Peter J. Birnbaum is celebrating twenty-five years as President and Chief Executive Officer of Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. (ATG®, http://www.atgf.com/).
Under his leadership, the company has developed into a leading lawyer service organization with annual revenues in excess of $90 million.
Birnbaum began his career at ATG as a law clerk in 1981 while a first-year student at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. He then advanced to positions of staff attorney, and vice president and counsel.
George B. Collins never let the heat of legal battle get in the way of his old-fashioned, courteous manner.
“George was the absolute gentleman, always,” said Collins’ law partner, Adrian M. Vuckovich. “And he also had the best sense of humor.”
That humor, Vuckovich said, was usually directed at Collins and not at others.
“He would never talk about a case where he was successful,” Vuckovich said. “He hated to lose, but he could make fun of it.”
Collins died Friday at his home in Chicago. He was 85.
Daniel Riess handled many cases as a patent attorney for nearly 50 years, but by far his best-known work was when he represented the Keebler Co. in what came to be known as the "soft cookie wars."
Procter & Gamble Co. alleged Keebler and two other cookie-makers, Frito-Lay and Nabisco Brands, infringed P&G's 1984 patent on "dual-textured cookies," which were crisp outside and soft and chewy inside. P&G marketed the cookies under its Duncan Hines brand; Keebler's version is called Soft Batch.
Riess and many other lawyers spent years on the case until the suits were settled in September 1989, with Keebler and the other two companies paying P&G $125 million.
John Alex, a partner in what is now the Cook Alex law firm, called it "one of the most major patent cases of all time."
In 1897, Scott Bibb, an African-American father of two school-age children, resisted the newly-imposed racial segregation in the Alton, Illinois schools. Join us in Chicago on December 9, 2016 for a look at the family’s persistent legal efforts over the next 11 years and a panel discussion regarding how the case might have unfolded under current laws and rules. The program includes a video replay of the DePaul University Theater School production chronicling the events surrounding this case.
Chief Circuit Judge Kathryn E. Creswell is pleased to announce that following a tabulation of ballots by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts in Springfield, the Circuit Judges of the Eighteenth Judicial Court, DuPage County, Illinois have appointed Joshua J. Dieden to the position of Associate Judge.
Mr. Dieden fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Associate Judge Mary E. O’Connor.
Stellato & Schwartz, Ltd. is pleased to announce the addition of William O. Williams, III who was recently admitted to the Illinois Bar. Williams is a graduate of DePaul University College of Law. He will be working in Stellato & Schwartz, Ltd.'s Chicago office.
Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court administered the attorney’s oath to 1,374 new attorneys on Thursday, November 10, at five separate locations across the state.
The largest group, 1,121, was admitted in the First Judicial District during two ceremonies at Arie Crown Theater, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. The ceremonies were at 9:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.
All of the candidates 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 licensed attorneys in Illinois to approximately 96,300.
Stanley Philip Hutchison, 92, passed away peacefully, comforted by his family, on October 18, 2016 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Mr. Hutchison enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a business and civic leader. He was born in Joliet, Illinois on November 22, 1923, the first son of Verna Emma and Philip Stuart Hutchison. His early life was spent in Springfield, Illinois. He attended Knox College (Galesburg, Illinois), where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. During WWII, he served as a Lieutenant JG in the US Navy. Following his military service, he finished his undergraduate work at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) and received his law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law/Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, Illinois) where he was a member of Phi Delta Phi, the International Legal Honor Society.
Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis has begun an application process for a vacancy in the Eleventh Judicial Subcircuit of Cook County.
The vacancy is created by the upcoming retirement of the Hon. Kathleen Kennedy, effective Nov. 30, 2016.
Under the Illinois Constitution, judicial vacancies are filled on an interim basis by Supreme Court appointment. Justice Theis will make a recommendation to the Supreme Court after applicants for the position undergo a screening and evaluation process.
Chief Circuit Judge Kathryn E. Creswell is pleased to announce that following an October 31, 2016 meeting of the Circuit Judges of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court, two finalists for the Office of Associate Judge have been selected and certified to the Illinois Supreme Court. The finalists are seeking to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Associate Judge Mary E. O’Connor. From these names, the Circuit Judges will select one appointee by secret ballot.