The lack of diversity among Illinois lawyers – and the impact this has on our legal system – continues to concern the Illinois Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism. Join us in Chicago on Thursday, October 4^th for this educational, old-fashioned courtroom drama in which a civil suit proceeding is acted out by an entertaining cast of characters!

The Story: An African American woman from the South Side sues a Jewish real estate developer from the North Shore for defamation after being accused of stealing his watch and causing her financial harm.

The program opens with details of the case, followed by plaintiff, defendant and key witness testimonies. Once both sides have argued their case, the audience will act as jury. The seminar closes with a brief discussion, led by Shayne Aldridge and Allison Wood.

The Purpose: The program challenges our preconceived notions of race, class, ethnicity, and religion and forces us to acknowledge what happens when cultural biases collide with our legal system. Come discover how diversity – or lack thereof – affects all aspects of our profession!

This Master Series seminar qualifies for 2.0 hours MCLE credit, including PMCLE (subject to approval).

Click here for more information and to register

ISBA President John E. Thies is greeted by (from left) Illinois Judges Association (IJA) Immediate Past President, Illinois Appellate Court Justice Carol Pope, and IJA President, Judge Rita M. Novak, of Chicago, at a kickoff Wednesday announcing “Project 225” at the Illinois Supreme Court building in Springfield. This project is a special program starting the week of September 17 whereby scores of state judges will deliver 225 classroom presentations at high school civics classes statewide to celebrate the 225^th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride, other Supreme Court justices, government officials, and bar leaders joined Judge Novak, and members of the association, in a ceremony to explain the program and its objectives, emphasizing the Constitution’s history and contemporary relevance.

Some 1.9 million Illinoisans are considered “food insecure,” meaning they lack the ability to secure adequate food. The problem is especially acute for Illinois children, with one in four or over 600,000 children experiencing food insecurity.

These dire statistics were the impetus behind Lawyers Feeding Illinois, a new program announced by ISBA President John E. Thies, a shareholder at the Urbana law firm of Webber & Thies, P.C. Under the leadership of his wife Terry, Lawyers Feeding Illinois kicked off on Nov. 14 with a special event featuring Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

The program’s goal is noble and simple: collect food and raise funds for distribution to the eight Feeding Illinois member food banks. Law firms and legal organizations statewide will be encouraged to participate in a food and fundraising drive held during the final week in February 2013.

Even the choice of timing has a purpose. Most people loosen their purse strings during the holidays, according to President Thies. But feeding the hungry doesn’t start and stop between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. The campaign, they believe, will help call the public’s attention to the fact that donations are needed year-round.

“No one should ever go hungry because they can’t afford to put food on the table,” Thies says. “Even with the federal breakfast and lunch programs for children, and the federal food stamps program for families and individuals, there are still residents in Illinois who go hungry every day.”

The Annual Solo & Small Firm Conference is underway in Itasca. This event features the ISBA's first app, available for free download at http://crwd.cc/isba2012 Online registration is closed, but onsite registration is still available. Find out more about the conference at www.isba/soloconference.

Follow along from your office on Twitter via the hashtag #isbassf2012

The ISBA Election in the Spring of 2013 will elect 9 seats on the Board of Governors, 39 seats on the Assembly for Cook County and 88 seats on the Assembly for Downstate. Nominating petitions may be filed no earlier than Wednesday, January 2, 2013 and must be filed by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 31, 2013 at either the Illinois Bar Center, 424 South 2nd Street, in Springfield or the ISBA Chicago Office at 20 S. Clark Street, 9th Floor, Chicago. Petitions must be physically submitted with original signatures. Petitions submitted via email or fax will not be accepted.

Find out more in the 2013 ISBA Notice of Election and at www.isba.org/elections

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers the Mechanics Lien Act, Medical Marijuana and Juvenile homicide offenders. More information on each bill is available below the video.

Mechanics Lien Act. House Bill 3636 (Burke, D-Evergreen Park; Mulroe, D-Chicago) does three things in response to the LaSalle Bank National Association vs. Cypress Creek opinion. (1) Requires that the owner or interested person’s demand for suit to be commenced or answered within 30 days must contain this language in at least 10-point, boldface type: “Failure to respond to this notice within 30 days after receipt, as required by Section 34 of the Mechanics Lien Act, shall result in the forfeiture of the referenced lien.” 

(2) Defines a “lien creditor” as someone who does work or furnishes material under this Act. A lien creditor is preferred over other encumbrances except that previous encumbrances are preferred only to the extent of the value of the land at the time the contract was made for the improvements, and each lien creditor is preferred to the value of all later improvements regardless of whether the lien creditor provided those improvements. 

Michael J. Tardy, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced today that Christen L. Bishop, received most of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit and is declared to be appointed to the office of associate judge.

Ms. Bishop received her undergraduate degree in 1991 from the University of Illinois and her Juris Doctor in 1994 from the University of Illinois. Ms. Bishop is currently affiliated with the Lake County State's Attorney's Office in Waukegan.