by Judith Miller, Esq.
Americans are fairly comfortable with wealth inequality. At least, that is one conclusion that can be drawn from the 2011 research findings of Dr. Michael Norton, Harvard Business School.1
ISBA members, sign up to receive The Bar News' biweekly e-newsletter by emailing emailpreferences@isba.org
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March 10, 2021 |
Practice News
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March 10, 2021 |
Member Services
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 February 2021 there were more than 600 referrals given. Here are the results for February 2021:
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Get the updates and information you need on how the Law Division of Cook County is currently working with this informative online program. Tort law attorneys, bench and bar practitioners, and civil practice attorneys with intermediate to advanced levels of practice experience who attend this program from noon until 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 24 will better understand: how to handle motions and pretrials in the law division; how Zoom might play a role in jury trials and other parts of a case going forward; the latest information on when trials will resume in Cook County; and much more.
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March 9, 2021 |
ISBA News
Join ISBA President Elect Anna Krolikowska and her husband, Eric Hanis, to explore the renowned Sonoma Valley winemaking region. The wine country excursion is scheduled to take place May 12-16, 2022.
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The Illinois Supreme Court announced today two amendments to Order M.R. 30370 regarding remote proceedings in adult criminal cases. The Illinois Judicial Conference’s Court Operations During COVID-19 Task Force (Task Force) recommended these amendments to avoid any ambiguity and to simplify logistical issues regarding the waivers.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected each area of law in different ways, but common themes overlap all practices, including the signing and witnessing of documents, writes Daniel C. Katzman in his March 2020 Illinois Bar Journal article,"Are E-Signatures E-nough?" Court pleadings, settlement documents, purchase agreements, and estate-planning paperwork are a few examples of the countless legal draftings that require multiple signatures. With many lawyers being socially distanced from their offices, staff, and clients, electronic signatures have come to the forefront as a convenient and beneficial tool to the practice of law. Although many lawyers may cringe at the notion of e-anything, e-signatures have been utilized for years, Katzman asks whether e-signatures really can be as legally acceptable as pen-and-paper signatures.
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Chief Justice Anne M. Burke and the Illinois Supreme Court announced today an order for the creation of a new Supreme Court Statutory Court Fees Task Force (“Task Force”) to replace the original 15-member Task Force created under the Access to Justice Act. The new Task Force is charged with conducting a thorough review of the entire Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act (CTAA), including the various statutory fees imposed or assessed on criminal defendants and civil litigants and the fiscal impact of the new civil and criminal fee schedules. It will also identify any issues with implementation and propose recommendations for legislative and/or rules changes as needed. The Order is available on the Court website.1 comment (Most recent March 11, 2021)
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COVID-19 has created a number of unforeseen situations, including stressed families facing increased incidences of domestic violence. And the current protocol from government edicts and Illinois Supreme Court Rules—including lease termination and the eviction process—adds yet another level of stress, which only exacerbates the domestic violence situation facing many families living in rental housing.
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Join us from noon until 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 17 to hear from our panel of mental health professionals experienced in supporting families and their trusts. Learn the common struggles of people in recovery and the tools that can be used to help them move forward more successfully. Estate practitioners, family law attorneys, elder law attorneys, and mental health practitioners who are interested in helping their impaired clients (while avoiding the pitfalls that come with the territory) will better understand: the questions to ask parents in an attempt to get more information during the discovery process; how to plan in the midst of a crisis vs. prior to the crisis occurring; how to effectively partner with your clients who are struggling with mental illness or addiction in their family during the estate planning process; how to distinguish between proactive and reactive planning when mental illness or addiction is present in the family unit; and much more.
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Launching and running a law firm in “normal” times is difficult enough. But doing so during a pandemic creates additional challenges on top of the usual ones, say attorneys who participated in the ISBA’s February CLE program, “Starting and Running Your Own Law Practice.” The presenters’ expertise formed the basis of the 2021 March Illinois Bar Journal cover story, “The COVID-19-Era Firm.” The IBJ spoke with the program’s presenters, who outlined their pandemic-minded advice for solo and small-firm attorneys who are either starting out or rethinking the ways they conduct business. Their main takeaways: Plan to add extra measures of flexibility, networking, and a focus on well-being to the typical to-do list of establishing technology, billing and finance practices, incorporation paperwork and tax filings, a library of forms and documents, and policies that guide employee-related decisions.