While the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution Act concentrates on intact families who are undergoing a separation, the Illinois Parentage Act impacts all children regardless of parental separation, unmarried couples, and parents who were never couples. In a nutshell, the Illinois Parentage Act is the statute that deals with everyone. Join us for this half-day seminar that offers a clear understanding of how to operate under the Parentage Act and explores many of the issues you may encounter.

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 July, 2024, ISBA helped 741 people in need of legal services find lawyers. 

By Abigail Causer, Managing Attorney at the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) & Nicole Massey, Veterans Attorney and Pro Bono Coordinator at Land of Lincoln Legal Aid In Illinois, there are over 800,000 veterans, active service members, National Guard members, and dependents of deployed service members. For people in these groups, access to civil legal services is highly sought after, and many cannot afford it. The 2023 survey by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Project CHALENG (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education, and Networking Groups) identified several unmet needs for legal assistance in eight areas: credit issues and debt collection, expunging criminal records, family law and tax issues, child support issues, outstanding warrants and fines, discharge upgrade appeals, and financial guardianship.

Don’t miss ISBA’s 6th Annual Abraham Lincoln’s Legal Legacy seminar as we study Lincoln’s actions as a lawyer and President in facing threats to democracy in America and the United States Constitution. The program takes place in Springfield, which was the center of Lincoln’s law practice and three partnerships, and where Lincoln developed his understanding of the democratic process and his interpretation of the Constitution. It was the venue for many of Lincoln’s significant trials, including the “Peachy” Quinn Harrison murder trial. Join us for this in-depth look at how Lincoln’s view of the Constitution changed over time and evolved into the use of his Presidential War Powers to advance the case of Union and emancipation.