At the Dec. 8 meeting of the ISBA Assembly, four at-large delegates to the ABA House of Delegates will be elected, two from Cook County and two from outside Cook County. The nominees for these positions must be members of the ISBA in good standing from the appropriate area. The elected delegates will serve for two-year terms commencing June 2019 at the close of the ISBA Annual Meeting. The delegates will join the ISBA delegation in August 2019 at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

Nominations must be made in writing by at least 20 ISBA members in good standing from the appropriate area.  Nominations must be filed with the office of the Executive Director not later than Monday, Nov. 19. 

Suppose your client walks into your office and explains that he has been sued by his former employer for violation of a noncompete clause in his employment contract. Your client signed the noncompete a week after starting his employment and then worked for the employer for 23 months. Is the noncompete supported by adequate consideration? The answer could depend on the judge and court hearing the case.

A postemployment restrictive covenant must be supported by adequate consideration—generally characterized as “employment for a substantial period of time.” But what is a “substantial period of time”? May other forms of consideration be substituted? Does it matter if an employee quits or is terminated with or without cause? Illinois appellate courts have been unable to clearly answer these questions.

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down one opinion on Thursday, Nov. 1. The supreme court upheld the dismissal of a man’s post-conviction petition in an armed robbery case.

People v. Dupree

By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender

Torrence DuPree was charged with, and convicted of, two counts of armed robbery for an incident in 2010. Evidence at trial was that two men drove to an apartment complex to sell marijuana to a third. During the transaction, a hooded man approached the seller’s vehicle, displayed a weapon, and took money and a backpack. No physical evidence linked DuPree to the offense, but the prosepective marijuana purchaser identified him as the offender. Also, one of the vehicle’s occupants identified DuPree in a photo array, stating that he was 70 percent certain of the identification. That witness also described the offender as being at least 6 feet tall, but DuPree was only 5 feet, 8 inches tall. The vehicle’s driver did not testify at trial.

Don’t miss this online seminar on Dec. 4 that discusses the Wayfair case, the basis for being overturned, and its impact on online purchases. Tax attorneys and general practitioners with intermediate practice experience who attend this program will better understand: the prior basis of the law; reasons for the decision; the current status of the law; what to expect in the future; the rules governing Internet taxing in Illinois; and how the Wayfair decision affects every Internet purchase. 

Asked and Answered 

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I am the managing partner of a 12-attorney family law firm in Kansas City, Mo. We have been in practice for about 30 years. During the last 10 years we have shifted more of our advertising from print directories and advertising to the internet. Today virtually all of our work comes from the internet. While to some extent this has been a blessing, it has also been a curse as we must continue to make investments in search engine optimization, update the website, and pay to be included in online directories. It is a vicious circle and we are losing business to new attorneys who are just starting out, creating first-class websites, and making online investments.  I would appreciate your thoughts.

The ISBA will feature two diversity programs Dec. 7 during the 2018 Joint Midyear Meeting in Chicago.

The events include the Count Me In! reception hosted by the ISBA Diversity Leadership Council and The Judge: A Documentary Look at Shari'a Law…and a Discussion on How It Intersects with U.S. Law.

Both events are free and do not require Joint Midyear Meeting registration to attend.

The Illinois State Bar Association will honor the Class of 1968 Distinguished Counsellors on Nov. 15. This title is conferred annually upon those ISBA members who are completing their 50^th year of practice.

The Board of Governors is pleased to announce the 2018 class will be honored at a special luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018 at the Union League Club in Chicago. A reception will begin at 11 a.m., with lunch at 11:45 a.m., followed by the program.

When you join any of the ISBA’s 40 sections, you get complimentary access to two additional ISBA Central online communities.

Joining is easy. Simply visit the ISBA sections page, select the section you would like to join from the list, and click on the "join" button on the top of that section's page. You must be logged into the website as an ISBA member, otherwise you will be prompted to do so.

The Illinois State Bar Association's judicial ratings by county for the Nov. 6 election are available online.

In Cook County, an ISBA Judicial Evaluations committee used the results of a questionnaire, background investigations, and in-person interviews to rate candidates for all judicial offices. Candidates for the Appellate Court outside of Cook County were also evaluated using this method.