Don’t miss this full-day mock demonstration based on an actual multi-party construction case mediation! Watch and listen as seasoned lawyers demonstrate a construction case from the pre-mediation stage to the settlement agreement and learn which methods and techniques are most useful in a construction mediation case. Attorneys with basic or intermediate practice experience who attend this seminar on January 12, 2018 – either in Chicago or via Live Webcast – will better understand: the procedures, methods, and techniques common to all mediations; the unique problems and issues in a construction case mediation; the issues that you need to be prepared to deal with during the pre-mediation conference; how to handle the pre-mediation position paper; the issues that you should expect to arise in a group opening session; how the parties should interact during the breakout session for an effective mediation; how to deal with the Settlement Agreement in concluding the mediation; how to manage the ethical issues that can arise during the confidential process of mediation; and much more! The program is presented by the ISBA Construction Law Section and co-sponsored by the ISBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. It qualifies for 7.25 hours MCLE credit, including 7.25 hours Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval). Get more information and register on our CLE page.

In a veto session conducted under the shadow of sexual harassment allegations by female lobbyists and others, the Illinois General Assembly overrode Governor Rauner's vetoes of many bills. Among the new laws: Illinois Student Loan Servicing Rights Act. Legislators overrode the veto of Senate Bill 1351, which was championed by Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Also known as the Illinois Student Loan Servicing Rights Act, the Act introduces licensing requirements for servicing student loans in Illinois. It also establishes a "Student Loan Bill of Rights," which prohibits certain servicing practices, imposing various requirements upon student loan servicers. The Act allows the Attorney General to enforce violations under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Criminal justice reform. The General Assembly made more strides towards criminal justice reform during the veto session. In particular, HB 184 has been amended to reduce some burdens placed on parolees and to give courts more latitude in determining sentencing. Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefit Act. The legislature overrode Governor Rauner's amendatory veto of SB 302, which amends the Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefit Act. The bill expanded the Act's scope to include lapsed and terminated life insurance policies. It also requires insurers to compare policies, annuity contracts, and retained asset files to the full Death Master File to determine whether there are unclaimed benefits. Find out more in the December Illinois Bar Journal.

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 November 2017 there were over 800 referrals given. ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:

Registration for the 20th annual ISBA Young Lawyers Division Holiday Party closes on Monday, Dec. 4. Don't miss out on the opportunity to socialize, enjoy food and refreshments, and meet young lawyers from across the state on Dec. 7 from 7-9 p.m. at Exchequer Pub in Chicago. Proceeds from the holiday party will go to the Illinois Bar Foundation YLD's Children Assistance Fund. Initially created to assist with the opening of children's waiting rooms in courthouses across the State of Illinois, the Children's Assistance Fund has since grown, and now provides funding to organizations across Illinois that provide legal assistance to children, maintain children's waiting rooms in courthouses, work to reduce recidivism of juveniles, and/or work to reduce the incidents of domestic violence in families with children. Visit the website for more information.