The deadline for making lodging reservations for the 2019 Joint Midyear Meeting is before 5 p.m. on Nov. 10. Reservations received after this date will be subject to availability.

To make reservations, please contact the Westin O'Hare directly at 888.627.8517 and be sure to identify yourself as an ISBA Joint Midyear Meeting attendee.

The Joint Midyear Meeting, hosted by the Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association, will be held Dec. 5-7, 2019, at the Westin O'Hare in Rosemont. The online registration deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 27.

The Nominating Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County today announced its selection of the 30 candidates who will seek appointment to 15 associate judge vacancies by a vote of the circuit judges. All of the candidates received across-the-board positive ratings from the bar associations.

The nominating committee employed a comprehensive approach in the nomination process that considered multiple aspects such as a variety of legal experience in the public and private sectors, and diversity of race, ethnicity and gender.

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 October 2019 there were more than 800 referrals given.

Here are the results for October 2019:

Is your practice really as strong as you think it is? No matter how grand your vision is for your law firm’s future, it won’t matter if you haven’t mastered the four business cornerstones that are required to grow a thriving practice.

Join us from noon until 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15 for this online seminar that reveals what you’re doing right and where you need help. ISBA member and Atticus-certified practice advisor, Mark Metzger, helps you determine the biggest improvement opportunities in your practice and how to earn a better living while taking more time off work. Complete the scorecard to see how your practice measures up (or doesn’t) against other firms in profitability, time management, support staff, marketing efforts, new client conversions, and growth mindset as a law firm owner. Walk away with a powerful tool you can use right away to spark improvement and growth!

New attorneys will be admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday, Nov. 7, with Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court justices presiding and administering the attorney's oath to 1,459 new attorneys at five separate locations across the state. 

All of the candidates set to be sworn in have passed the Illinois State Bar Examination and a required ethics examination and were certified by the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness. They will bring the total number of licensed attorneys in Illinois to approximately 96,500.

The largest group, 1,172, will be admitted in the First Judicial District during two ceremonies at the Arie Crown Theater, located at 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive, in Chicago. The ceremonies will be at 9:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Media coverage is invited.

At times, clients must be distinguished from nonclients for purposes of determining who is a client during attorney-client communications involving a corporate client, says Jeffrey Parness in his November 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Confidentiality and Client Communications in Illinois.” In this setting—in Illinois, though often not elsewhere, Parness shows,—the so-called “control group” test serves to limit who speaks as an agent for the corporate client. As well, the law of masters and servants is usually not employed to determine issues of client agency in the attorney-client communication setting. One takeaway: An Illinois appellate ruling has placed the burden of proof on agency on the party asserting the privilege.

The Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association are pleased to invite you to celebrate the profession and consider issues of mutual interest to the bench and bar during our annual Joint Midyear Meeting, which will be held Dec. 5-7, 2019, at the Westin O'Hare in Rosemont. 

Hotel reservations may be made through Sunday, Nov. 10. To make reservations, please contact the Westin O'Hare directly at 888.627.8517 and be sure to identify yourself as an ISBA Joint Midyear Meeting attendee.

The online registration deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 27.

Patrick Thomas Driscoll, Jr., 77, of Glenview, died peacefully surrounded by his wife, children, and other close family members.

Pat Driscoll, "Paddy" to his grandchildren, was an understated man whose quiet demeanor concealed a brilliant mind, a quick wit, a natural propensity for debate, a tender heart, and a dogged tenacity that served him well in his life-long career as an attorney.

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier has announced his retirement effective Dec. 6, 2020.

Justice Karmeier served as Chief Justice from Oct. 26, 2016-Oct. 25, 2019. He was succeeded by Chief Justice Anne M. Burke, whose three-year term commenced Oct. 26, 2019. 

Justice Karmeier, of Nashville, Illinois, was the state’s 120th Chief Justice and the second person from Washington County to hold that office. Justice Byron O. House, for whom Chief Justice Karmeier served as a law clerk, was the first.

Justice Karmeier served as a member of the Assembly of the Illinois State Bar Association from 1996 to 2002, and as chair of the ISBA’s Bench and Bar Section Council.

Join us in Chicago or via live webcast from 8:50 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8 for a full-day seminar that reviews a range of general practice topics—from discovery and dispositive motions, to handling harassment in the workplace.

Attorneys involved in general practice and civil litigation with intermediate practice experience who attend this seminar will better understand: how to set the proper foundation; how to obtain the discovery you need; motions to dismiss and summary judgment motions; how to recognize incivility in the legal profession and strategies for mitigating the effects of these behaviors; how to use motions in limine to bar or admit evidence; and how to increase your chance for a successful appeal.