ISBA News

Nominating petitions for the upcoming ISBA election must be filed by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, January 31, 2011 at either the Illinois Bar Center, 424 South 2nd Street, in Springfield or the ISBA Chicago Office at 20 S. Clark Street, 9th Floor, Chicago. Petitions must be physically submitted with original signatures. Petitions submitted via email or fax will not be accepted. This election will decide a new Third Vice President, 7 Board of Governors and 26 members of the Assembly (Cook County). Click here for more information on ISBA elections.

The ISBA Academy of Illinois Lawyers is accepting nominations for the next class of Laureates. Nominations must be received in writing by March 1, 2011. More information is available at www.isba.org/awards/laureates/nominate Purpose of Academy The Academy was established in 1999 to celebrate excellence in the legal profession and to recognize lawyers throughout the state who maintain the highest of professional standards. Laureates A class of Laureates will be selected annually by the Academy Board of Regents. Laureates will be members of the Illinois State Bar Association and the profession who exemplify values, standards and ideals of the best of the legal profession. A total of 6 Laureates may be selected. Who Qualifies to be a Laureate Candidates must have practiced law primarily in Illinois for at least 25 years, must be a member of the ISBA, and has demonstrated a commitment to the highest principles o fthe legal profession through a pervasive record of service of the law, the profession and the public. A Laureate may be selected posthumously within three years of his/her death. Who Does Not Qualify It is recognized that the contributions of the ISBA Past Presidents to the profession and the publichave been profbund.

Nominating petitions for the upcoming ISBA election may be submitted beginning today, Jan. 3, and must be filed by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, January 31, 2011 at either the Illinois Bar Center, 424 South 2nd Street, in Springfield or the ISBA Chicago Office at 20 S. Clark Street, 9th Floor, Chicago. Petitions must be physically submitted with original signatures. Petitions submitted via email or fax will not be accepted. This election will decide a new Third Vice President, 7 Board of Governors and 26 members of the Assembly (Cook County). Click here for more information on ISBA elections.

[caption id="attachment_16639" align="alignright" width="250" caption="Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride addresses the ISBA Assembly."][/caption] The Illinois State Bar Association Assembly passed a resolution supporting U.S. ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Treaty on Saturday. The measure passed after nearly an hour of heated discussion, mostly in favor of the treaty. Two ISBA sections and four standing committees requested that the Assembly adopt a resolution supporting U.S. Senate ratification of the CEDAW Treaty. The Assembly meeting opened with remarks from Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride. Justice Klibride recalled his tough retention campaign and the attack ads used against him in the race. "It's not about Kilbride," he said. "It's about the independence of the court."