The Illinois Supreme Court announced Thursday the appointment of John B. Simon to the Illinois Appellate Court. Mr. Simon is a well known attorney with the Chicago firm of Jenner & Block and has a long record of public service. He is a former U.S. Assistant Attorney, former member of the Illinois Racing Board and has broad corporate and litigation experience with Jenner & Block. He will serve as the co-chair of the Illinois Bar Foundation's Gala on Oct. 19.Mr. Simon will fill the vacancy created by the death of Appellate Justice Michael J. Murphy who passed away Oct. 1.Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman recommended the appointment of Mr. Simon to the Supreme Court and will administer the judicial oath of office to Mr. Simon on November 1. The appointment will terminate December 1, 2014 when the position will be filled by the November 2014 General Election."It's an honor to have been appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court as a justice of the Illinois Appellate Court to succeed the late Justice Michael J. Murphy," said Mr. Simon. "He was a respected jurist who is greatly admired by me and all who knew him."I thank the Supreme Court for the confidence they have placed in me and I am humbled by the honor."Mr. Simon is the son of the late Justice Seymour F. Simon, who served as a Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court for eight years and as an Appellate Justice for six years.
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October 11, 2012 |
Practice News
1 comment (Most recent October 12, 2012)
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October 10, 2012
The ISBA Young Lawyers hosted “Taking Charge of Your Legal Career,” the second of a four-part series of Professional Development Luncheons on Oct. 9. Participants included (from left) Speaker and ISBA President-elect Paula H. Holderman of Winston & Strawn; speaker Shawn Kasserman of Corboy & Demetrio, speaker Mary Sabatino of Wiedner & McAuliffe and moderator Jessica Durkin of Miroballi, Durkin & Rudin.Full video of the luncheon is available at http://youtu.be/Dt5yns76wns. The next luncheon will be held on Jan. 9, 2013.
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October 10, 2012 |
CLE
Does your client (or potential client) have a company logo, a jingle, an industrial design, an invention, or a patent? Does their company have a trade secret that needs to be guarded? Do they draft architectural design, write novels, develop music, or create artwork? If so, then you won’t want to miss this opportunity to get the information you need to advise and protect your clients on important intellectual property issues!Join us in Chicago on October 17th for this basic overview of several intellectual property areas, including copyright, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Topics include: common intellectual property issues; recent developments and political changes to the intellectual property law arena; the benefits of trademark registration; sending or receiving cease-and-desist letters; patent concerns in business transaction and patent litigation; managing confidential disclosures; eavesdropping and privacy laws; how the Internet has changed intellectual property; and the ethical considerations in intellectual property cases. The program is presented by the ISBA Intellectual Property Section and qualifies for 6.25 MCLE hours, including 0.50 Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval).Can’t attend the live program in Chicago? Then join us via web! This program will broadcast live over the Internet so that attorneys can attend remotely.
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October 10, 2012 |
Practice News
Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. I am the Director of Administration with a 45 attorney firm in Des Moines, Iowa. I am new to this position and could use some pointers on what I need to be successful in my role. This is my first law firmA. Few things are as important to an administrator’s future as that person’s ability to influence the decision-making process and effect change. Skills and competencies are important, but so are results. To transcend to the next level and enhance your value to your law firm, you must help your firm actually effect positive changes and improvements and improve performance. This requires selling ideas to partners in the firm, and having them accept and actually implement those ideas. To succeed, you must achieve three outcomes:You must provide new solutions or methods.The firm must achieve over time measurable improvement in its results by having adopted the solutions, andThe firm must sustain the improvements over time.Click here for our blog on governanceClick here for our articles on other topics
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October 9, 2012
There are five ways to pay for long-term care in Illinois. William Siebers' and Zach Hesselbaum's article in the October Illinois Bar Journal discusses all five and brings you up-to-date on the most recent developments in the ever-shifting Medicaid and Veterans' Administration rules governing nursing home stays.
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October 8, 2012 |
ISBA News | Practice News
The Illinois State Bar Association's Special Committee on Law School Debt, formed by President John E. Thies, will hold five open hearings throughout the state. ISBA members are encouraged to attend these meetings to discuss how increasing law school debt is impacting the delivery of legal services.The Committee is particularly interested in hearing about the impact of law school debt in the following situations:Recruitment and retention of new lawyers in small- and medium-size firmsDecisions by lawyers to open practices in small communitiesRecruitment and retention of new lawyers working for legal aid organizationsFinancial ability of new lawyers to open solo practices (and possible liability and ethical consequences resulting there from);Availability of lawyers being willing to perform pro bono services;Opportunity for new lawyers to advance from entry level positions in the profession.Hearing ScheduleThe hearings will held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the following locations:1 comment (Most recent October 12, 2012)
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October 8, 2012 |
ISBA News
ISBA President John E. Thies provides highlights from the ABA Annual Meeting, where Chicago attorney Laurel G. Bellows became the organization's 136th president.
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October 5, 2012 |
Practice News
By Jim Covington, Illinois State Bar AssociationWith the Illinois General Assembly in recess, ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington provides a helpful legal writing checklist. The full checklist is also available below the video.(1) Front-load your information by starting with a meaningful synopsis. Readers process information much easier if they know where they are going.(2) Use descriptive headings as signposts to guide your reader followed by bite-size chunks of text. Your sentences should average about 20 words per sentence because big chunks of text intimidate readers.(3) Use active voice so that the actor is doing the action instead of receiving it. We talk in active voice. For example, “I hit a home run” instead of “a home run was hit by me.” Active voice creates shorter, tighter sentences. Try to keep your passive sentences under 20%.(4) Use conversational word order. The natural flow of an English sentence is subject-verb-object. Don’t interrupt this flow by separating your subject from your verb with a long dependent clause. Don’t get bogged down starting with a long dependent clause. Ask yourself, “Who is doing what to whom?”(5) Less is more. No judge ever finished reading a concise brief or motion and wished it were longer.1 comment (Most recent October 12, 2012)
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October 5, 2012 |
Practice News
Chief Judge James F. Holderman announced today that the U.S. District Court Clerk’s Office has applications for the position of United States Magistrate Judge available online.The Court expects, subject to Judicial Conference and Circuit Council approval, that one vacancy will exist for the position of United States Magistrate Judge later this year, following the retirement of Magistrate Judge P. Michael Mahoney in December 2012. Chief Judge Holderman intends to appoint a Merit Selection Panel that will screen the candidates and make recommendations to the district judges in January of 2013. This is a full-time position with an eight-year term of office and a duty station at the Stanley J. Roszkowski Courthouse in Rockford. The current salary for this position is $160,080.The duties of the position of a United States magistrate judge include conducting most preliminary proceedings in federal criminal cases, the trial and disposition of federal misdemeanor cases as well as civil cases upon consent of the litigants, conducting various civil pretrial matters, such as settlement conferences and other proceedings on reference from the district judges of the Court.
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October 4, 2012 |
Practice News
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the Civil case Karbin v. Karbin and the Criminal case In re S.B.CIVILKarbin v. KarbinBy Michael T. Reagan, Law Offices of Michael T. Reagan, Ottawa In holding that a plenary guardian of a disabled adult has standing to institute dissolution of marriage proceedings on behalf of the ward, Karbin v. Karbin directly overruled In re Marriage of Drews, 115 Ill.2d 201 (1986). The circuit and appellate courts were constrained by Drews. Justice Garcia, for the appellate majority, noted both vulnerabilities of Drews in light of subsequent developments and the alternative need for legislative action. The late Justice Cahill dissented, seeking to distinguish Drews on the ground that the ward’s initial filing here was as a counter-petitioner for dissolution. (How graceful it is that the appellate majority referred to "our colleague in dissent," in light of Justice Cahill’s passing.)