Articles From 2009 | Illinois State Bar Association

Remarks as prepared for delivery by Attorney General Eric Holder at the Department of Justice African American History Month Program Diversity Leadership Council, June 2009 Remarks prepared by Attorney General Eric Holder.

Remarks of Douglass Cassel on receiving the Elmer Gertz Award from the Illinois State Bar Association, Union League Club, Chicago By Douglass Cassel Human and Civil Rights, January 2009 The remarks given by Douglass Cassel as he accepted the Elmer Gertz Award.

Remembering the past, working on our future—ISBA Women and the Law Committee Chairs Women and the Law, September 2009 A list of those who have served as Chair of this Committee.

Renegotiating debt? Beware of tax traps By Steven W. Swibel Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, August 2009 In a non-bankruptcy, noninsolvency context, debtors and creditors are often surprised that a debt modification that does not appear to reduce principal or the effective interest rate may nevertheless result in adverse tax consequences.

Renegotiating debt? Tax traps for creditors By Steven W. Swibel Corporate Law Departments, June 2009 Tax consequences of debt modification are not only a debtor’s concern. Creditors are often surprised that debt modification can result in unanticipated adverse tax consequences.

Reorganization will strengthen the ISBA’s diversity efforts By Alice M. Noble-Allgire Women and the Law, December 2009 You may not have heard any hammers or saws, but the ISBA recently completed a major renovation of its diversity-related committees and sections councils—a renovation that is already seeing substantial dividends in terms of greater efficiency and collaborative creativity.

Report on ABA YLD meeting, Birmingham By Gina Arquilla DeBoni Young Lawyers Division, December 2009 The ABA Young Lawyers Division held its Fall Conference on October 22-24, 2009 in Birmingham, AL.

Representing hoarders By Michelle Sternberg Elder Law, October 2009 In order to provide good representation to hoarders, it is important to understand the condition.

Representing impaired clients: Challenge and opportunity By Annemarie E. Kill Women and the Law, March 2009 The ISBA Standing Committee on Women and the Law, in conjunction with the ISBA Standing Committee on Delivery of Legal Services, the ISBA General Practice Solo and Small Firm Section Council, and the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, presented a program entitled “Ethically and Effectively Representing Clients with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Problems” at the ISBA Mid-Year Meeting on December 12, 2008.

Research resources from Illinois Academic Law Libraries By Tom Gaylord Government Lawyers, September 2009 A handy guide to the websites of many law libraries.

A response to Attorney General Eric Holder’s remarks By Andrea Flynn Diversity Leadership Council, June 2009 As lawyers, we are trained to tackle intellectual problems daily; however, a lack of diversity and troubled race relations cannot be easily analyzed and solved like a legal issue.

Retained earnings of a family business: Income, asset, or both? By Rory Weiler Family Law, July 2009 Are retained earnings income (as it appears from the definition) or are they assets?

Retaliatory discharge: Can a petitioner be fired? A look at Grabs v. Safeway, 2009 WL 1709570 (Ill. App. 1st Dist. 2009) By William R. Gallagher Workers’ Compensation Law, September 2009 Whether you represent petitioners or respondents, the termination of employment of an individual who has sustained a work-related injury is many times a very perplexing and difficult issue to address.

Retention of e-mail: Why bother? By Michael D. Gifford Law Office Management and Economics, Standing Committee on, February 2009 Does your firm need a policy for managing retention and preservation of e-mail? YES; even the smallest organizations are wise to invest the time and effort to craft such a policy.

Review of Adobe Acrobat 9 By Bryan Sims Legal Technology, Standing Committee on, February 2009 The author strongly suggests upgrading to version 9.

Review of Critical: What We Can Do About The Health-Care Crisis by Tom Daschle By Mark J. Warshawsky Employee Benefits, March 2009 In his book, Critical, published in 2008, Tom Daschle, former Senate majority leader, describes his views on the problems of the U.S. health care system and how they can be fixed.

A review of In re Application of the County Collector (A.P. Properties, Inc. v. Ezra Chaim Properties), Appellate Court, Second District, Docket No. 2-08-0755, 2009 WL 2767020, August 27, 2009 By Tara H. Ori State and Local Taxation, December 2009 Homeowner’s property taxes were sold for failure to pay real estate taxes for the year 2003. The taxes were purchased by tax buyer A.P. Properties, Inc. at the tax sale in December 2004.

Review of Pacific Bell Telephone Co. v. linkline Comm., Inc. By Jamie Manning June 2009 In Pacific Bell Telephone Co. v. linkline Communications, Inc., the Supreme Court ruled that a plaintiff cannot bring a valid price squeeze claim where the defendant has no antitrust duty to deal with its competitors.

A review of the 29th Annual National Conference of State Tax Judges By Hon. Alexander P. White State and Local Taxation, November 2009 The 29th Annual National Conference of State Tax Judges (NCSTJ) convened on September 24-26, 2009 at the Commander Hotel in Cambridge, MA.

The right to an agency decision, and 35 days to appeal, including some weekend days By William A. Price Administrative Law, September 2009 If your client gets a state agency decision, he or she is entitled to a clear and simple explanation of what standard the agency applied, and why the decision was made.

Road map to closing on a co-operative apartment By Roberta C. Conwell Real Estate Law, June 2009 When the real estate practitioner encounters a co-op transaction for the first time, it is not a smooth ride. There are numerous roadblocks that pop up and you have to know how to get around them. This is not the same as selling a house or a condo. In the interest of saving yourself from having to re-invent the wheel, you can use the following roadmap as a starting point in your research.

The Roth decision in 2010: Conversions and afterthoughts By David A. Berek Trusts and Estates, November 2009 2010 promises to be an opportunistic year for Roth IRA planning, and an interesting year to say the least from a tax legislation standpoint.

Rural lender advantage By Lewis F. Matuszewich Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, January 2009 The United States Small Business Administration has introduced a modification of one of its loan programs, specifically designed to foster economic development in rural areas.

“Safe haven” adoptions By Don C. Hammer Child Law, March 2009 If the practitioner receives a call from prospective adoptive parents, or from an agency, informing the practitioner that a baby had been abandoned pursuant to the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act, what should the practitioner know and do?

The Safety GRAT™ By Robert T. Napier Trusts and Estates, June 2009 Many clients believe that the greatest enemy to their wealth is the federal estate tax. The reality is that very few estates actually pay a federal estate tax and current estimates are that fewer than 20,000 estates annually will actually pay the federal estate tax. Furthermore, it is understood that quality estate planning can materially reduce, if not eliminate, any tax due.

Saving Roundup Ready® beans for seed? Trantham, McFarling, and Scruggs say “no” By Donald L. Uchtmann Agricultural Law, September 2009 Can farmers save Roundup Ready® beans for seed without being liable for patent infringement or breach of contract?

The School of 529: Learning by Trial and Error By Katarinna McBride Trusts and Estates, September 2009 Section 529 plans are an attractive and convenient means of saving for college that offer substantial tax benefits.

SCINS, GRATS and IDGTs: Acronyms that present planning opportunities in a low-interest environment By Jesse T. Coyle Trusts and Estates, February 2009 With interest rates at historical lows, several wealth transfer techniques offer high net worth individuals an excellent opportunity to transfer wealth to their descendants at a minimal cost. These techniques benefit from low interest rates. Two sophisticated estate planning techniques that benefit from a low interest rate environment are the SCIN and the GRAT.

SCRAM: A sentencing option in alcohol-related offenses By Hon. Gregory Paul Vazquez Criminal Justice, October 2009 Attorneys and judges have been seeking optimal sentencing alternatives in cases where alcohol has either played a part in the offense or is a factor that needs to be addressed during the defendant’s sentencing hearing. A relatively recent option is the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring system, commonly referred to as SCRAM.

Scrivener be aware: Attention to detail is essential in vendor’s endorsements By Hon. James Fitzgerald Smith & Julia Illman Maness Civil Practice and Procedure, February 2009 A recent opinion by the Illinois appellate court, First District, Fifth Division, reminds us that attention to detail when drafting a vendor’s endorsement in an insurance contract is of utmost importance.