Chicago Area

Studies have shown that achieving certain diversity benchmarks can generate greater volumes of business and enhanced professionalism. Join us in Chicago on May 13th to get the tips and best practice advice you need to establish diversity within your law firm. Managing members, partners, and principles in medium to large law firms who attend this seminar will better understand: current diversity numbers and trends; client expectations; handling client demands; how to create diversity-driven initiatives within your firm; what works and what doesn’t when trying to create a diversity program; and much more!

The program qualifies for 4.25 hours MCLE credit, including 4.25 hours approved Professional Responsibility MCLE credit. It is presented by ISBA’s Standing Committee on Racial and Ethnic Minorities and the Law, and co-sponsored by the ISBA Business & Securities Law Section, the ISBA Standing Committee on Women & the Law, the ISBA Standing Committee on Disability Law, the ISBA Standing Committee on Sexual Orientation & General Identity, the ISBA Diversity Leadership Council, the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms, and the Chinese American Bar Association.

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Join us in Chicago on May 8th for this unique opportunity to learn directly from federal judges and mediators on all aspects of settlement! Learn the tips of the trade as several panels of federal judges, retired federal judges, and mediators share everything you need to know about settlement in the federal courts. Attorneys with all level of experience practicing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals who attend this seminar will gain a better understanding of: meeting the judges’ expectations for pre-settlement preparations; preparing your client for settlement; how to conduct the settlement conference, including conference procedures and techniques to help both parties come to a settlement agreement; how to handle settlement compliance issues and the court’s ability to enforce the settlement agreements; and the Seventh Circuit’s settlement program procedures.

The program is presented by the ISBA Federal Civil Practice Section and qualifies for 4.0 hours MCLE credit, including 4.0 hours Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval).

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The Illinois Supreme Court and Justice Mary Jane Theis announced Tuesday the appointment of attorneys Andrea M. Buford and Pamela McLean Meyerson as Cook County Circuit Judges.

Ms. Buford was appointed by the Court to fill the at-large vacancy created by the retirement of Pamela E. H. Veal. The appointment is effective May 17, 2013 and will terminate December 1, 2014, when the position is filled by the 2014 General Election.

Attorney Robert Howard was called one of “the lawyers who reformed Chicago.”

Mr. Howard used the law to fight police spying, help desegregate schools, and empower African-American police officers. He also campaigned for the election of two African-American “firsts”: Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and President Barack Obama.

Political consultant Don Rose included Mr. Howard among the “The Lawyers Who Reformed Chicago” in a 2011 analysis he wrote for www.theweekbehind.com. Mr. Howard and two other attorneys filed suit around 1974 to investigate illegal police spying in what became known as the “Red Squad” case.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, opposition to the Vietnam War — and the push for civil rights and other causes — created a cultural upheaval. Some Chicago Police officers infiltrated groups that were deemed subversive, but often were composed of social-justice activists or organizations unfriendly to Mayor Richard J. Daley. The police intelligence squad — known as the Red Squad — amassed thousands of files on people and associations. Sometimes, the squad used rumors to try to destabilize so-called anti-establishment groups. Surveillance targets included author Studs Terkel; Aldermen Leon Despres and Dick Simpson; Dr. Quentin Young, the head of medicine at Cook County Hospital; Chicago Defender Publisher John Sengstacke; Clergy and Laity Concerned; the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago; the Organization for a Better Austin, and Operation PUSH.