In 1978, the ISBA created LAWPAC (the Illinois Lawyers’ Political Action Committee). LAWPAC’s purpose is simple—to support the legislative goals of the ISBA and the legal profession of Illinois. It is administered by an independent, bi-partisan Board of Trustees of four Republicans and four Democrats. LAWPAC makes contributions to candidates for nomination or election to the Illinois General Assembly. The determination of the political contributions to be made in furtherance of the purposes of Illinois LAWPAC are at the discretion of the Board of Trustees.

 In their January 2025 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Powerful or Powerless?,” Thomas Osran and Robert Held focus on amendments to the Illinois Power of Attorney Act that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Osran and Held note the amendments will help when third parties refuse to honor validly drafted and executed POAs. But, unhelpfully (and perhaps fatally), they add, the law creates no new teeth to enforce unreasonable refusals to honor valid POAs and lists 14 new ways for banks and others to legally refuse to honor otherwise valid POAs.

On Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, ISBA members attended the All Bar Holiday Reception honoring the Supreme Court of Illinois at the conclusion of the 2024 Joint Midyear Meeting, which was held at the JW Marriott in Chicago.

Improve your trial skills in this “learn-by-doing” program that covers all phases of trial work from both a plaintiff/prosecutor and defendant’s viewpoint, in both civil and criminal cases. Through this course, you will learn and practice new trial techniques that are most effective and consistent with the Illinois Rules of Evidence and the Federal Rules of Evidence. Each session is audio-video taped so you can see and hear the improvements in your voice, manner, and trial technique.