The Illinois State Bar Association will honor the Class of 1964 Distinguished Counsellors on Thursday, Nov. 20. This title is conferred annually upon those ISBA members who are completing their 50^th year of practice.

The 2014 Class will be honored at a special luncheon at The Standard Club located at 320 South Plymouth Court, Chicago on Thursday, November 20, 2014. A reception will begin at 11:15 a.m., and lunch is scheduled for noon. You and your colleagues will be recognized during the formal program following lunch.

Honorees receive one complimentary ticket to attend the luncheon. Additional tickets may be purchased in advance at $75 per person. Members of the “Class” and their guest(s) will be seated at special tables, each seating 10 persons. All tickets will be held for pick up at our registration table immediately prior to the luncheon.

Tickets to the luncheon are available and may be purchased online at www.isba.org/distinguishedcounsellorsluncheon. Any questions regarding the luncheon may be directed to Kim Weaver at kweaver@isba.org.

Congratulations to the 1964 Class of Distinguished Counsellors:

Torts 101: A premises owner has a duty to keep the place up so as not to put an invitee in harm's way. Exception: if a danger is open and obvious, the invitee can see it, and thus the owner has a defense if the invitee, say, trips over a big crack in the sidewalk. Exception to the exception: "[I]f a plaintiff is distracted by something that prevents her from seeing where she is going, she is able to recover when she trips over an open and obvious hazard," as Judge Daniel T. Gillespie and Greg Connor put it in their article in the most recent issue of Trial Briefs. (Trial Briefs is the newsletter of the ISBA's Civil Practice & Procedure Section.)

But what is a distraction? The Illinois Supreme Court addressed that question a few weeks ago in Bruns v. City of Centralia. They ruled that the distraction exception was not available to a plaintiff who didn't see a crack in the sidewalk because she was looking at the steps and door of the building she was about to enter. Find out more and read the authors' analysis.

Join judges and lawyers from across the state to conduct the business of the bench and bar and celebrate professional achievements. Highlights include an Opening Reception, a luncheon presentation by Attorney General of the United States Eric H. Holder, Jr., and an evening celebration honoring the Justices of the Supreme Court of Illinois. Additional programs and business meetings will be held throughout the conference. All this camaraderie takes place at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, steps away from the holiday pageantry Chicago offers during this time of year.

Find out more and register at www.isba.org/jointmeeting

Q. Many years ago I represented a husband in a divorce. The ex-wife just came to me and wants me to represent her in a personal injury matter. Can I?

A. RPC 1.9 prohibits a lawyer from representing someone in a matter that is the same or substantially related to a matter in which the lawyer previously represented a client. Although there are many facets of this rule when applying it to specific situations, one of the major concerns is to protect confidential information that may have been gained in the prior representation that could be used to the detriment of the former client.

For a discussion of this point see In re Estate of Klehm, 363 Ill.App.3d 373, 299 Ill.Dec. 825 (1st Dist. 2006). View the case on Fastcase

ISBA members can browse past ISBA Ethics Opinions, access our Ethics Hotline, and other resources on the ISBA Ethics Page.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. Our firm is a five attorney personal injury plaintiff law firm located in San Francisco. We have 2 equity partners, one non-equity partner and two associates. One hundred percent of our fees are contingency fees. Our attorneys work on some cases together. We do not keep time sheets.

The two equity partners are compensated based upon their ownership interests and this has worked well. We are looking to improve our compensation for the non-equity partner and the two associates. Currently they are paid salaries and a percentage of firm collected fee revenue over a certain threshold. We feel that they have not been profitable and we have been overpaying them. We would appreciate your thoughts.

By Judge Barb Crowder, Edwardsville

The Third Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee continues to expand its services to veterans in honor of their service to this country. Madison County has a large number of veterans, many of whom are in reduced circumstances or homeless. Madison County started the first Veterans’ Court in the State of Illinois to help veterans navigate the criminal justice by connecting them with volunteers and with social services to assist with the problems that led many of the veterans to criminal court. The Pro Bono committee has focused on legal advice for civil court problems being experienced by veterans and has provided legal advice to veterans near each Veterans Day. For 2014, the Third Circuit Pro Bono Committee and the Madison County Veterans Assistance Commission are excited to announce the creation of the Third Circuit Veterans Legal Assistance Project (VLAP). The circuit’s programs for veterans have grown since the pro bono committee started in 2011. It provides: