[caption id="attachment_15472" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Justice Mary Jane Theis"][/caption] Former ISBA Board member Mary Jane Theis will take the oath today as the newest member of the Illinois Supreme Court, the fourth woman to sit on the state’s highest tribunal. Justice Theis, an Appellate Court judge in Illinois for the past 17 years, will be sworn in by Retired Chief Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald. Justice Fitzgerald announced his retirement last month and the Supreme Court appointed Justice Theis to fill his vacancy. Justice Thomas L. Kilbride was elected by his colleagues to become Chief Justice, an appointment which also becomes effective on Tuesday. Justice Theis’ ceremony is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. October 26 in the ceremonial courtroom on the lower level of the James R. Thompson Center. Among those who will be speaking at the ceremony will be Attorney General Lisa Madigan; Retired U.S. District Court of Appeals Judge Abner J. Mikva; Illinois Appellate Court Justice Joy V. Cunningham; and Illinois Senate President John Cullerton. Justice Theis will join Justices Rita B. Garman from the Fourth Judicial District and Anne M. Burke from the First Judicial District to mark the first time in history three women will sit on the Illinois Supreme Court at the same time.

Lawyers for the Creative Arts® (LCA) will present several awards at its 2010 Annual Benefit Luncheon on Thursday, October 28, at noon, in the Empire Room at the Palmer House Hilton, 17 E. Monroe, Chicago. Jerry W. Glover, a partner in Leavens, Strand & Glover, LLC, and vice president of the LCA board of directors, will receive the Thomas R. Leavens Award for his long and distinguished service to the LCA. Other awards will go to Scott McCue, a partner at Mayer Brown, LLP, and his wife Judith McCue, a partner at McDermott, Will & Emory, and to Kit Woods, retired assistant executive director/TV/Theatrical Contracts of the Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Chicago office.  Also being honored is the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, LLP.  The late Fred Anderson, a jazz legend, will be honored in Memoriam. Individual tickets are $125 per person.  Sponsorship packages are also available.  For more information, visit www.law-arts.org or call the LCA at (312) 649-4111. Since it was founded in 1972, Lawyers for the Creative Arts® has mushroomed into an organization of hundreds of lawyers who provide pro bono assistance to thousands of clients each year.  LCA conducts workshops on not-for-profit incorporation and tax exemption, seminars on the law of music, publishing, film, copyright and more, and mentors young attorneys.  Thomas Leavens, its first full-time executive director for whom an award is named, is still active in the organization.

The Illinois State Bar Association's Solo and Small Firm Conference continues today at the Springfield Hilton. Plenary speaker Mark Curriden will be presenting "Contempt of Court: A Lynching that Changed the American Justice System" and Dustin Cole will be presenting "Practice Pointers for the Changing Legal Landscape." Follow all of the action at IllinoisLawyerNow.com or on Twitter at #isbassf.

The Appellate Lawyers Association will host a luncheon featuring Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at noon. The luncheon, titled "Beyond Opinions: Petitions, Motions, Writs and Rules of the Illinois Supreme Court," will be held at the Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson. Cost is $35 for ALA members and $45 for non-members. Register at www.applawyers.org/newevents.html