The Fellows of the Illinois Bar Foundation honored Ann Hatch with the 2016 Distinguished Service to Law & Society Award, and former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald with the 2016 Honorary Fellow Award during their annual Fellows Breakfast on December 9, 2016.
ISBA members, sign up to receive The Bar News' biweekly e-newsletter by emailing emailpreferences@isba.org
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The IJA Joint Meeting luncheon featured speaker, Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton who has served in the Illinois General Assembly for more than three decade on December 9, 2016 in Chicago.
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The Joint Midyear Meeting kicked off with an Opening Reception on Thursday, December 8 at the Sheraton Grand Chicago.
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The Young Lawyers Division hosted its 19th Annual Holiday Party on Dec. 8 at Lizzie McNeill's in Chicago. Proceeds from the event benefit the IBF/YLD Children's Assistance Fund.
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December 8, 2016
"Illinois imposes a dizzying array of filing fees on civil litigants and court costs on defendants in criminal and traffic cases." So begins the executive summary of the Statutory Court Fee Task Force's June 1, 2016 report, available at http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/2016_Statutory_Court_Fee_Task_Force_Report.pdf. The Statutory Court Fee Task Force was created pursuant to the Access To Justice Act (705 ILCS 95/25) to "conduct a thorough review of the various statutory fees imposed or assessed on criminal defendants and civil litigants." The task force was composed of members appointed by representatives of both political parties and all three branches of government. The group identified four key findings, which led to six recommendations "that collectively will simplify the imposition, collection, and distribution of assessments while making them more transparent, affordable, and fair."
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December 8, 2016 |
Practice News
Illinois attorney Michael Zink of Starr, Bejgiert, Zink and Rowells, discusses the basics of landlord tenant law.
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December 7, 2016 |
ISBA News
In recognition of holding the Midyear Meeting at the Sheraton Grand Hotel for 22 years, the Sheraton has provided a one-time special thank you. There will be complimentary Wi-Fi in all ISBA meeting rooms and programs on Thursday afternoon, all day Friday and Saturday morning. Access Code: ISBA Midyear Meeting Password: isba2016 Again, this is a one-time special concession offered by the Sheraton for ISBA’s long-term working relationship.1 comment (Most recent December 8, 2016)
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December 7, 2016
In October, the ISBA Board of Governors approved a proposal to support legislation and a new Rule of Professional Conduct that would expressly allow collaborative law in family law settings. The proposal now goes to the ISBA Assembly for consideration at its meeting Saturday, December 10. Collaborative law is a process whereby attorneys work with parties to a divorce to reach a settlement and, ideally, avoid expensive and contentious litigation. The proposal under consideration would expressly allow divorcing couples to work with lawyers on a limited-scope basis to try to reach a settlement and avoid litigation. In 2013, Senate Bill 31 was introduced in the Illinois General Assembly. It was an attempt to adopt the Collaborative Law Act as drafted by the Uniform Law Commission. The bill failed. The ISBA formally opposed SB 31 primarily due to separation of powers issues - the bill had components that would regulate the practice of law, which is the province of the supreme court, not the legislature. Past President Umberto Davi appointed a committee to revisit the issue. The group drafted a proposed statute and an amendment to the Rules of Professional Conduct that would allow collaborative law in a family law setting, but without triggering the separation of powers issue that prompted the ISBA to oppose the previous bill. Find out more about the proposal and collaborative law in general in the December Illinois Bar Journal.
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December 7, 2016 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. Our firm is a twenty two lawyer insurance defense firm in Seattle. Over the years we have told our associates that they were hired to work on firm business and there was no requirement for them to develop or bring in client business. In fact we specifically asked them not to bring in business. Now we are rethinking that policy. Many of our equity partners are retiring and we are finding we have a group of grinders - with very few minders or finders capable of either retaining existing clients or bringing in new clients. What are your thoughts?
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December 7, 2016 |
Member Services | ISBA News
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 2016, there were 696 referrals. ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas: