Effective January 1, 2018, e-filing will be mandatory for all civil cases in the Illinois circuit courts. Practice HQ, our new one-stop microsite that houses together high-quality practice information, has a page dedicated to e-filing. This page was designed to help our members understand e-filing basics, stay up-to-date on the latest rule changes, and prepare for what's coming next.

Robert E. Craghead, executive director of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), was installed as 2017-18 president of the National Association of Bar Executives (NABE) Thursday, August 10, at the group’s annual meeting in New York City. He was elected vice-president in the spring of 2016 and automatically ascended to the presidency. NABE members are management-level staff who work for state, metropolitan, and local bar associations from all over the country. Craghead has been active in NABE for decades, having served on the governing board and numerous committees. He received the organization’s Bolton Award for Professional Excellence in 2003. Craghead has spent his entire career with the 30,000-member Illinois State Bar Association, starting there in 1975 and holding a variety of positions before becoming executive director in 1994. He is the third ISBA executive director to serve as NABE president. Amos Pinkerton led the group in 1954-55, as did John H. Dickason in 1976-77. Craghead was born in Galesburg in 1953 and is a graduate of Illinois College. He lives in Springfield with his wife, Fran, and has three children — Brent, Adam, and Rachel — and four grandchildren.

Back by Popular Demand! This two-day program in Chicago on September 7-8, 2017 is designed to help those attorneys who represent children. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 906(c), an attorney should receive ten hours of education every two years in child developments; roles of guardians ad litem and child representatives; ethics in child custody cases; relevant substantive state, federal, and case law in custody and visitation matters; and family dynamics, including substance abuse, domestic abuse, and mental health issues. Topics for this seminar include: the role, scope and limitations of representation; the conflicts that will limit the role of the appointment; child development issues, including mental health, milestones, attachment, and parental separation; working with impaired and high-conflict families; restricting parental responsibilities; how to assess and analyze a child’s best interest on a limited budget for testing and evaluation; domestic violence and how it affects children; conducting the child interview and the developmental issues you need to consider beforehand; cultural competency; and more. The program is presented by the ISBA Family Law Section. It qualifies for 14.5 hours MCLE credit, including 13.0 hours Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval). Click here for more information and to register.

Jeanne Bigham Heaton, ISBA’s Director of CLE, became the president of ACLEA last Tuesday at the association’s annual meeting in Montreal. The gavel was ceremoniously passed to Heaton after she previously served terms as ACLEA’s treasurer and secretary. She will serve as president until August of 2018. Heaton is the first ISBA staff member to rise to the presidency of this preeminent association for continuing legal education professionals. Heaton joined the ISBA as the director of continuing legal education in November 2006.  As director, she supervises and coordinates the planning, implementation, and delivery of CLE programs for the association.  Before joining the ISBA, she worked as an environmental law attorney with the firm of Hodge Dwyer Zeman in Springfield, where she specialized in regulatory and administrative law issues.  Prior to private practice, Heaton served as assistant counsel and then acting chief counsel for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.  She graduated, cum laude, from Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, completing her last year of law school as a visiting student at the American University Washington College of Law. ACLEA, which was established in 1964, is an international association for CLE professionals.  While its members are primarily from the United States and Canada, they also hail from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and Mexico. CLE administrators, trainers, managers, educators, publishers, programmers, and meeting professionals make up the membership of ACLEA.