As statutory and case law currently stand, an inadvertent failure to name all of the necessary parties in an administrative review action can be fatal. For a process that is akin to a civil appeal, this seems counterintuitive. But proposed amendments to administrative law championed by the ISBA would allow lawyers to correct their minor procedural missteps and avoid costly damage to their clients.

Carl R. Draper, a partner at Feldman Wasser in Springfield, says that these "hypertechnical processes" are a serious risk for attorneys and their clients. "The process is so convoluted, you can have your case dismissed on a technicality."

Already-passed legislation was supposed to alleviate the problem. It provides that if the agency was properly named, litigants had 35 days to name any other necessary parties, Draper says. However, this has not been enough. The ISBA favors new legislation requiring that all final administrative orders name all of the necessary parties of record, as well as providing the proper name and address of the entity issuing the decision. Find out more in the February IBJ.