Volunteers are needed for the 2020 ISBA High School Mock Trial Invitational, which will be held March 14-15 at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign-Urbana.
This program provides an opportunity for students to learn what it is like to prepare and present a legal case before the Illinois courts. Participating students gain a better understanding of the justice system and improve their knowledge, skills, and ability to articulate in a reasoned, thoughtful manner.
Model Illinois Government is a multi-collegiate state organization that simulates the workings of our state government. Each spring, nearly 300 students from 20 Illinois colleges and universities converge to participate in our state government simulation.
The chief justice of the MIG Supreme Court is seeking volunteer attorneys to assist with judging a 3-day moot court competition at the Wyndham Hotel in Springfield. Preferred volunteers will have an understanding of the moot court/supreme court oral argument process. Law school students and legal professionals will also be considered.
In the spring, members of the ISBA will elect a third vice president, two Board of Governors seats in Cook County, and 21 seats for Cook County Assembly.
One board seat is open in each of the following Areas: Area 3 (Circuits 12, 13, 16, 21, and 23), Area 4 (Circuits 10, 14 and 15), Under Age 37 – Cook County, and Under Age 37 Outside Cook County (Circuits 1-23).
The ISBA Springfield and Chicago offices will be closed for the holidays from Tuesday, Dec. 24 to Wednesday, Jan. 1. During this time, members can expect the following:
All business and e-newsletter distribution will resume as usual on Jan. 2, 2020.
Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to low-income individuals in central and southern Illinois, is seeking a managing attorney at the Northern Regional Office in Springfield.
The position includes managing the day-to-day operation of a regional office serving a multi-county region, including its staff, private bar programs, and multiple grants. It also includes supervising staff to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the office and the delivery of professional and high quality legal services.
McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips (MVP) opens their eighth office across the midwest in Springfield.
The Springfield office is the second office opened in 2019 by MVP and follows the opening of the Des Moines, Iowa, office in August. MVP has served Illinois for over 20 years out of the St. Louis office, and is excited to expand to the capital city of Illinois to better serve its clients throughout the state.
Presidents of the Putnam County and Bureau County Bar Associations met recently to discuss the licensed practice of the profession of law. Roger C. Bolin, Putnam County Bar President, and Richard C. Fiocchi, Bureau County Bar President, have each been conducting the licensed practice of law for 40 year. They used this occasion to discuss advocating the positions of their clients. Attorneys listen to the client's problem, and analyze the legal options based on experience applying guiding legal principles. This "client counseling" is a large part of the profession, which is so much more than just filling out forms, which are often picked up incorrectly off the internet. Knowing what, and when forms may be needed, and the effects of those drafted documents, is part of the skill applied.
Mark your calendars for the ISBA High School Mock Trial Invitational, March 14-15, 2020, at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign-Urbana!
Help us make the 2020 invitational a success by participating! All lawyers, judges, law students, and paralegals are invited to volunteer as judges and jurors for the 2020 invitational, which provides an opportunity for students to learn what it is like to prepare and present a legal case before the Illinois courts.
Volunteer registration information will be distributed in January 2020. No trial experience is necessary.
Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court justices welcomed 1,459 new attorneys to the legal profession on Nov. 7 during admissions ceremonies held at five different locations across the state.
ISBA staff members were in attendance at all five ceremonies to welcome the state's newest attorneys to the profession, take photos, and talk about the benefits of ISBA membership, which is free for one year for new admittees. Member benefits can be activated by filling out the New Admittee Membership Form.
All of those who were sworn in have passed the Illinois State Bar Examination and a required ethics examination and were certified by the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness. They bring the total number of Illinois-licensed attorneys to approximately 96,500.
New attorneys were admitted to practice in Illinois on Nov. 7 at five separate locations across the state. The Third Judicial District ceremony was held at the East Peoria Embassy Suites Hotel Conference Center, 100 Conference Center Drive, in Peoria.