Rural Law Practice in the NewsBy Sam Ellis & Cari Brett RinckerRural Practice, June 2026Learn more about Illinois' expansion of Access to Justice funding and the Court Navigator Network; Indiana's Rural Practice Academy; Kansas's plan to offer financial incentives to entice attorneys to work in legal deserts; and collaborative and technology-based models have gained traction in rural communities.
Rural Law Practice in the NewsBy Sam Ellis & Cari Brett RinckerRural Practice, April 2026News updates relating to rural legal practice, including judicial branch targeting rural access to justice, ARDC updates attorney registration to map rural shortages, continued development of Illinois Community Justice Worker Program, and more!
Rural Law Practice in the News: August 2026By Sam Ellis & Cari Brett RinckerRural Practice, August 2026Learn more about the National Legal Deserts Report; New York's Landlord-Tenant Hub Court; statewide access training for Illinois Court Disability Coordinators; Indiana's inaugural Rural Practice Academy; law schools and national partners continuing to build rural practice pipelines; and New Mexico's alternative pathway to licensure.
Safety, Stigma, and the State: Savanna’s Law and Domestic Violence RegistriesBy Judge Megan GoldishWomen and the Law, February 2026Savanna’s Law raises questions of whether other states, including Illinois, could adopt a similar framework. Tennessee is the first state to implement a statewide public registry specifically for repeat DV offenders. While other jurisdictions maintain law-enforcement-only databases or protective-order registries, these differ significantly from a public criminal offender registry.
Save the Date for ISBA’s Solo & Small Firm Conference in PeoriaFederal Taxation, July 2026Join your fellow Federal Taxation Section members in Peoria on September 17–18, 2026, for the ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference, From Log Cabin to Legacy: Growing and Sustaining a Solo or Small Firm in Illinois.
Save the Date for the Annual Meeting!Local Government Law, February 2026Don't miss the 2026 Annual Meeting, on June 11-12, 2026, at the Ritz-Carlton St. Louis!
SB 25 and the Surface–Mineral Relationship: Implications for Illinois Mineral Law PractitionersBy John H. HendersonMineral Law, June 2026Senate Bill 25 marks a significant shift in Illinois’ approach to grid reliability and energy infrastructure. SB 25’s framework emphasizes long-term utility planning through integrated resource planning and a “diverse portfolio” that may include storage resources and demand-side programs.
The “Scarlet-I”: When Indication Becomes a MarkBy Amanda VeselyChild Law, February 2026An analysis of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services’ Allegation #60: Branding parents or caregivers for what might have happened rather than what did. Child protection and due process can coexist, but only if risk is measured with restraint, evidence, and fairness.
Schedule A: Where Convenience & Civil Procedure ClashBy Christopher KeleherIntellectual Property, March 2026A Schedule A tactic to herd alleged infringers into a single action is testing the limits of civil procedure rules, prompting pushback from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The SEC Says It Will No Longer Consider Mandatory Arbitration Clauses Potential Roadblocks to Acceleration of Effectiveness of Registration StatementsBy Andrew L. FranklinAlternative Dispute Resolution, February 2026Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul S. Atkins is on a mission to “Make IPOs Great Again.” In an Open Meeting Statement regarding the Policy Statement, Chairman Atkins acknowledged, “[t]he agency has, however, scrutinized registration statements filed by companies that have sought to include a mandatory arbitration provision in their governance documents—and injected uncertainty into whether these registration statements would be declared effective.” The September 2025 Policy Statement upends the SEC’s prior skepticism of mandatory arbitration provisions. The primary rationale for the policy shift is aligning SEC practices with recent Supreme Court case law.
The Second Circuit Builds a Wall Around China, Something Courts in the Seventh Circuit Should AvoidBy Jonathan L.A. PhillipsIntellectual Property, June 2026Schedule A patent and trademark litigation has become one of the most significant, and most contentious, areas of intellectual property practice. Serving foreign defendants is not a new problem. For years, courts addressed it with a practical solution: authorize electronic service through the very platforms the defendants use. Then came Smart Study...
Second Circuit Refuses To Compel Arbitration Under NFL Constitution, Which “Provides for Arbitration in Name Only”By Jay SchleppenbachAlternative Dispute Resolution, February 2026Arbitration agreements are generally enforceable even though they mean the parties give up certain procedural rights they would otherwise enjoy. Even though the standards for avoiding arbitration based on the design of the arbitration are high, they are not impossible to meet. The Second Circuit’s recent decision in Flores v. New York Football Giants, Inc. demonstrates where a court may refuse to compel arbitration when such procedure is “arbitration in name only.”
Securities RegulationsBy Christopher Barrett & Jordan Mulevicz McMathBusiness and Securities Law, February 2026On December 4, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee published its recommendation that the SEC consider adopting Artificial Intelligence disclosure rules, noting the benefits of a standardized “materiality-informed” disclosure framework that reflects the impact of AI on a company’s growth and financial results, as well as the barriers to and risks of adoption.
Securities RegulationsBy Christopher Barrett & Jordan Mulevicz McMathCorporate Law Departments, February 2026On December 4, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee published its recommendation that the SEC consider adopting Artificial Intelligence disclosure rules, noting the benefits of a standardized “materiality-informed” disclosure framework that reflects the impact of AI on a company’s growth and financial results, as well as the barriers to and risks of adoption.
Seeing the Humanity: Northern Illinois NAMIBy Susan M. GoldbergMental Health Law, May 2026Danielle Angilieri, the Executive Director of the Northern Illinois National Alliance for Mental Illness in Rockford, shares her career journey and offers words of wisdom when dealing with persons who may be suffering from mental illnesses.
Selling U.S. Food Products in Peru: Key Legal Risks in Labeling, Distribution, and Trademark ProtectionBy Dr. Alberto MirandaFood Law, June 2026Peru is a meaningful market for U.S. food and agricultural exports, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) continues to describe Peru as a relevant destination for consumer-oriented products and processed food ingredients. But a U.S. company entering Peru should not assume that the regulatory path will resemble the U.S. model.
Settling Cases by Consent JudgmentBy Hon. Alon SteinCommercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, February 2026Yes, you do have settlement authority and you are negotiating in good faith if the only thing your client can offer at a pretrial settlement conference is a consent judgment!
Seventh Circuit Reverses “Pizza Puff” InjunctionBy Steven L. Baron & Griffin TopelIntellectual Property, June 2026In January 2026, in Illinois Tamale Co., Inc. v. LC Trademarks, Inc. and Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc., the Seventh Circuit reversed a preliminary injunction against Little Caesars on the term “Pizza Puff” and affirmed the denial of injunctive relief for “Crazy Puffs” and “Puff.”The case is a useful reminder of the standards for genericness and descriptive fair use in trademark law.
Smaller Estates Are Not Always Simpler To AdministerBy Hayden R. EarlYoung Lawyers Division, March 2026For many attorneys who are new to estate administration, it may be tempting to gravitate towards working on smaller estates, under the guise that probate will be simpler. Though, at first, it may seem intuitive that an estate with a single, easily identifiable asset would be easy to administer, smaller does not always mean simpler.
Sole Proximate Cause—Whose Burden Is It Anyway?By Judge Eileen Marie O’ConnorTort Law, May 2026Although a party may plead in the alternative and assert multiple theories of sole proximate cause, the trial court must serve as gatekeeper to ensure that this burden is met. Specifically, the court must ensure that the defendant presents competent evidence establishing that a third party, condition, or combination thereof constituted the sole—rather than a merely contributing—cause of the plaintiff’s injury. Absent such safeguards, the doctrine of sole proximate cause risks misapplication, inviting jury confusion and undermining the integrity of the verdict.
Southern Africa’s Customs Union: Dispute Resolution, Investment Exposure, and the U.S. PractitionerBy Jarrick HonnInternational and Immigration Law, August 2026Tension between SACU's ambitious legal architecture and its diplomatic reality is not merely an academic curiosity; it has direct consequences for attorneys in Illinois whose clients trade, invest, or otherwise conduct business in southern Africa. Illinois is the fifth-largest exporting state in the United States, and its manufacturers, agribusinesses, and multinational employers regularly transact with counterparties across the region governed by SACU's common external tariff.
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Its Application to Illinois Family Law and GuardianshipsBy Phil SchlichtingDiversity Leadership Council, June 2026Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS”) is a form of immigration relief that is available to foreign born children that have been abused, neglected, abandoned or similarly mistreated by one or both parents. Approved SIJS petitioners are able to adjust status in the United States when their priority date becomes current.
Spotlight on Court-Appointed NeutralsBy Judge Ann Breen-GrecoAlternative Dispute Resolution, March 2026The Southern California Mediation Association has done extensive work on promoting Court-Appointed Neutrals, most recently with a webinar that explores the benefits of Court-Appointed Neutrals, illustrating lessons that may be applicable for the effective administration of justice in Illinois.
Spotlight on Section Member Kathryn GarlowFederal Taxation, March 2026Learn more about Section Council Member, Kathryn Garlow, including her career trajectory, interests in tax law, and her hobbies.
Springfield PrideFestDiversity Leadership Council, June 2026For many years, the ISBA has participated in the Springfield PrideFest, a beloved Central Illinois tradition held on the third Saturday of May.
State Legislative Update: New Education Laws Part IIBy Phil MilskEducation Law, February 2026Learn more about new legislation for 2026 that impacts education law, including ABLE Account Information, Safety Drills and Substitutes, AI Guidance, and more.
State Prosecutions of ICE AgentsBy Natalia GalicaCriminal Justice, April 2026In recent months, state and local communities have been increasingly clashing with federal officers over immigration enforcement tactics. In response, for example, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed the “ICE on Notice” executive order. In theory, Mayor Johnson’s executive order seems to be an apt solution to increasing calls for accountability. In reality, however, state prosecutions of federal agents come with some unique challenges.
