Please join us at the 19th Annual ISBA YLD Holiday Party. This year's party is in conjunction with the ISBA's Midyear Meeting. Not only will there be warm appetizers, an open bar, and an opportunity to meet young lawyers from across the state, the event benefits a great cause: the Children’s Assistance Fund.

Initially created to assist with the opening of children's waiting rooms in courthouses across the State of Illinois, the IBF/YLD Children's Assistance Fund has since grown, and now provides funding to organizations across the State of Illinois that provide legal assistance to children, maintain children's waiting rooms in courthouses, work to reduce recidivism of juveniles, and/or work to reduce the incidents of domestic violence in families with children.

Justice Rita B. Garman of the Supreme Court of Illinois has begun an application process for an At-Large Circuit Court vacancy in the Fifth Judicial Circuit.

The vacancy will be created by the retirement of Judge Claudia Anderson on November 30, 2016. Judge Anderson has been a Circuit Judge since 1998.

This lively program in Springfield on November 17, 2016 is comprised of scenarios, skits, and group discussions, allowing participants to gather information on how to recognize and resolve violations of the Open Meetings Act. The program demonstrates and discusses the requirements of the Open Meetings Act, as well as how to apply the Act to real world situations. Government attorneys, public officials, and private counsel who attend this seminar will better understand: how to prepare for a meeting; the importance of meeting locations; how to handle the virtual attendance of board members; the issues with meeting minutes and board member voting; public access issues, including virtual access; board member communication concerns, including texting between members; how to handle closed meetings; the limitations on public comments; and much more!

Illinois State Bar Association 2nd Vice President James F. McCluskey was a guest on Stephanie Trussell's show on WLS 890 AM on October 30, 2016 to discuss using judicial evaluations to become informed on judicial candidates prior to the November 8 election. 

Find 2nd Vice President James F. McCluskey's interview with Stephanie Trussell here.

Find the judicial evaluations here.

By Teri Ross, Program Director / Attorney, Illinois Legal Aid Online

Every year, tens of thousands of people in Illinois are forced to resolve their legal issues unassisted. On the one hand, they are unable to afford private legal counsel; on the other hand, they are unable to get help from the overburdened, underfunded legal aid system.

The Honorable Lloyd A. Karmeier was installed Monday as Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court in a ceremony at the Supreme Court Building in Springfield.

Justice Rita B. Garman administered the oath of office. Speakers included Supreme Court Justices Anne M. Burke, Robert R. Thomas and retired Justice Philip J. Rarick.

Chief Justice Karmeier's brother, Del Karmeier, gave the invocation and the Karmeier grandchildren led the pledge of allegiance.

Chief Justice Karmeier, of Nashville, Illinois, is this State’s 120th Chief Justice and the second person from Washington County to hold that office. Justice Byron O. House, for whom Chief Justice Karmeier served as a law clerk, was the first.

Illinois Bar Foundation 2016 Fellows Breakfast

Friday, December 9, 2016 – 7:30-9:00 a.m.

Join the Fellows of the Illinois Bar Foundation in honoring Ann Hatch (Herzog Crebs LLP), a Diamond Fellow of the Illinois Bar Foundation, with the 2016 Distinguished Service to Law & Society Award, and former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP) with the 2016 Honorary Fellow Award.

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In this Agreed Final Order, Ms. Michelle Cummins was found guilty of minor indirect criminal contempt for engaging in the unauthorized practice of law by accepting a position as a licensed lawyer with a corporate employer. Ms. Cummins was ordered to pay $500 in court costs and sentenced to one year of non-reporting probation. ARDC v. Cummins, Cook County No. 16 MC1-600160 (October 28, 2016).