[caption id="attachment_1410" align="alignright" width="300" caption="ISBA President John O'Brien is sworn in by Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald as his wife Karen looks on."][/caption] John O'Brien was sworn in as the new Illinois State Bar Association President on Friday before a sold-out crowd at the Annual Meeting in Lake Geneva. "I am humbled and honored to serve as the 133rd President of the ISBA," O'Brien said. "I am especially honored by the presence of so many past Presidents and I realize I would not be here without their encouragement. Their presence also reminds me that we  -- all of us -- owe a debt to the past and have a duty to the future of the ISBA." O'Brien, of Arlington Heights, is the founding president of the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association. He has been a champion of taking on the unauthorized practice of law by real estate companies and title insurance firms.  He was  elected to the ISBA Assembly in 1997. "We are called to service and tonight we rededicate ourselves to the ongoing struggle to attain access to a free and independent judicial system fueled by the hard work of lawyers and judges alike," O'Brien said. In 2002, he received the most votes for a seat on the Board of Governors.

[caption id="attachment_1316" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Annual Meeting Opening Reception"][/caption] The Illinois State Bar Association's Annual Meeting kicked off Thursday night in Lake Geneva with an Opening Reception and Workshop on "Becoming a Law Professor". Click here to view our photo gallery from the Opening Reception. SIU Law School Dean Peter Alexander and Professor Alice Noble-Allgire walked ISBA members down the path of becoming a law professor. Alexander and Noble-Allgire discussed two key ways to do this. 1. Submit your resume to the AALS to reach hundreds of law schools. Click here to visit the AALS website. 2. Apply directly to the law school.

State

Judge sets Blagojevich trial date for June 3, 2010, Sun-Times

SCOTUS

Teen strip-searched in school wins partial victory, CNN This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day.

[caption id="attachment_1232" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Jayne Reardon"][/caption] The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that Jayne Reardon has been appointed as executive director of the Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, a body established to improve civility between and among lawyers, their clients and judges in Illinois. Ms. Reardon, a University of Michigan Law School graduate who is an experienced Illinois lawyer and licensed to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, has served as deputy director of the commission since 2006. During that time, she has been a key formulator of policy approved by the Commission and a facilitator of quality continuing legal education in the area of professional responsibility. Supreme Court Justice Robert R. Thomas initiated the concept of the Commission to improve professionalism among lawyers and judges, and the full Supreme Court established the Commission in 2005. The Commission has achieved its goals with limited staff and budget. No taxpayers dollars are involved as the Commission is funded by a small portion of the annual registration and licensing fees paid by Illinois attorneys.