Antitrust laws apply to all businesses, regardless of size, public/private standing, or profit/non-profit status. The civil and criminal penalties for failure to comply with U.S. and State (including Illinois) antitrust laws can be quite severe, and any attorney advising businesses needs to be generally aware of the laws. Join us on May 23rd in Chicago or via live webcast for a program that enhances your knowledge of the antitrust laws and gives you the tools you need to insure compliance with those laws. Corporate attorneys, in-house counsel, commercial practitioners, and those practicing in the trade regulation arena will benefit from the following seminar information:

• Understanding why the antitrust compliance program was established, as well as the program’s basic components and goals;
• Learning how antitrust compliance issues have been affected by technology;
• Properly administering the program;
• Understanding how a successful antitrust compliance program factors into sentencing and leniency; and
• Recognizing pitfalls and fulfilling requirements.

The program, which qualifies for 3.75 hours MCLE credit, is presented by the ISBA Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section and co-sponsored by the ISBA Corporate Law Department Section, ISBA Young Lawyers Division, and the Chicago Bar Association Antitrust Section.

Click here for more information and to register for the live, on-site seminar in CHICAGO.

Join us in Chicago on May 9th for this enlightening, but sobering seminar on a topic that has only recently begun to receive the attention it deserves!

Recent studies show that nearly 1 in 5 inmates housed in our jails and prisons suffers from a serious mental illness, and representing them requires specialized skills and knowledge. Learn about the special issues involved in representing persons with mental illness in the criminal justice system, the rights of this population, and how to make the criminal justice system more responsive to their needs. Hear the philosophical and legal insights of our experienced lawyers and trained professionals as they discuss a myriad of relevant topics, including: advances in neuropsychology and the impact on culpability and sentencing; the attorneys’ role in the client’s mental health issues; the insanity defense and the guilty-but-mentally-ill disposition; a client’s fitness to stand trial and waive rights; and much more!

The program is sponsored by the ISBA Mental Health Section and co-sponsored by the ISBA Criminal Justice Section. It qualifies for 6.5 hours MCLE credit.

Click here for more information and to register.

Among other things, the changes will provide greater flexibility to newly admitted attorneys who need to complete their initial MCLE requirements and make it more attractive for them to participate in an approved mentoring program as part of their initial MCLE requirements.

The Court also eliminated a $20 fee which attorneys had been required to pay to claim credit for participation in non-traditional activities to meet the MCLE requirements.

The amended rules do not change the basic MCLE requirement that attorneys, other than newly admitted lawyers, earn 30 hours of CLE activity during two-year reporting periods beginning in 2012, and 24 hours of certified credit through the 2011 reporting period.

Previously, newly-admitted attorneys were required to take a 15-hour Basic Skills Course. New attorneys admitted after October 1, 2011 are still required to take a total of 15 hours of credit for their initial MCLE requirements but the amended rules give these attorneys more options to fulfill these requirements.  New attorneys need to participate in six hours of professional responsibility credit either by attending a six-hour Basic Skills Course or by participating in a mentoring program pre-approved by the Commission on Professionalism. The additional nine MCLE hours can be according to the new lawyer's choosing and may include professional responsibility credits.