Bench & Bar

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Bench & Bar Section

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2025 Articles

Bench and Bar Section Members Attend the Annual Meeting in Lincolnshire September 2025 Key moments featuring the Association’s Bench and Bar Section members at the 2025 Annual Meeting held in Lincolnshire on June 5–6.
David C. Marcus: The Unsung Civil Rights Hero By Hon. Jesse G. Reyes January 2025 A civil rights lawyer who represented the Mendez family in the landmark case, Mendez v. Westminster. 
Deepfakes in the Courtroom: Problems and Solutions By George Bellas March 2025 “Deepfakes” are altered or completely fabricated AI-generated images, audio, or video, that are also extremely realistic, making them difficult to discern from reality. In a sense, they’re AI’s version of photoshopping. Lawyers need to educate themselves and their firms on what deepfakes are and how to spot them, develop a healthy skepticism of content they encounter, and question its source. Take nothing at face value, and closely scrutinize details of that content to look for anything inconsistent with reality, such as people with more or less than five fingers.
Editor’s Note: Save the Date for Midyear! By Kimberly Duda September 2025 Mark your calendars for the 2025 Joint Midyear Meeting and check back for more information regarding great programming and networking opportunities! 
FROM ATHENS to AMERICA: Our Legal Roots By Justice Michael B. Hyman April 2025 The law’s got plenty of Latin—those fancy maxims and phrases that make lawyers sound like they’re casting spells instead of arguing cases. Roman law seems baked into our legal system, too. But there’s a kicker: Ancient Greece deserves as much credit, maybe more. Its form of democracy set in motion Ancient Rome’s and our own. Political ideas, philosophical musings, and legal principles that form the backbone of Western jurisprudence all trace back to Ancient Greece. The only reason we don’t notice? Latin is more visible in English.
LAWPAC Needs You! January 2025 The Illinois Lawyers’ Political Action Committee (LAWPAC) needs your help to fulfill its mission to support the legislative goals of the ISBA and Illinois’ legal community.
Mandatory Arbitration Clause Found Unconscionable and Therefore Unenforceable in Nursing Home Contract By Albert E. Durkin & Peter W. Buchcar January 2025 On October 11, 2024, the Illinois First District Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s decision to deny a Motion to Dismiss and Compel Arbitration, finding that mutually binding arbitration clauses or agreements in adhesion contracts that are so one-sided as to be deemed illusory can be substantively unconscionable and unenforceable, regardless of a severability provision. 
Meeting the Special Responsibilities of a Noble Profession By Michael Cortina April 2025 The practice of law is a business. It matters not if a lawyer is on the bench, works in the public interest sector, is an in-house attorney, or is engaged in private practice. All of us make our living in the practice of law, and that means, by default, all of us are also engaged in the business of law. We sometimes need reminding, however, of the other obligations that we have to society.
Minority Representation in the Judiciary: What More Needs To Be Done? By Junaid Afeef September 2025 A discussion of increasing diversity in the judiciary, including how far we've come, the progress that still needs to be made, and a few potential solutions. 
The Most Important Thing You Can Bring to Court By Judge Brian Weinthal January 2025 An administrative law judge shares insight on how attorneys can avoid losing credibility when appearing before a finder-of-fact. 
Recent Appointments and Retirements September 2025 A summary of changes to the judiciary, including those who have been appointed as Circuit Judge and associate judges, those who have retired, and those who have been recalled. 
Recent Appointments and Retirements March 2025 Recent changes to Illinois' judiciary.
Recent Appointments and Retirements January 2025 Recent changes to Illinois' judiciary.
The “Scarcity of Success”: How Law Schools’ Hyper-Competitive Cultures Fuel Bullying By Rachel Kolb September 2025 The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professional's survey found that 1 in 4 attorneys experienced bullying in the workplace. Perhaps if anti-bullying practices and mindsets started in law schools, the legal profession would be less accustomed to bullying. 
Smatterings, a Collection of Short Stories, by Jim Friedlander By Hon. Michael S. Jordan September 2025 A book review of Smatterings, exploring Jim Friedlander's global adventures throughout his career in short-story form. 
Turn On Your Video! By Judge James A. Shapiro & Thomas DeMouy April 2025 Few things are more annoying to a judge than when we can't see the litigant or lawyer we are addressing (or who is addressing us). I once heard a judge describe it on Zoom as the equivalent of "hiding under the benches in court." During the height of the pandemic, there were judges who were not turning on their video as well. Without naming names, my former presiding judge once had to remind everyone in the division to turn on their videos. To a self-represented litigant–much less a lawyer–it must be like addressing the Great Oz in The Wizard of Oz: "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" Pay no attention to that judge on the blank screen. It was inexcusable and unacceptable.
What Is a Motion for Relief? By Justice Judy Cates March 2025 Ever heard of a motion for relief? No—not a motion to reconsider, or motion for new trial or judgment notwithstanding the verdict—but a motion for relief. The motion for relief is a procedural prerequisite to jurisdiction in the appellate court. A party seeking to appeal is tasked with filing a motion for relief, or “mini-brief,” in the trial court, setting forth the alleged errors that occurred during the detention proceedings and the grounds for the relief requested. The motion for relief will also serve as the argument of the appellant on appeal, as the appellant may file, but is not required to file, a memorandum in the appellate court. Ill. S. Ct. R. 604(h)(7) (eff. Apr. 15, 2024). 
The Work of a GAL and Lessons Learned By Judge Maureen Schuette April 2025 Judge Schuette provides insight and guidance from her days as a Guardian Ad Litem.