Employee Benefits

Achieving Wellness, Work-Life Balance, and Long-Term Success in Your Law Practice

ISBA Members: Use your 15 hours of Free CLE credits to order this program –
just use the green button next to the “Add to Cart” button below!
Master Series presented by the Illinois State Bar Association


1.50 hours MCLE credit, including 1.50 hours Professional Responsibility MCLE credit in the following category: Mental Health & Substance Abuse credit


Original Program Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Accreditation Expiration Date: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­May 14, 2026 (You must certify completion and save your certificate before this date to get MCLE credit)


Are you feeling overwhelmed by the unrelenting demands of your legal career? If so, then you are not alone. Don’t miss this opportunity to listen as our renowned speaker, Doug Brown, addresses the unique challenges attorneys face in our modern world. Together, we'll explore transformative strategies to reduce stress, find balance, and rekindle your passion for law. Attorneys who attend this seminar will learn how to:
  • Balance high standards with realistic goals;
  • Establish firm work-life boundaries (while continuing to achieve your goals);
  • Navigate firm culture securely and confidently; and
  • Prioritize your physical and mental health.
About the Speaker:
Doug Brown, J.D., is the Chief Learning Officer at Summit Success, LLC. As an executive coach, law practice consultant, and growth strategist he shares practical strategies to promote sustainable law firm growth and lawyer well-being. An authority implementing positive change, his experience includes private and in-house legal practice and business marketing, sales, human resources, finance, and information technology. He also served as chief executive of the Connecticut Bar Association and chief operating officer for a chain of fine jewelry stores. As Program Chair and Professor in the MBA Program for The Malcolm Baldrige School of Business at Post University, he designed and delivered MBA programs in leadership, entrepreneurship, finance, and innovation specifically for experienced executives.

Pricing Information

  • Please Note: You must attend the entire program in order to earn MCLE credit for this seminar.
  • ISBA sponsoring section members get a $10 registration discount (which is automatically calculated in your cart when you log in to register).
  • Fees:
    • ISBA Member Price of $52.50 is displayed below when you login and program is eligible for Free CLE member benefit.
    • Non-Member Price $105
    • New Attorney Member (within the first five years of practice) - $25
    • Law Students – Free

(D)emystifying a (P)rivacy (A)cronym: Data Protection Addendum (DPA) 101

ISBA Members: Use your 15 hours of Free CLE credits to order this program –
just use the green button next to the “Add to Cart” button below!
Presented by the ISBA Privacy and Information Security Law Section


1.50 hours MCLE credit, 1.50 hours Professional Responsibility MCLE credit in the following category: Professionalism, Civility, or Legal Ethics credit, or Sexual Harassment Prevention credit


Original Program Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
Accreditation Expiration Date: May 20, 2026 (You must certify completion and save your certificate before this date to get MCLE credit)


Don’t miss this program that is designed to help demystify the Data Protection Addendum (DPA) and show you how to approach third party/vendor contracts involving personal data. Business advice/financial planning attorneys, corporate law counsel, privacy and security law lawyers, and legal technology practitioners with basic practice experience who attend this online program will better understand:
  • When a DPA is required;
  • What is involved in a DPA, including key terms and requirements (from both a data controller and data processor perspective);
  • The policies and procedures required to supplement DPA promises;
  • The new technologies that impact DPAs and require special considerations;
  • The legal landscape governing contracts involving “personal” data, including U.S. and international differences;
  • When to escalate issues to privacy professionals; and
  • Much more.

Program Coordinator:
Rita W. Garry , Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC, Chicago

Program Chat Moderator:
Fariz Burhanuddin , Burhanuddin Law, Chicago

Program Speakers:
Rita W. Garry , Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC, Chicago
Tatyana L. Ruderman , InfoLawGroup, LLP, Chicago


Pricing Information

  • Please Note: You must attend the entire program in order to earn MCLE credit for this seminar.
  • ISBA sponsoring section members get a $10 registration discount (which is automatically calculated in your cart when you log in to register).
  • Fees:
    • ISBA Member Price of $52.50 is displayed below when you login and program is eligible for Free CLE member benefit.
    • Non-Member Price $105
    • New Attorney Member (within the first five years of practice) - $25
    • Law Students – Free

Time Management Series: Get Organized! Fight the Paper - Organize Your Digital Matter File

ISBA Members: Use your 15 hours of Free CLE credits to order this program –
just use the green button next to the “Add to Cart” button below!
Master Series presented by the Illinois State Bar Association


1.0 hour MCLE credit, including 1.0 hour Professional Responsibility MCLE credit in the following category: Professionalism, Civility or Legal Ethics credit


Original Program Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Accreditation Expiration Date: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­April 2, 2026 (You must certify completion and save your certificate before this date to get MCLE credit)


To efficiently process daily tasks & emails, you must be organized! In modern times, that means you must have a digital matter/case file that is complete and organized. In other words, to find answers to questions and to solve problems for clients, we must be able to efficiently find answers and information. Emails can’t be stuck in users’ inboxes. Some documents can’t be in one place, and other documents in another place. We also need effective and secure remote access when working from the road or home. In this seminar, learn how to centralize & securely maintain paperless files!

Program Speaker:
Paul Unger, Affinity Consulting, Ohio
About the Speaker:
Paul is a national speaker and author. He coaches lawyers how to be more efficient with time management by offering customized workshops. When he isn’t speaking or writing, he is usually performing technology assessments throughout the United States and Canada. Paul began his career working for the Governor of Ohio, and then went on to law school. He practiced law for six years, specializing in litigation and bankruptcy, before starting a legal technology consulting company with partner Barron Henley in 2000. Paul’s superpowers are cleaning up messes and turning digital chaos into well-organized machines. His favorite part of his job is helping people get organized and focused so they can find more enjoyment in their lives and jobs.

Pricing Information

  • Please Note: You must attend the entire program in order to earn MCLE credit for this seminar.
  • ISBA sponsoring section members get a $10 registration discount (which is automatically calculated in your cart when you log in to register).
  • Fees:
    • ISBA Member Price of $35 is displayed below when you login and program is eligible for Free CLE member benefit.
    • New Attorney Member (within the first five years of practice) - $25
    • Law Students – Free

Time Management Series: Time and Distraction Management + Digital Detox

ISBA Members: Use your 15 hours of Free CLE credits to order this program –
just use the green button next to the “Add to Cart” button below!
Master Series presented by the Illinois State Bar Association


1.0 hour MCLE credit, including 1.0 hour Professional Responsibility MCLE credit in the following category: Professionalism, Civility or Legal Ethics credit
Original Program Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Accreditation Expiration Date: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­March 2, 2026 (You must certify completion and save your certificate before this date to get MCLE credit)


Professionals today are constantly distracted by technology, connectivity, and information overload. These physical and digital distractions cause very smart people to underperform and contribute to anxiety inability to focus. In this interactive session, you will learn how to build healthy boundaries with technology, how to better unplug/disconnect and take back control of technology instead of it controlling you. We will teach you distraction management techniques and a practical time management methodology that enables you regain control of your day. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty, and learn how Microsoft Outlook and other tools can help you achieve focus during the day.


Program Speaker:
Paul Unger, Affinity Consulting, Ohio


About the Speaker:
Paul is a national speaker and author. He coaches lawyers how to be more efficient with time management by offering customized workshops. When he isn’t speaking or writing, he is usually performing technology assessments throughout the United States and Canada. Paul began his career working for the Governor of Ohio, and then went on to law school. He practiced law for six years, specializing in litigation and bankruptcy, before starting a legal technology consulting company with partner Barron Henley in 2000. Paul’s superpowers are cleaning up messes and turning digital chaos into well-organized machines. His favorite part of his job is helping people get organized and focused so they can find more enjoyment in their lives and jobs.

Pricing Information

  • Please Note: You must attend the entire program in order to earn MCLE credit for this seminar.
  • ISBA sponsoring section members get a $10 registration discount (which is automatically calculated in your cart when you log in to register).
  • Fees:
    • ISBA Member Price of $35 is displayed below when you login and program is eligible for Free CLE member benefit.
    • New Attorney Member (within the first five years of practice) - $25
    • Law Students – Free

Mertes v. Village of Mt. Prospect

Mertes v. Village of Mt. Prospect
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Administrative Review
Citation
Case Number: 
2024 IL App (1st) 221787
Decision Date: 
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
District: 
1st Dist.
Division/County: 
5th Div./Cook Co.
Holding: 
Affirmed in part and reversed in part.
Justice: 
MITCHELL

In two related and consolidated appeals, the appellate court considered whether an administrative hearing officer correctly concluded that the plaintiff’s former employee had a disability that was the result of injuries sustained while responding to emergencies under the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act and that the plaintiff had an obligation to pay the employee’s health insurance premiums when the injury was declared catastrophic. The employee also appealed from a determination of the hearing officer that the Village was not required to reimburse him for premiums paid after the Village stopped paying the premiums. The appellate court affirmed the hearing officer’s conclusion that the employee’s catastrophic disability qualified him for benefits under the Act and that the Village’s obligation attached when the injury was declared catastrophic. The appellate court also reversed the hearing officer’s conclusion that the Village had no obligation to pay the health insurance premiums. (MIKVA and LYLE, concurring)

Wessel v. Wilmette Firefighters' Pension Fund

Wessel v. Wilmette Firefighters' Pension Fund
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Illinois Pension Code
Citation
Case Number: 
2024 IL App (1st) 230565
Decision Date: 
Friday, February 9, 2024
District: 
1st Dist.
Division/County: 
5th Div./Cook Co.
Holding: 
Affirmed.
Justice: 
MIKVA

Plaintiff appealed from a finding of the defendant pension fund board that he was not eligible for non-duty disability under sections 4-111 and 4-109.3 of the Illinois Pension Code. The appellate court affirmed, finding that the defendant pension fund was not plaintiff’s last pension fund as required under the Code to receive benefits and, as a result, that the defendant was not responsible for paying the plaintiff’s non-duty disability pension. (MITHCELL and NAVARRO, concurring)

The Forum of Choice: Litigating Civil Rights Cases Before the Illinois Human Rights Commission

ISBA Members: Use your 15 hours of Free CLE credits to order this program –
just use the green button next to the “Add to Cart” button below!
Presented by the ISBA Labor & Employment Section
Co-sponsored by the ISBA Human Rights Section


1.0 hour MCLE credit, including 1.0 hour Professional Responsibility MCLE credit in the following category: Professionalism, Civility, Legal Ethics, or Sexual Harassment Prevention credit


Original Program Date: Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Accreditation Expiration Date: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­February 5, 2026 (You must certify completion and save your certificate before this date to get MCLE credit)


For over 40 years, the Illinois Human Rights Commission has served as a neutral forum for redressing alleged civil rights violations asserted by members of protected classes in the areas of employment, education, public access to credit, public accommodation, and transactional real estate. In the past 18 months, however, the Commission has undergone a process of update and modernization that is unlike any previous transformative effort attempted in the agency’s four-decade history. Indeed, most practitioners would not even recognize the Commission today, and these changes (largely inspired by new leadership) have now made the Illinois Human Rights Commission an agile, expedient, and advantageous forum for litigating civil rights cases, regardless of whether attorneys are appearing on behalf of the complainant or the respondent. Don’t miss this in-depth overview of the changes that have been made at the Commission, as well as a discussion on why the new Illinois Human Rights Commission is on its way to becoming the litigating forum of choice for all civil rights claims in the State of Illinois. Additional topics include:
  • How members of the protected classes can assert claims of civil rights violations in Illinois under the Illinois Human Rights Act;
  • The role of both the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Illinois Human Rights Commission in the investigation and substantiation of potential civil rights violations; and
  • Which judicial and quasi-judicial forums are available for asserting and adjudicating claims of alleged civil rights violations in Illinois.

Program Coordinator/Chat Moderator:
Craig Colbrook, Deputy General Counsel, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Springfield

Program Speaker:
Hon. Brian Weinthal , Chief Administrative Law Judge, Illinois Human Rights Commission, Chicago



Pricing Information

  • Please Note: You must attend the entire program in order to earn MCLE credit for this seminar.
  • ISBA sponsoring section members get a $10 registration discount (which is automatically calculated in your cart when you log in to register).
  • Fees:
    • ISBA Member Price of $35 is displayed below when you login and program is eligible for Free CLE member benefit
    • Non-Member Price $70
    • New Attorney Member (within the first five years of practice) - $25
    • Law Students - Free

Lane v. Structural Iron Workers Local No. 1 Pension Trust Fund

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Lane v. Structural Iron Workers Local No. 1 Pension Trust Fund
Civil Court
ERISA
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 22-1149
Decision Date: 
July 17, 2023
Federal District: 
N.D. Ill., E. Div.
Holding: 
Affirmed

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-pension fund’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff-plan beneficiary’s action under ERISA, alleging that defendant arbitrarily denied his application for disability benefits, where it unreasonably found that he had failed to causally connect his disability to any on-the-job injury. Relevant plan language required plaintiff to show that his disability was result of accident sustained while on job, and although plaintiff supplied Social Security award letter, his own statement linking his disability to injuries sustained to his knee and shoulder, as well as his workers compensation record, and doctor’s notes, none of these documents established requisite link between his disability and any on-the-job injury. As such, defendant’s denial was not arbitrary, especially where defendant referred matter to independent medical reviewer, who also found no clear connection tying plaintiff’s disability to any workplace injury. Moreover, plan administrator’s denial was entitled to deference, where plan language conferred discretion on administrator.

Thomsen v. Village of Bolingbrook

Thomsen v. Village of Bolingbrook
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Public Safety Employee Benefits Act
Citation
Case Number: 
2023 IL App (3d) 220365
Decision Date: 
Friday, July 14, 2023
District: 
3d Dist.
Division/County: 
Will Co.
Holding: 
Affirmed.
Justice: 
BRENNAN

Plaintiff, a firefighter/paramedic of the defendant, was awarded a line-of-duty disability pension and subsequently filed an application for payment of health insurance premiums under the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act. Plaintiff’s application was denied. He filed a complaint in the circuit court and the trial court granted summary judgment for defendants. The appellate court affirmed, finding that the hearing officer’s denial of the application for benefits was not against the weight of the evidence where the record established that the hearing officer carefully reviewed the evidence and found it insufficient to support the conclusion that the plaintiff’s injury occurred while he was on duty. (McDADE and PETERSON, concurring)

A Checklist for Retirement Plan Sponsors

By Kurt Winiecki
July
2023
Article
, Page 38
Business owners who sponsor retirement plans like 401(k)s need help. Attorneys are in a perfect position to provide it.