Chief Justice Rita B. Garman, the Illinois Supreme Court and the chief judges of the 24 Circuits in Illinois have announced the distribution of a detailed court user survey designed to measure public perceptions and experiences with the Illinois courts.

The Strategic Planning Committee of the Illinois Judicial Conference, in coordination with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, developed the survey that will ask court users to give input on their personal experiences with their local court system in all 24 Circuits across the 102 counties in Illinois. It will seek input from all courthouse users including attorneys, visitors, litigants, students, media, and the general public.

The next ISBA Solo & Small Firm Practice Institute will be held in East Peoria on April 16. The focus of this seminar is Building Your Practice and Preparing for the Future. The program runs from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and provides 6.50 MCLE hours, including 6.50 Professional Responsibility MCLE credit hours (PMCLE credit subject to approval).

Get the best practice tips and practical tools you need to run your office efficiently and profitably with this full-day seminar! As an attendee, you will:

Tickets and sponsorships now available for the ISBA Young Lawyers Division's Annual Bean Bag Tournament!

Championship team wins $300 and 2nd place gets $150!

Please join us at the YLD's Annual Bean Bag Tournament on Saturday, April 25 to show off your bean bag tossing skills while supporting the ISBA/YLD Children's Assistance Fund. This fund provides grants to organizations throughout Illinois related to children and law. Over the past sixteen years, the Children's Assistance Fund has distributed nearly $300,000 in grants, due, in large part, to the support and participation in events like the Bean Bag Tournament. We hope you help us continue this tradition of giving by joining us this year at our new location – Bar Louie in Printer's Row!

What: Open bar, warm appetizers and an afternoon full of friends and friendly competition!

When: Saturday, April 25, 2015, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Where: Bar Louie, Printer's Row, 47 W. Polk St, Chicago, IL 

Cost:

• $45/person for tickets purchased online through Sunday, April 19
• $55/person for tickets purchased at the door
• $125 per two-member team (team fee includes two wristbands and entry in the Bean Bag Tournament).

All teams must be registered by Sunday, April 19. Online Registration will also close April 19.

Don’t miss this discussion in Chicago or via live webcast on April 17, 2015 regarding how health care providers and employers are changing the way they provide and arrange for health care! Health care providers and employers are reforming the way they provide for the health care of their prospective patients and employees, all in an effort to improve both quality of care and their bottom lines. Integrated health care delivery systems have been getting into the insurance business – a trend that could affect the health care delivery and reimbursement system for the foreseeable future – while employers are simultaneously pushing for innovative solutions to the skyrocketing costs of providing quality health care benefits to their employees.

Attorneys representing health care providers, health insurers, and employers who offer health insurance plans to employees will benefit from attending this half-day seminar that discusses: the legal and practical challenges associated with provider-owned health plans; the new methods of providing employee health care benefits, including private exchanges, onsite clinics, online and telemedicine, reference-based pricing and “skinny plans”; the compliance issues associated with the new approaches and methods; the motivation behind health insurance marketplace innovation; how health care providers are injecting themselves into the health insurance market; how new health insurance companies are formed and how they will affect health care delivery and reimbursement; contracting issues, Affordable Care Act, and related compliance issues; and the potential financial risks for consumers, physicians, and employers associated with these new financial and health care delivery models.

Passing score raised to 266 for July 2015 exam

On March 16, 2015, representatives of the Deans ofthe Illinois Law Schools ("Deans") and Board of Admissions to the Bar ("Board") met with the Illinois Supreme Court Justices ("Court") to discuss the raising of the minimum passing score on the Illinois bar examination. The Deans and the Board expressed their respective concerns regarding the process, rationale, and timing involved in raising the passing score. After considering these concerns, the Court approved a revision to both the number of points and the schedule previously adopted for raising this score.

Effective for the July 2015 bar examination, the minimum passing score is set at 266 (out of a possible 400) - a 2-point increase from the February 2015 bar examination. This passing score will remain in effect through the February 2017 bar examination. Effective for the July
2017 bar examination, the passing score is provisionally set at 268. Prior to that examination, the Deans and Board will review the results of the examinations with the 266 passing score and will make their recommendations to the Court.

In addition, the Court will appoint a dean of an Illinois law school to serve as an ex officio member of the Board to establish a formal tie between the Deans and the Board.

The ISBA Young Lawyers Division will host "Legal Malpractice Pitfalls for Young Lawyers" on Monday, April 20 from noon-1 p.m. at the ISBA Chicago Office, 20 S. Clark, Ste. 900.

Studies show that approximately 1 in 10 lawyers will be sued for malpractice during their career. Even meritless claims can burden you and your firm with both financial and emotional costs. By law, attorneys are not required to obtain legal malpractice insurance. Moreover, some types of legal malpractice insurance only provide coverage for certain conditions. This presentation will highlight common mistakes young lawyers make that often result in malpractice claims, provide steps to take to avoid these pitfalls, discuss an overview of important features of malpractice insurance policies, and evaluate the risk of young attorneys who find themselves in hot water.

YLD Professional Development Luncheons are aimed at teaching law students and young attorneys practical steps in developing their legal careers.

Presenters:

Have you received your ISBA ballot?  

If not, please contact VRES at (800) 218-4026 or custserv@vres.us.

ISBA's election provider VR Election Services (VRES) emailed e-ballots to members with valid email addresses and mailed paper ballots to members without valid email addresses on Thursday, March 26, 2015. Candidate biographies can be found in the March Illinois Bar Journal.

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Presumptions in probate (Senate Bill 90), Guardianships for minors (Senate Bill 786), Temporary guardianships (House Bill 2505), Unfounded reports (Senate Bill 1335), Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (House Bill 4131) and Presumptively Void Transfers (House Bill 3325). More information on each bill is available below the video.

One plank of Governor Rauner's campaign platform was criminal justice reform. On February 11, he issued Executive Order 15-14, which establishes the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform.

The order notes that Illinois' prison system is at 150 percent capacity; the prison population has increased 700 percent over the last 40 years, while the crime rate has decreased 20 percent over the same period. It also observes that overcrowding in our prisons threatens the safety of staff and inmates, thwarting efforts to rehabilitate prisoners for their return to society.

In an effort to address these problems, the newly formed Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform has been tasked with researching and suggesting bipartisan, data-driven reforms to decrease crime and recidivism while maintaining public safety. The Commission's goal is to increase public safety and reduce Illinois's prison population by 25 percent over the next 10 years. Its first report is due July 1 and its final report is due December 31 of this year. Find out more in the April Illinois Bar Journal.