In his most recent Feedback Loops column, “Challenge & Recovery,” in the March Illinois Bar Journal, Patrick Barry discusses the importance of balancing one’s “challenge days,” when you have to perform at a high level and “recovery days,” when rejuvenation is the goal. If you don’t get your own challenge-recovery balance right, Barry advises, the quality of the feedback you give other people can suffer, as can your ability to productively process the feedback that’s sent your way.
Illinois Bar Journal
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March 24, 2025 | Practice News
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March 17, 2025 | Practice News
In his March Illinois Bar Journal article, “Did You Notice,” William G. Beatty outlines the usefulness of breach of warranty actions to provide sellers the opportunity to: 1) cure defects, minimize damages, and improve products; 2) protect the seller’s ability to investigate a breach and to gather evidence; and 3) encourage negotiations and settlement. Beatty notes the absence of such notice from buyer to seller is not an affirmative defense that the seller must assert in the answer to the plaintiff’s complaint alleging breach of warranty.
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March 10, 2025 | Practice News
When your client fails to show for trial, judges can conduct one in absentia, but they are obligated to ensure that statutory requirements are met before commencing, notes Charles Golaszewski in his March Illinois Bar Journal article, “Evading Trial.” Golaszewski states prosecutors and defense attorneys must be prepared to argue whether a trial in absentia is warranted in light of the statutory requirements and the circumstances of the case. But if the judge decides to start the trial without the defendant, both parties will need to adjust their trial strategies.
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March 5, 2025 | Practice News
If one thing is clear from the Illinois Bar Journal’s March cover story, it’s that now is not the time to ignore cyber-security threats. The article, “How Cyber-Secure Are You?,” unpacks a pair of ISBA continuing legal education programs held in late 2024 that provided guidance on common cyber vulnerabilities for lawyers. The article explores various concerns, including ethics, compromised emails, hacking tactics, financial-information vulnerabilities, and what lawyers can do to safeguard their computer and network systems from cyber-criminals.
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February 24, 2025 | Practice News
The topic of immigration in the U.S. has always been controversial, including during Abraham Lincoln’s time. In his February Illinois Bar Journal column, “Lincoln, Immigrants, and the American Dream,” retired judge and Lincoln historian Ron Spears revisits Lincoln’s views on immigration, formed as the country, not yet 100 years old, continued to experience wave after wave of population growth due to people from all over the world seeking a better life here.
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February 18, 2025 | Practice News
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) software can produce apparently quality legal work, leading some to wonder whether an attorney’s work will become streamlined and efficient at best or redundant at worst. The good news? Although generative AI technology appears to be changing the legal industry rapidly (or is at least marketed as doing so), the obligations for being an attorney are changing at a decidedly slower pace. In his February 2025 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Prompt Service,” Joshua L.
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February 10, 2025 | Practice News
The antidote to late-trial self-doubting may be a high-low settlement agreement with the other side before the jury reaches a verdict, suggests Cook County Circuit Court Judge John H. Ehrlich in his February 2025 Illinois Bar Journal article, “The Highs & Lows of High-Low Agreements.” Yes, Judge Ehrlich notes, a high-low settlement presents unique risks because the parties typically negotiate its terms under short time constraints and a great deal of stress.
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February 5, 2025 | Practice News
Now that the Illinois Supreme Court says lawyers should not be discouraged from using artificial intelligence (AI), attorneys may have questions about how to use, and how not to use, this rapidly advancing technology in their daily workflow. The February Illinois Bar Journal’s cover story, “It’s Time To Start Using It,” presents practical tips and recommends resources for becoming familiar with AI and how to leverage popular applications like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot.
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January 27, 2025 | Practice News
When filing a joint federal income tax return, both husband and wife are jointly and severally liable for the tax and any additions to the tax, interest, or penalties that arise from the joint return, even if the parties later divorce or one of them dies. But, as Richard Hirschtritt notes in his January Illinois Bar Journal article, “Tax Appeal,” many individuals are unaware of their spouse’s income or the family’s finances. This provides the knowledgeable spouse with an opportunity to expend funds without the knowledge of his or her spouse.
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January 21, 2025 | Practice News
In their January 2025 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Powerful or Powerless?,” Thomas Osran and Robert Held focus on amendments to the Illinois Power of Attorney Act that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Osran and Held note the amendments will help when third parties refuse to honor validly drafted and executed POAs. But, unhelpfully (and perhaps fatally), they add, the law creates no new teeth to enforce unreasonable refusals to honor valid POAs and lists 14 new ways for banks and others to legally refuse to honor otherwise valid POAs.