ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Collaborative law for family law cases (Senate Bill 31), Collection changes (Senate Bill 1044), Access to Justice Act (House Bill 3111), Supreme Court Special Purposes Fund (Senate Bill 1768) and Sentencing hearings (Senate Bill 1528). More information on each bill is available below the video.

Collaborative law for family law cases. Senate Bill 31 (Noland, D-Elgin) codifies by statute the Uniform Law Commission’s proposed alternative dispute resolution for family law cases that is now being done by private agreement between litigants. It includes a variety of process requirements such as treatment of settlement communications as confidential, establishment of an evidentiary privilege for settlement discussions, lawyer disqualification if the process fails, and informal discovery procedures. Held in Senate Judiciary Committee.

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride and Justice Robert R. Thomas, McHenry County Chief Judge Michael J. Sullivan, and NIU Law Dean Jennifer L. Rosato cordially invite you to the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice Listening Conference. The conference will be held on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 from 1:30-4:00 p.m. at the Northern Illinois University College of Law (DeKalb, IL) in the Riley Courtroom (Room #170). 

The purpose of this conference is to hear from people engaged in the judicial system about problems confronting the poor and vulnerable in our communities and to hear about possible solutions.

Additional speakers/panelists for the conference includeJustice Mary S. Schostok (2^nd Judicial District), Patrick M. Kinnally (MCLE Board/Kane County Bar Association), Michele Meyer (Mutual Ground), Mike O’Connor (Prairie State Legal Services), Professor David H. Taylor (NIU College of Law), and Michelle Rock (Director of Illinois Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health and Justice).

Studies have shown that achieving certain diversity benchmarks can generate greater volumes of business and enhanced professionalism. Join us in Chicago on May 13^th to get the tips and best practice advice you need to establish diversity within your law firm. Managing members, partners, and principles in medium to large law firms who attend this seminar will better understand: current diversity numbers and trends; client expectations; handling client demands; how to create diversity-driven initiatives within your firm; what works and what doesn’t when trying to create a diversity program; and much more!

The program qualifies for 4.25 hours MCLE credit, including 4.25 hours approved Professional Responsibility MCLE credit. It is presented by ISBA’s Standing Committee on Racial and Ethnic Minorities and the Law, and co-sponsored by the ISBA Business & Securities Law Section, the ISBA Standing Committee on Women & the Law, the ISBA Standing Committee on Disability Law, the ISBA Standing Committee on Sexual Orientation & General Identity, the ISBA Diversity Leadership Council, the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms, and the Chinese American Bar Association.

Click here for more information and to register.

Chief Justice Moses W. Harrison II was a judge and a gentleman. Most of all, he was a friend and a champion of ordinary people. Chief Justice Harrison passed away Thursday, April 25, after a long illness. He was 81.

"My former colleague, friend and mentor Chief Justice Harrison will be remembered as a prominent judge in Illinois legal history not because he was a great man, but because he never lost sight of the common man," said Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride "His commitment to equality and fairness went well beyond his simple, succinct, yet superlative opinions. He treated all people in all stations in life with the same kindness, dignity and respect. That fundamental decency guided his work as a judge, and his work guided Illinois law.

"Illinois is a sadder place today because of his death, but it will forever be a better place because of his life."

Justice Harrison was a member of the Illinois judiciary for 29 years; a member of the Illinois Supreme Court for 10 years; and Chief Justice from Jan. 1, 2000 to September 5, 2002, when he retired. His legacy is quite larger.

A Chicago Tribune profile in 1999 described him as "a gentleman rebel, a distinctly gracious man whose convictions are firm and manners mild."

During his tenure on the Supreme Court, he was most known and honored for demonstrating a commitment to justice and human welfare, writing—either for the majority or in dissent—to defend the poor, the weak, the young and the elderly against corporate or government policies which went against their interests.

CIVIL

Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore Drive Condominium Association

By Michael T. Reagan, Law Offices of Michael T. Reagan, Ottawa

Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore, while nominally about the circumstances in which a condominium unit owner can obtain the records of the condominium association, is fundamentally about whether the section of the Chicago Municipal Code dealing with that subject is a valid exercise of the City’s home rule power. The court also decided that the prevailing plaintiff unit owner, entitled to attorneys fees pursuant to the ordinance allowing recovery of "his reasonable attorney fees," is not limited to the fees actually charged by his attorney, but could recover greater fees at the reasonable market rate established by the evidence. The circuit and appellate courts were affirmed.

The association defendants asserted that the Chicago ordinance conflicted with the Condominium Property Act and the General Not For Profit Corporation Act. The statutes require unit owners to state a proper purpose for obtaining association financial books, limit requests to ten years of records, and allow the association 30 days in which to gather the records. The ordinance does not require statement of a purpose, does not restrict the age of the documents, and requires production with three business days. The parties and the court all agreed that the ordinance conflicted with the statutes.

Join us in Chicago on May 8^th for this unique opportunity to learn directly from federal judges and mediators on all aspects of settlement! Learn the tips of the trade as several panels of federal judges, retired federal judges, and mediators share everything you need to know about settlement in the federal courts. Attorneys with all level of experience practicing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals who attend this seminar will gain a better understanding of: meeting the judges’ expectations for pre-settlement preparations; preparing your client for settlement; how to conduct the settlement conference, including conference procedures and techniques to help both parties come to a settlement agreement; how to handle settlement compliance issues and the court’s ability to enforce the settlement agreements; and the Seventh Circuit’s settlement program procedures.

The program is presented by the ISBA Federal Civil Practice Section and qualifies for 4.0 hours MCLE credit, including 4.0 hours Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval).

Click here for more information and to register.