Practice News

 For the Illinois Bar Journal’s November cover story, “Writing Matters,” the IBJ reached out to members of the bench and bar and law-school writing professors, and asked them to reflect on where good and bad writing begin, and why good writing is worth the practice. They had plenty to say, beginning with their observation that graduating from law school does not mean, ipso facto, you have become a good writer.

 It’s Halloween season, so what better time than to reflect on the role of “Devil’s advocate,” suggests ISBA General Counsel Charles J. Northrup in his October Illinois Bar Journal ethics column, “Giving the Devil His Due.” The essential characteristic of the Devil’s advocate is good communication, Northrup continues. “And as a fundamental part of good communication, it should come as no surprise that the idea of being a good Devil’s advocate is fully embraced by the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct.”

 As federal and Illinois state courts seem to disagree as to whether in personam deficiency judgments are mandatory or discretionary under the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law (IMFL), what’s a client to do? In his October Illinois Bar Journal article, “The Illinois-Federal Foreclosure Split,” Morgan I. Marcus writes that there are practical considerations for creditors and borrowers to keep in mind.

 Most attorneys are aware that a revival is not a new action; it is a continuation of the existing action where a final judgment is already entered. The Revival Act only establishes how and when the vested right may be enforced through legal actions filed in the court. But, as Mike Starzec notes in his October Illinois Bar Journal article, “Judgment Revivals: The Seven-Year Itch,” recent amendments to the Revival Act create two classes of judgments with different effective dates requiring revivals at radically different times.