Practice News

 In Illinois, the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act is a bulwark against improper disclosures of mental health information. At the time of its enactment, the Act was a “comprehensive revision” of prior safeguards for mental health records. And, to this day, the law “constitutes a strong statement by the General Assembly about the importance of keeping mental-health records confidential.”  In their November 2024 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Mind Over Matter,”  Joseph T. Monahan and Matthew R.

Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced that D’Anthony (Tony) Thedford has been appointed as an At-Large Judge for the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Mr. Thedford is being appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Paul Karkula. Mr. Tedford’s appointment is effective December 2, 2024, and will continue through Dec. 7, 2026.

 The Illinois Bar Journal’s November cover story asks the question, “Can you beat City Hall?” The answer is, “Yes, but it’s complicated.” You must be well-schooled to do it successfully, according to a panel of Illinois municipal attorneys who provided insights into litigating against municipalities during a recent ISBA continuing legal education (CLE) program. The IBJ distilled the panel’s guidance and also interviewed attorneys experienced in fighting and representing municipalities and the State of Illinois.

 Jeff Krause, partner and senior document management consultant at Affinity Consulting Group, says he’s often surprised by how many people remain unaware of everything included with Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 offers many useful apps and features beyond the traditional Office programs, he writes in his October Illinois Bar Journal Pointers From Practice HQ column, “Word and Excel Online.” “For reasons lost on me,” Krause continues, “many people refuse to even try or seem to openly dislike Word and Excel Online.