The Illinois Supreme Court handed down one opinion on Thursday, August 20. In People v. Sophanavong, the court considered whether a circuit court’s failure to strictly comply with the requirements to proceed without a presentence investigation report requires remand for a new sentencing hearing or whether a defendant can waive the issue by pleading guilty as well as forfeit the claim by failing to raise it in a postplea motion.

People v. Sophanavong

The ISBA is seeking input from attorneys whose practices include rural areas and small towns in Illinois. 

Many areas of Illinois outside of urban areas are experiencing a shortage of attorneys to meet the needs of their residents. Experienced practitioners have sometimes struggled to connect with newer attorneys to expand or transition their practices. 

Colleen Boraca, Clinical Associate Professor, Northern Illinois University College of Law

March 10, 2020 was a fairly normal day. Although it was spring break, two law students were working with me at the NIU Health Advocacy Clinic, a law-school based legal clinic that is located onsite in Aurora at Hesed House, the second largest homeless shelter in Illinois. In the morning, one of the students interviewed a potential client, “Jane,” who was looking for representation with her Social Security case. After the meeting, the students and I debriefed about they handled their interview with Jane and brainstormed areas for improvement. After that session, the students worked on PowerPoint slides for an upcoming presentation on SNAP benefits. We saw Jane again while serving lunch at Hesed House that day, and she told us that she would see us next week. The students left clinic that day, enthused to work on Jane’s case and hopefully change her life if they could secure disability benefits for her.

Starting September 1, self-represented litigants in Illinois can submit a question online about their civil appeal and receive an answer from a pro bono lawyer with the launch of Illinois Free Legal Answers for Civil Appeals, the first-ever legal help desk for appeals in Illinois. The program was created to address the pressing need to provide help to self-represented litigants (SRLs), who account for 41% of civil appeals filed in the state.  

Join us online from noon until 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 29 for "Decisions and Diversity–How Our Minds and Experiences Sustain Bias and What to Do About It." Making decisions is at the core of what lawyers do, yet we are often unaware of the ways that our brains, personalities, life experiences, and social structures affect our decision-making choices, often in the form of implicit biases, preferences, assumptions, and expectations that impede fostering a diverse and inclusive legal profession. Join us for this in-depth look at how we come to think about others, make judgement of people and situations, and otherwise think and behave in ways that are potentially influenced by bias. Designed with the transactional attorney in mind, this program discusses our interactions with clients, colleagues, and others in the legal profession, while also offering helpful strategies for addressing and preventing the undue influence of bias both in and out of the workplace.

In their August 2020 article, “Discovery Wars,” Madhavi K. Seth and Vikram S. Arora explore Illinois and federal professional and procedural rules when preparing a client’s employees as knowledgeable witnesses and contacting the adverse party’s employees for evidence. Being aware of the sanctions that attorneys may face for not meeting their obligations under the rules is important, Seth and Arora argue, not least because, in discovery, litigators can find themselves walking a fine line between zealous advocacy and ethical pitfalls. Modern American jurisprudence has led many attorneys to seek guidance on their obligations under Illinois procedural and professional conduct rules when preparing their client’s employees as witnesses and contacting an adverse party’s former or current employees during discovery.

John T. Phipps, 82, of Champaign, passed away on Aug. 11, 2020, after spending his final days surrounded by his family and friends.

John was born on Sept. 20, 1937, to Oliver and Jean Phipps. He is survived by his wife, Dody Phipps; his sister, Louise McWhinnie (Jim); his three children, Anne Martinkus (Jim), John Phipps (Becky), and Karen Dorner (David); and his grandchildren, Chase Martinkus, Miranda Phipps, Carter Phipps, Connor Dorner and Emma Dorner.