Conference registration is online only at www.isba.org/soloconference/2011reg.
Discounted pricing until Oct. 24: $350 ISBA Member ($400 onsite) /$650 Non-Member ($700 onsite)
Visit the Conference website for information about the Registration Pricing, Meal/Social Functions, and more.
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers: Senate Bill 2492, House Bill 1604, House Bill 3839, House Bill 3801 and House Bill 3807. Information on each bill is available below the video.
The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism is teaming up with the Du-Page County Bar Association, Northern Illinois University College of Law and other legal organizations in the Second Judicial District to begin a mentoring program for newly admitted lawyers.
The announcement continues a statewide initiative by Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride, the Supreme Court and the Commission on Professionalism that was launched in June 2011 to urge attorney groups, law schools and individual lawyers to take an active hand in ensuring that new attorneys get practical professional guidance after law school.
The early years of legal practice are among the most challenging for most attorneys. Recent law school graduates generally receive limited practical and clinical experience while in law school, and the months leading up to their admission to the bar are spent in extensive preparation for the two-day bar exam, which consists of essay and multiple choice questions with no gauge of clinical or practical experience.
In such an environment, experienced attorney mentors can prove invaluable in helping recent bar admit-tees learn the actual practice of law, and get them a meaningful start in their legal careers as well as promote principles that guide them toward professionalism.
A database that lets Illinois consumers check the malpractice history of thousands of Illinois doctors and chiropractors went back online today. The database was taken offline last year after the Illinois Supreme Court declared a medical malpractice reform law unconstitutional.
The searchable database includes about 46,000 doctors and 4,500 chiropractors, along with malpractice judgments and settlements going back five years.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner of a 24 attorney firm in San Francisco. We are becoming frustrated at our inability to achieve a consensus and make timely decisions on matters of firm policy, strategy, marketing, and management. We are missing out on opportunities. We have no management scheme and no one to lead the charge -- no team effort. The attorneys can't decide anything and firm management is a free for all. Things don't get done because no one is responsible. Conflict exists because anyone may be in charge. We are strong on ideas but weak on implementation. We lack leadership and focus. What are your ideas regarding leadership? Where should we start?
A. This is a common in firms of all sizes. In general, the foundation of leadership is built upon exhibited behaviors illustrating a proven track record of trust, respect, and accountability. These are the building blocks required for the development of leadership practices. Without these building blocks leadership cannot exist or be developed. The law firm culture must be nourished in such a way as to support these behaviors. These behaviors must become a part of everyday practice in dealing with clients as well as partners and others within and outside of the law firm. Law firm leaders must develop and practice the following behaviors:
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that William A. Yoder received a majority of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the 11th Judicial Circuit and is declared to be appointed to the office of associate judge.
Mr. Yoder received his undergraduate degree in 1982 from Purdue University and his Juris Doctor in 1985 from John Marshall Law School. Mr. Yoder is currently affiliated with the McLean County State's Attorney's Office in Bloomington.
The pick-off move isn't limited to baseball, as Hon. James Fitzgerald Smith and Sonja Dimitrijevic explain in the latest issue of the ISBA's Trial Briefs newsletter.
In class action cases, defendants "pick off" a class representative by tendering him or her complete relief before the class is certified. That moots the class action and "compel[s] plaintiff’s counsel to seek another class representative, which is frequently tricky," the authors observe.
Appellate courts, not fans of the move, developed a pick-off exception that allowed the class to be certified despite the tender. But the supreme court put a stop to that this year in Barber v. American Airlines, "explicitly rejecting the 'pick off' exception" and reaffirming "the 'pick off' rule, under which a tender prior to certification automatically results in the mooting of the class action," Smith and Dimitrijevic write.
They go on to discuss Gatreaux v. DKW Enterprises, LLC, a first district case from last month that implements the Barber pick-off rule. Read their analysis.
Position: Pro Se Law Clerk, Temporary
Vacancy Announcement Number: 2011-06
Location: East St. Louis, Illinois
Starting Salary Range: $47,448 (JSP 9/1) to $96,690 (JSP 14/1), depending on qualifications
Date Posted: October 13, 2011
Closing Date: November 4, 2011
Position Summary
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois is seeking a full-time temporary Pro Se Law Clerk for the East St. Louis and Benton courthouses. This temporary position is for a 2 year term. The Pro Se Law Clerk provides legal advice and assistance to the court in connection with prisoner petitions and complaints.
The Illinois Bar Foundation will honor former FCC Chair and longtime Sidley Austin managing partner Newton Minow as the 2011 Recipient of the Distinguished Award for Excellence.
The 2011 Gala will be held on Friday, Oct. 14, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago. Raffle tickets are available now at www.illinoisbarfoundation.org for the following great prizes:
First Prize: Barcelona's Paradise -- Trip for two to Barcelona, Spain, for 7 days and 6 nights at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Arts Barcelona with economy class air. $8,000 value.
Second Prize: Broadway Bound -- Trip for two to New York, NY, for 4 days and 3 nights at the Plaza, including the Silver Entertainment Package (Broadway show of your choice), daily complimentary breakfast and economy class air. $5,100 value.
Third Prize: $2,500 Cash
To purchase tickets to this event or become an event sponsor, contact the IBF at (312) 726-6072 or visit www.illinoisbarfoundation.org.
