While cash bail may be going away in Illinois, other pretrial release requirements remain. In his April Illinois Bar Journal article, “What Is So Special About a Bond Review?,” Jarrad Woodson reinforces why a bond review may set the tone and control pressure points of your client’s case from the very beginning. If your clients cannot afford their bail, or if bail is denied, the burden of getting them out of custody will always be present. Even if your client is waiting the case out from home, the conditions of bond could be so oppressive they make your client a prisoner there as well. Therefore, arguing effectively at the bond review stage is crucial. Your client already went through bond court, so why ask for a bond review? Ideally, Woodson notes, officials at the bond-court level do their best to work together for a fair initial bond, but sometimes this does not happen. The bond court churns and turns cases quickly. Important information about a defendant can get misplaced. This is where the beauty of bond reviews come in: You get another chance.

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the five Illinois Supreme Court opinions handed down Thursday, April 15.

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 March 2021 there were more than 600 referrals given.

Here are the results for March 2021:

Voting is now underway in the 2021 ISBA Election. The last day to request a paper ballot is April 15, 2021.

ISBA's election provider Election America emailed e-ballots to members with valid email addresses on March 29. All members of the Association (except non-lawyer members) with dues paid by March 1, 2021 are eligible to vote. The deadline for voting is April 30, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. 

The Illinois State Bar Association invites Young Lawyers Division (YLD) attorney members to establish yourselves as experts in your practice area and compete for your share of $3,500 in prize money by entering the Annual Lincoln Award Legal Writing Contest.

Submissions should be useful, practical articles on topics important to practicing lawyers. Submissions will be considered for publication in the Illinois Bar Journal.

Learn the fundamental concepts of securities fraud with this online program from 9 until 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 6 that examines a number of important topics. Attorneys with basic practice experience who attend this seminar will better understand: when securities fraud occurs; who is liable for securities fraud (the entity, the entities affiliates, service professionals, or someone else); how to safeguard against claims of securities fraud during a securities transactions; the basic considerations for claims pursuant to Rule 10b-5; considerations under the Illinois Securities Act; what it means to “make a misrepresentation” in connection with the “sale of securities”; and the issuer, attorney, and broker liability and remedies for investors.

Richard L. Thies (Dick Thies) of Urbana, IL died peacefully on April 10, 2021. He was 89 years old. Dick was born in Scotts Bluff, Nebraska on November 7, 1931 to Arnold C. and Wilma P. Thies. He was preceded in death by his parents, including his step-father, David C. Player, and by brother-in-law Craig R. Webber, sister-in- law, Alice J. Webber and brother-in- law, James L. Zaccagni. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Marilyn Webber Thies, by his brother, Dr. David M. Player (Beth), sister, Jennifer G. Zaccagni, brother-in-law, Carl M. Webber (Betty) and five children, David C. Thies (Johanna) (Champaign, IL), Nancy Thies Marshall (Charlie) (Salem, OR), Susan Thies Harrison (Mike) (Hong Kong/Urbana, IL), John E. Thies (Terry) (Urbana, IL) and Anne Thies Peters (Jeff) (Sherwood, OR). He is also survived by 16 grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren (with one on the way), and by many wonderful cousins, nieces, nephews, and dear friends.

Traditionally a safeguard exclusively available to journalists, shield laws in many jurisdictions have gradually broadened in scope and now protect material generated and relied upon by many professionals when conducting research for publication. But according to Daniel Schwartz in his April Illinois Bar Journal article, “Discovery Orders and the Peer-Review Privilege,” few cases in Illinois discuss the applicability of shield laws to medical research. Whether—and to what extent—medical research is discoverable therefore remains an unsettled issue, Schwartz argues. To bring coherency to Illinois law governing discovery requests for medical research, Schwartz examines discovery requests litigated under the Illinois Medical Studies Act and several state and federal discovery provisions. He also highlights the factual and doctrinal significance of the cases discussed and notes important considerations for legal practitioners seeking to issue or bar a request to produce medical research.