Chicago Area

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that the 18th Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Jeffrey S. MacKay as an associate judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit. Mr. MacKay fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Robert G. Kleeman to Circuit Judge.

Mr. MacKay received his undergraduate degree in 1989 from the University of Illinois and his Juris Doctor in 1992 from Chicago Kent. Mr. MacKay is currently affiliated with Ekl, Williams & Provenzale LLC in Lisle, IL.

Paul W. Kaiser, Jr., age 85, a life-long resident of Waukegan, Illinois died on Sunday, March 24, 2013 at Northwestern University Hospital.

Paul graduated from Waukegan High School and then attended the University of Illinois, Urbana, graduating with a degree in business in 1950. He served with the United States Air Force in Japan during the Korean War.

Following his discharge, he attended the University of Denver Law School. He served three years as a Lake County Assistant State's Attorney. While building his private practice, he was appointed as a part-time Public Defender. He served as secretary and treasurer of the Lake County Bar Association.

His experiences serving in the criminal justice system led him to become involved in the Lake County Family Service Agency and Lake County Mental Health Society. He worked with the late Rev. Ralph Smith to organize a group home for young men on probation in need of guidance called "Young Men's Fellowship." The group home was one of the first programs of its kind in the State of Illinois. Now called, "Rebound," it is still in operation. Later, he and Rev. Smith created "Contact," a telephone crisis-intervention hotline.

Join us in Chicago on April 25th for an in-depth look at the basic estate planning tools you need to effectively assist your estate planning clients! Learn the essentials of the initial client meeting, the appropriate use of advanced directives and the ethical considerations in the estate planning process. Don’t miss this opportunity to update your basic knowledge of wills, trusts, and formulating your client’s estate plan. Trusts and estate professionals, new attorneys, small and closely-held business counsel, financial planners and accountants with beginning to intermediate experience who attend this seminar will: learn how to obtain relevant information during the initial client meeting; be better prepared to draft dispositive provisions in a will; understand how to personalize a client’s will; learn to recognize potential gift and estate tax issues; understand the importance of funding trusts; learn to recognize potential gift and estate tax issues; be able to avoid the various pitfalls that may arise throughout the estate planning process; and better understand the ethical considerations in estate planning, including engagement letters, identifying conflicts, and complying with the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct.

The program is presented by the ISBA Trusts & Estate Section Council and qualifies for 6.25 hours MCLE credit, including 1.75 hours Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval).

Click here for more information and to register.

Illinois Judges Association President Hon. Rita M. Novak presented the organization’s Distinguished Service Award to Judge Carole Kamin Bellows on March 28 at the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago.

The Distinguished Service Award is intended to recognize judges who have demonstrated exemplary service to citizens, bench, and bar as shown by devotion to the law, efforts to improve the legal and judicial communities, reputation for honor, integrity, legal knowledge and diligent service, and otherwise distinguishing him or herself as an Illinois judicial officer.

Judge Bellows was first appointed to serve as a judge of the Circuit Court, Domestic Relations Division, by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1986. By being successfully retained by the voters, she continued to serve on the bench for 26 years. Prior to becoming a judge, she was an attorney for 26 years.