The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the creation of uniform standards and a certification and application process for problem-solving courts across the state.
Statewide standards will bring uniformity, accountability, and administrative oversight to problem-solving courts in Illinois, where there are already more than 100 in operation and more in the planning stages.
Are you a senior attorney contemplating retirement….or a young lawyer looking to acquire a practice? Then don’t miss this one-hour online seminar on January 26, 2016 that shows you how to get started on the succession and transition process! Topics include: the approaches that other attorneys have taken to transition out of their practices, as well as what other firms are doing; the various opportunities available for young lawyers; where and when to get started, including goals, timeline, and basic valuation; how to find candidates and opportunities; the pros and cons of an internal succession or partnerships; Of-Counsel arrangements; the ethical considerations (Rule 1.17) that can arise; and much more!
For the first time in nearly a century, the fees to obtain an Illinois law license and to certify documents will increase next year.
The Illinois Supreme Court approved these fee increases and other amendments to Rule 313 during its November Term. The increases will take effect July 1, 2016.
‘Tis the Season for shopping with Lenovo! Give the gift you know they 
will open all year by shopping Lenovo’s entire portfolio of cutting edge Tablets, Laptop Convertibles, All-In-One Desktops, Accessories and more. Through the ISBA Member Savings Program, you get ongoing discounts of up to 30%, FREE shipping on all web orders, access to energy-efficient green technologies, award-winning service and limited-time special offers!
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 November 2015, there were 656 referrals. ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:
Here are the results for November 2015:
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the civil cases 1010 Lake Shore Association v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and DG Enterprises v. Cornelius. and the criminal cases People v. Carter, People v. Schweihs, People v. Thompson and People v. Espinoza.
By Karen Kies DeGrand, Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC
A condominium association won summary judgment in a lawsuit it brought against a bank in a fight over whether the bank had extinguished the association’s lien rights following purchase of the unit at a judicial foreclosure sale. Interpreting two statutes, section 9(g)(3) of the Condominium Property Act and section 15-1509(c) of the Mortgage Foreclosure Law, the Illinois Supreme Court determined that a lien for unpaid assessments by a previous owner is not fully extinguished at a judicial foreclosure and sale unless the new owner “confirms the extinguishment” of the lien by paying assessments incurred after the sale. The lien is statutorily created upon a unit owner’s failure to pay common expenses when due. Even assuming that the condominium association was included as a party to the prior foreclosure action, the bank still was required to take the additional step to confirm the extinguishment by paying post sale assessments.
The Illinois Supreme Court has adopted a new rule to protect against identity theft and the disclosure of personal information in cases before the state's reviewing courts.
During its November Term, the Supreme Court approved Rule 364. It will take effect July 1, 2016, and affect all documents and exhibits filed by paper or electronically in criminal and civil cases before the Illinois Appellate and Supreme courts.
Looking for a short term opportunity to give back to the legal profession?
Or looking for help launching your legal career?
Enroll in ISBA’s 2016 Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program by December 18!
Hear what some of our 2015 participants have to say about the program:
Daniel Saeedi, Taft Stettinius and Hollister LLP, was admitted to the Illinois bar in 2008 and served as a mentor this year for Madeleine R.L. Goldfarb, a newly admitted attorney working at CinnamonMueller in Chicago. Daniel says the best thing he experienced being a mentor is satisfaction in helping new attorneys make contacts, identify marketing opportunities, find short cuts and time savers to practice more efficiently, and deal with whatever challenge they are facing at the time. He likes the one year length of the program because the new attorney will encounter a variety of issues over the course of the year and he is there to be a resource as those new issues arise.
Child custody cases often involve the use of a guardian ad litem (GAL), a child representative, an attorney for the child, or some combination of the three. However, the way these important participants are used varies dramatically from circuit court to circuit court.
The ISBA's Family Law Section Council's Committee on Representing Children wants to start a statewide dialogue on how attorneys are used to represent children. Marilyn Longwell and Treva O'Neill describe this effort in the September 2015 ISBA Family Law newsletter ("We need a statewide dialogue on the use of attorneys appointed to represent children," at http://bit.ly/1MKN7Pl).
Longwell and O'Neill recognize that economic and other factors may prevent creating a uniform system across the circuits. The committee hopes to "form a consensus as to what are the best practices in using attorneys to represent children" and to "accommodate for economic and other factors which impinge on those practices." Find out more in the December Illinois Bar Journal.
