ISBA News

Teams from 52 Illinois high schools will participate in the 42nd annual Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) High School Mock Trial Invitational on March 15 and 16, 2025, at Lincoln Land Community College – Main Campus in Springfield. 

The top ten teams will compete in the final round on March 16th for the state championship. The winner will represent Illinois at the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Phoenix, Arizona. 

On Wednesday, February 12, the ISBA's Springfield Office will be closed so that staff can attend the funeral service of John Berry, the longtime Maintenance Technician for the Illinois Bar Center. As such, the Member Service Representatives will not be available to answer the ISBA's main phone line, but members will still be able to reach staff at the Chicago Regional Office by calling the main phone line and using the digital directory to reach those staff members.

The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For the month of January, 2025, the ISBA helped 1,303 people in need of legal services find lawyers. 

In 1978, the ISBA created LAWPAC (the Illinois Lawyers’ Political Action Committee). LAWPAC’s purpose is simple—to support the legislative goals of the ISBA and the legal profession of Illinois. It is administered by an independent, bi-partisan Board of Trustees of four Republicans and four Democrats. LAWPAC makes contributions to candidates for nomination or election to the Illinois General Assembly. The determination of the political contributions to be made in furtherance of the purposes of Illinois LAWPAC are at the discretion of the Board of Trustees.