Practice News

 In his fifth and final article in his five-part Illinois Bar Journal series on trial advocacy, Gino L. DiVito focuses on the losing argument, which he says possess a unique status within trial advocacy. In his article, “What I Learned From Teaching Trial Advocacy: The Closing Argument,” published in the IBJ’s February issue, DiVito writes, closing arguments “occupy the climactic arguments in books, plays, movies, stories, and real trials. But persuasion does not magically occur based on the power of closing arguments. If you haven’t done the job of persuasion from the opening gun—if, during the other parts of trial, jurors haven’t accompanied you on the road toward victory—persuasion is unlikely to result from your closing arguments. … Nonetheless, closing arguments deservedly earn the mystique they generate.”

 In a roundup of two recent Illinois State Bar Association CLE programs, the Illinois Bar Journal’s February cover story, “Artificial Intelligence and the Authentic Attorney,” observes that just as an attorney’s time is well spent considering the benefits and drawbacks of AI, the same can be said for keeping in mind best practices for communicating clearly and effectively with clients and colleagues. 

Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Yolanda Harris Sayre as a Circuit Judge in the 5th Subcircuit of Cook County.

 In In re Parentage of A.H., a complicated child-support case that stretched over three countries and involved a recalcitrant noncustodial parent, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court found several reasons for forcing the creation of a section 503(g) trust, most of which concerned the noncustodial parent.