ISBA President John E. Thies wrote a letter to the editor (below) in response to the Chicago Tribune article last Friday on the difficult legal job market and high debt load facing recent law school graduates. President Thies has made examining the impact of high debt load on the future delivery of legal services a key theme during his presidential year. Dear Editor:As suggested by your Friday article about the grim picture facing law school graduates, these are difficult times for recent law grads and the law schools that gave them their diplomas. The current employment statistics and debt amounts for new lawyers are simply unsustainable. At the Illinois State Bar Association, we place a great priority on making sure that the members of our profession – through a variety of practice settings - can continue to meet the legal needs of the citizens of this state. Especially in difficult economic times, the process of meeting legal needs is frustrated by, among other things, the unhealthy (and costly) zeal with which American law schools race to maximize their respective U.S. News & World Report ranking, sometimes with terrible (and predictable) consequences. We need to focus on lowering the cost of legal education, ensuring that we continue to have bright students interested in obtaining their JDs, and having “practice ready” lawyers from the moment they leave law school.
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June 26, 2012 |
Practice News
1 comment (Most recent June 29, 2012)
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June 26, 2012 |
CLE
Learn to overcome the challenges of admitting Facebook profile information into evidence with this informative webcast!Join us from the comfort of your home or office at noon on July 17th for this fun and engaging mock evidentiary hearing set around an employment lawsuit in which the defendant is moving for the admission of the plaintiff's Facebook account information to defend against the plaintiff’s breach of employment contract claim. The program opens with a brief overview of the factual and procedural context for the hearing, followed by the speakers serving as plaintiff counsel, witness, expert witness, defense counsel, forensic expert, and judge. The program closes with an analysis of the various challenges in admitting Facebook profiles into evidence. Litigators, employment lawyers, and civil practitioners with advanced practice experience will benefit from this information presented throughout this live webcast.The program ispresented by the ISBA Standing Committee on Legal Technology and qualifies for 1.0 hour MCLE credit.Click here for more information and to register.
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June 26, 2012 |
Member Services
As an ISBA member you are eligible to save up to 20% on the materials you need most with FedEx Office® copy and print services. And now through May 2013 you can save up to 40%.* It’s the perfect time to save big on color copies, posters, signs, banners, direct mail services, and much more.Offer DetailsSave 40%* on core print and copy. Save 30%* on signs & banners and other services. Promotional pricing will expire on May 31, 2013, but you will continue to enjoy savings of 20% on core print and copy and 10% on other services. Standard exclusions apply.** If you are not already enrolled, go to enrolladvantage.fedex.com/4958 and use passcode 4JHFN9, or call 1-800-MEMBERS (1.800.636.2377, 8 a.m.–6 p.m. EST, M-F). Enrollment is free and there are no minimum requirements. If you already participate in the FedEx Advantage®shipping program, simply uncheck the FedEx Express and FedEx Ground shipping options when you begin the enrollment process. Once enrolled, simply present your discount card at FedEx Office locations or enter your 10-digit FedEx Office account number online to take advantage of these savings.If you are already enrolled with a FedEx Office account, you will need to enroll againin order to save up to 40%.* Follow the instructions above and be sure to provide your FedEx Office account number. *Special pricing is in effect for purchases made after 1/1/2012 and may be discontinued at any time without additional notice. Other standard Alliance contract exclusions apply.
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June 26, 2012
Several members of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity marched in Chicago’s Pride Parade on June 24 alongside the ISBA’s mobile billboard, featuring a photo of Lincoln the lawyer with a message that reads: “Illinois has a history of some pretty good lawyers. We’re out to keep it that way.” Featuring nearly 200 floats or marching groups, the parade attracted an estimated 850,000 people who turned out to watch everyone from politicians to sequined disco dancers. -
June 25, 2012 |
Events
The Illinois State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division will host a golf outing on Wednesday, Aug. 1 at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont.This event will benefit the IBF/YLD Children’s Assistance Fund. The $150 ticket includes golf, cart, concession stand ticket, cocktails, dinner and CLE program. Tickets to attend just the evening dinner are $50 each. Many sponsorship opportunities are available.Deadline to register is 4:30 pm, July 27th. Register at www.isba.org/sections/yld/golf For general inquiries, please contact George Schoenbeck, gschoenbeck@sosinarnold.com, Michael DiNatale, mdinatale@dinatalelaw.com or Jerry Napleton, jerrynapleton@gmail.com
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June 25, 2012 |
Practice News
When elephants fight, the grass trembles. — African Folk SayingFor the past several years, Illinois Attorney General ("IAG"), Lisa Madigan, and the State of Illinois have conducted a campaign against companies that purport to assist distressed homeowners and debtors in dealing with their debt situation.1 The primary weapons in the IAG's arsenal are two statutes: the Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act, 765 ILCS 940/1 et seq. (eff. Jan. 1, 2007) ("MRFA"); and, the Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act, 225 ILCS 429/1 et seq. (eff. Aug. 3, 2010) ("DSCPA").Caught In The Cross-Fire Lawyers Run Afoul of The Illinois Attorney General Providing Debt Settlement ServicesBy Joseph R. Marconi 2These statutes aim to address the allegation that many of these companies do not provide actual relief to debtors but rather worsen their situation through undeserved and excessive fees (while making fraudulent or misleading claims in the process). Among other restrictions and requirements, the statutes limit fees, including the taking of "up front" fees. See, 765 ILCS 940/50(1); 225 ILCS 429/125(a) and (b).3 The IAG's office is aggressively pursuing actions based on two laws.
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June 21, 2012 |
Practice News
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the Civil case Harris v. Thompson and the Criminal case People v. Hollins.CIVILHarris v. ThompsonBy Alyssa M. Reiter, Williams Montgomery & John Ltd.The interplay between the Illinois Vehicle Code and the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act (“Tort Immunity Act”) divided the Court in Harris v. Thompson.The plaintiff was injured in an automobile accident with a Massac County ambulance. He sued the County defendants for negligence. The defendants moved to dismiss and, following an adverse jury verdict, moved for judgment non obstante veredicto, asserting that they were immune from liability based on negligence pursuant to the Tort Immunity Act. That Act provides that a public employee acting within the scope of his employment is not liable for an injury caused by the negligent operation of a motor vehicle when responding to an emergency call. The trial court denied the motions and the Appellate Court (Fifth District) affirmed. Those courts found that the Illinois Vehicle Code, which imposes a duty to refrain from negligence, is the more specific statute and supersedes the Tort Immunity Act.
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June 21, 2012 |
Practice News
Yesterday a hearing was held in Washington, D.C. on the issue of solitary confinement in state and federal prisons by the United State's Senate's Committee on the Judiciary (Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights).A video of that hearing may be accessed here.1 comment (Most recent June 21, 2012)
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June 21, 2012 |
ISBA News | Events
The ISBA/JTBF Law and Leadership Institute (LLI) will kick off its first residential program this Sunday at the Southern Illinois University School of Law in Carbondale. The downstate program is a one week residential program running from Sunday, June 24 through Saturday, June 30.The LLI is a statewide initiative to assist students from minority, ethnic, and other groups who are currently underrepresented in the legal professions achieve academic success and aspire to a career in the law.The two current programs in Illinois were spearheaded by the ISBA Diversity Pipeline committee and will be hosted by the Southern Illinois University School of Law in Carbondale and the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. The Chicago commuter program will be held from Monday, July 23 through Friday, August 10.The LLI involves a combination of classroom lectures, logic and critical thinking exercises, writing and oral advocacy instruction, guest speakers, and field trips to area law firms, government offices and courthouses. Many ISBA members participate as program speakers and activity sponsors. Students who participate in the LLI will:
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June 21, 2012 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Domestic violence form, Cell phones and driving, Personal property exemptions and the Open Meetings Act. More information on each bill is available below the video.Domestic violence form. House Bill 5922 (Cunningham, D-Chicago; Kotowski, D-Park Ridge) allows a statutory short-form notification to be used to serve on respondents in the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, the Stalking No Contact Order Act, and the Civil No Contact Order Act.Passed both chambers; effective January 1, 2013.Cell phones and driving. Senate Bill 2488 (Garrett, D-Lake Forest; May, D-Highland Park) allows a driver in a construction or school zone to use a cell phone in voice-operated (instead of “voice-activated”) mode or by pressing a single button to initiate or terminate a voice communication. This also includes using a headset in this manner.Drop date August 5, 2012; effective January 1, 2013.House Bill 5099 (Costello, D-Sparta; Haine, D-Alton) prohibits a driver from using a cell phone or video within 500 feet of an emergency scene. Exempts using a cell phone in the voice-operated mode.