In this Quick Takes for Your Practice video, attorney Anne Prenner Schmidt discusses retirement help under the CARES Act.

The Illinois Supreme Court today issued an order and operational guidelines to help courts statewide resume in-person operations and establish procedures for remote hearings. Since mid-March, the state’s courts have been operating under precautionary measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to conduct emergency and essential matters.

Congratulations to Brienne Berscheid for winning a Visa gift card in the ISBA's 2020 Member Appreciation Month Facebook Contest! 

As part of Member Appreciation Month, we asked members to like and comment on our Facebook Contest graphic, telling us why they value their ISBA membership. We then selected a winner at random.

Brienne's response was "I enjoy the great CLE programming and the network of helpful resources."

The Illinois Supreme Court announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on May 18, 2020. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.

The Illinois State Bar Association’s Board of Governors approved three new Professional Conduct Advisory Opinions on May 15 during its regularly scheduled Board meeting.

The opinions address the duties of an in-house counsel when confronted with conduct that may be harmful to his or her employer; the prohibition on a lawyer threatening criminal charges to gain an advantage in a civil matter; and the propriety of a firm name of “X and Y” when one of the named lawyers has changed careers and no longer practices law.

The Illinois Code of Civil Procedure allows a party to submit one or more special interrogatories to the jury. A special interrogatory is a question submitted to the jury by a party seeking a determination of a specific issue or question of fact and is submitted along with the general verdict forms. The purpose of a special interrogatory is to test the general verdict by ensuring the jury understood its instructions and each element of the cause of action necessary to enter the judgment indicated. In her May Illinois Bar Journal article, “What’s So Special About Special Interrogatories,” Amy Frantz discusses the use of special interrogatories in general, provides practical tips for attorneys on their use, and highlights recent extensive changes to the special interrogatory statute.

Many of us find ourselves sharing our workspaces with new “co-workers” during Illinois’ stay-at-home order. We want to see yours!

For the ISBA’s Member Appreciation Month Instagram contest, we want you to share photos of your new “coworkers” (these can either be the childlike or furry variety) for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card.

The winning Instagram post and account will be featured on the ISBA's social media channels and in The Bar News.

The ISBA has canceled the 2020 Annual Meeting due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The meeting, scheduled for June 18­–20 in St. Louis, will not be rescheduled. The officers of the ISBA made this difficult decision giving priority to the health and wellbeing of our members and staff.

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 April 2020 there were more than 400 referrals given.

Here are the results for April 2020:

This May, we're celebrating you during Member Appreciation Month. To help you meet your MCLE requirements, we're offering a second free live CLE webinar for the first 600 member registrants on May 29 from noon until 1 p.m.

Learn how limited scope representation can help you expand your practice while also addressing the growing problem of access to justice in Illinois. Join us online for this comprehensive overview of unbundled legal services – also known as limited scope representation – and how these services can benefit you, your client, and your community in a multitude of ways.