Ashley Brandt, a partner with Goldstein & McClintock LLLP and a member of the Illinois Bar Journal Editorial Board, provides an overview of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (HB 1438-SFA 2), which made Illinois the 11th state to legalize recreational cannabis and the first to do so without a public referendum. The Act provides for the state’s oversight and control of cannabis production, sale, regulation, testing, decriminalization, and taxation. It also includes social equity and criminal justice reforms.

In his July 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Responding to Affirmative Defense,” Jake Crabbs, a law clerk for Justice Mathias W. Delort in the Illinois Appellate Court (First District), lays out a plan for responding to affirmative defenses in the early stages of litigation. To set the stage, he asks you to “[i]magine you have filed a civil complaint for breach of a simple personal-loan contract. Predictably, the defendant responds with a section 2-619.1 combined motion to dismiss and throws everything into it. After a tedious round of briefing and even oral arguments, the judge denies the motion entirely and orders the defendant to answer the complaint. Finally, you assume, this simple, little case can get moving. But you are wrong. When the defendant files her answer, she also raises 11 affirmative defenses. Eleven! Some of the defenses are merely one-sentence denials of your well-pleaded allegations and several were already raised in her motion to dismiss. Does opposing counsel even know what affirmative defenses are? Regardless, you are now in for another round of time-consuming motion practice.”

Read the July 2019 Illinois Bar Journal and get to know new ISBA President David Sosin. Sosin, a partner of the Orland Park firm of Sosin, Arnold & Schoenbeck, practices real estate, land use, and zoning law. He also serves as attorney for the Village of Crestwood just east of Orland Park. He has a long history of bar leadership, including stints as president of the Southwest Suburban Bar Association and the Illinois Bar Foundation prior to entering the leadership track at the ISBA, where his wife, Janet, recently retired as director of bar services after more than 30 years of service.

Sosin sees many needles to move during the 2019-20 bar year. Included among his top priorities are: attorney wellness, law firm succession planning, bar association leadership, and health insurance for lawyers and firms.

Lawyers are trained to practice law, not run businesses. But solo practitioners and leaders of smaller firms generally need to excel at both. That means winning cases, satisfying clients, and attending to the financial wellness of your firm-each of which requires a combination of strong administrative habits and skills. In the Illinois Bar Journal’s June cover story, “Practice Checkup,” we consider suggestions from lawyers for staying organized, maintaining your revenue stream, assessing your marketing tactics, and planning for the future. How long has it been since you took stock of your business acumen?