2025 Joint Midyear Meeting PhotosFebruary 2026The Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association proudly co-hosted the 2025 Joint Midyear Meeting on December 11–12 at the JW Marriott Chicago, bringing members of the legal community together for two days of connection and collaboration.
Audit Trails and the Scope of Medical Record Discovery in IllinoisBy Courtney A. Berlin & Mary DalenbergFebruary 2026As electronic medical records have become standard practice, discovery disputes focus on not only what appears in the patient chart, but how the chart was created, accessed, and modified. One of the most contested sources of that data is the audit trail, a system-generated log showing when records were accessed, altered, or reviewed.
When Does the Deliberate Encounter Exception Apply to an Open and Obvious Condition?By Brent R. EamesFebruary 2026An analysis of the appellate court’s reasoning in Hertz v. City of Fairbury: Based upon the court’s reasoning in Hertz, it should be clear that any defect which only poses a minor inconvenience to navigate will not be considered valid for purposes of invoking the deliberate encounter exception to an open and obvious condition.
Wilcox v. Advocate Condell Is a Roadmap To Litigate System-Based Institutional NegligenceFebruary 2026The First District in Wilcox v. Advocate Condell Medical Center upheld the longstanding principle that a hospital’s direct liability is not limited strictly to “administrative functions." When appropriate, plaintiff’s attorneys should plead and prove institutional negligence claims in addition to claims for respondeat superior and/or individual providers’ medical negligence.
