Join us in Chicago or via live webcast from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 26 to learn how to master Microsoft Word. For most law offices, Microsoft Word is the core production tool used to create a work product. Further, legal users require more from Word than almost any other profession because the documents produced are necessarily complex. Unfortunately, most legal users find Word frustrating. Getting documents to look the way you want them to is often described as a "wrestling match" where attorneys have to try and "outsmart the program." Some advanced features like automatic paragraph numbering, tables of contents, and tables of authority can seem completely inaccessible. The good news is that once you understand how Word works, it is completely controllable. Issues like "how do I fix this mess?" can be avoided before they occur. Designed by lawyers, for lawyers (and staff), this program helps you master and control Word. Imagine if you spent all of your time creating content and none of it fighting the program!

Join us in Chicago or via live webcast from noon until 3:45 p.m. Thursday, March 19 to learn what attorneys need to know about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This seminar is intended for any practitioner working with clients who are veterans or who have otherwise experienced trauma from violence, abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Attorneys at all levels of practice experience who attend this seminar will better understand: what PTSD is and how it affects a person; how PTSD is treated; the practice areas that PTSD is most commonly seen throughout our legal system; and how to address PTSD in clients regardless of the source of trauma.

Join us in Chicago or via a live webcast from 8:10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Friday, March 6 for the ISBA's 11th annual Animal Law Conference, which highlights important animal law updates and examines the advances made in this rapidly-evolving area of practice. Animal law attorneys, general practitioners, environmental/natural resources lawyers, and counsel for municipalities with all levels of practice experience who attend this seminar will better understand: the current state of the puppy mill industry in Illinois; how civil litigation is being used to help the treatment of farm animals; the role of undercover investigations in animal law; the ongoing legislative and regulatory reform in the horse racing industry, including the Horseracing Integrity Act; the considerations that go into implementing animal protection legislation in Illinois; how to apply the “well-being of the companion animal” in marriage dissolution cases; the recent developments in the pet insurance industry; how mandatory animal encounter training can help reduce the number of dogs shot by police officers; and what Lewis & Clark’s Aquatic Animal Law Initiative is doing to help aquatic animals.

Join us via live webcast from noon until 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26 for an in-depth overview of the steps involved in representing a party in an appeal before the Illinois Appellate Court.

All significant parts of the process are covered—from the commencement of the appeal through issuance of the Appellate Court decision and beyond. Attorneys with basic practice experience who have never handled an appeal (or have not handled an appeal since Illinois instituted mandatory e-filing) attending this seminar will better understand: obtaining or opposing a stay of enforcement in the circuit court; filing the notice of appeal in the circuit court; deciding whether to cross-appeal; requesting preparation of the record on appeal; filing the docketing statement in the Appellate Court; assuring that the record on appeal is complete; filing a supplemental record; determining what issues have been preserved for appeal; selecting the errors to advance; motions in the Appellate Court; drafting the opening brief; drafting the reply brief; preparing for oral argument; delivering oral argument; the Appellate Court decision; petitions for rehearing; the Appellate Court mandate and remand; and considering whether Illinois Supreme Court review may be available.