basic Residential Real Estate: From Contract to Closing, outlines the basic components of a real estate deed.

A recent decision by the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, holds that redlining discrimination actions can apply to parties that purport to provide loan modification assistance.

Typically, redlining is the practice of offering loans to minority borrowers that include terms less desirable than those offered to similarly qualified white borrowers. In People v. Wildermuth, 2016 IL App (1st) 143592, the first district held that those who target minorities with false promises of providing a loan modification for a fee are considered mortgage lenders under the Illinois Human Rights Act ("the Act"). Find out more in the June Illinois Bar Journal.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. I am a partner in a 12-attorney firm in Downers Grove, Ill. We have eight partners and four associates. We are managed by committee of the whole - all partners are involved in all decisions. We have been considering moving to an executive committee. How do we set it up?

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the assignment of Cook County Circuit Judge Mary L. Mikva to the Illinois Appellate Court for the First Judicial Circuit and the appointment of Chicago lawyer Clare J. Quish as an at-large Cook County Circuit Judge.

Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis recommended to the Court that Judge Mikva be assigned to fill the Appellate Court vacancy that was created by the April 15, 2016, death of Justice Laura Liu. Judge Mikva's assignment is effective on July 15, 2016, and until further order of the Supreme Court.

"I am honored to be given this challenging opportunity to serve on the Appellate Court," Judge Mikva said. "I hope to use it to help strengthen the public's faith that our legal system is fair, efficient, evenhanded, and compassionate."

The Illinois State Bar Association will present several awards recognizing individuals for their commitment and service to the profession and their communities on Saturday, June 18, at the organization’s 140th Annual Meeting at the Westin O’Hare in Rosemont. Award recipients are: