2018 Midyear Meeting Highlights

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Rhys Saunders

The 2018 Midyear Meeting was held Dec. 6-8, 2018, at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in Chicago. Attendees celebrated the profession, discussed issues of mutual interest to the bench and bar, attended business meetings, earned CLE credit, and expanded their social and professional networks at receptions and dinners.  

CLE: Restorative Justice Fundamentals—The Circle Process for Practitioners

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Rhys Saunders

Join us Jan. 14-16, 2019 in Chicago for this interactive three-day workshop on the fundamentals of restorative justice and to experience circle practice, an approach to more effectively work with clients and colleagues on improving communication, supporting accountability, and addressing issues and concerns in a more humanized and enduring way. Help clients and others who may contribute to or are impacted by a problem to explore and create workable courses of action, to the benefit of all, including colleagues and collaborators.

ISBA Assembly Appoints Four “At Large” Delegates to the ABA House of Delegates

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Rhys Saunders

The ISBA Assembly appointed four “At Large” delegates to the ABA House of Delegates during their meeting held Dec. 8 during the ISBA Joint Midyear Meeting in Chicago.

The two delegates from Cook County are Emily Masalski of Chicago and Hon. Russell W. Hartigan (ret.) of Western Springs. The two delegates from outside Cook County are John Thies of Urbana and David Schaffer of Naperville.

Mending the Hold

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Rhys Saunders

The mend-the-hold doctrine derives its name from “a nineteenth-century wrestling term, meaning to get a better grip (hold) on your opponent.” In a series of early decisions, the Illinois Supreme Court established the mend-the-hold doctrine, which provides that a party’s stated grounds for refusing to perform a contract bars grounds left unstated. The Illinois Appellate Court later narrowed the doctrine by limiting parties to grounds identified at the start of litigation and only when switching positions prejudices an opponent. In December’s Illinois Bar Journal, Stanley C. Nardoni, who practices in the Insurance Recovery Group of Reed Smith LLP’s Chicago office, assesses whether the appellate court’s narrowing of the doctrine contradicts precedent established by the supreme court.