By Hon. Barbara Crowder, Judge, Third Judicial Circuit

When the Illinois Supreme Court Rule 756(f) was first amended to require lawyers to report any pro bono services intentionally provided and voluntary monetary donations to legal service providers, one would have thought it was a menacing Robert DeNiro asking for the information based upon the hue and cry raised by some attorneys. Lawyers were reminded that the primary goal was to address the unmet legal needs of those residents with limited income. Reporting pro bono hours is viewed as a way to increase the delivery of legal services provided directly to persons of limited means. Although the rule also asks about efforts that assist local communities and organizations along with time spent training others and any monetary contributions, the goal of the mandatory reporting requirement was proclaimed as a way to help lawyers remember to do pro bono directly. The comments suggest that those who are prohibited from providing direct services should donate money and their time to help train volunteer attorneys. Since the ARDC has issued the Annual Report of 2015, it seems an appropriate time to see how the lawyers of Illinois are doing.

Chief Judge Kathryn E. Creswell announced today that applications for the Office of Associate Judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois, DuPage County, have been received from those on the attached list.

The vacancy is the result of the appointment of Associate Judge Karen M. Wilson to Circuit Judge.

After a false start in 2015, the Illinois legislature delivered and the governor signed a bill this year that gives fiduciaries the power to access email, social media, and other digital assets of a decedent.

Last year, the General Assembly tabled SB 1376, sending it back to the Rules Committee -- the usual death knell for pending legislation. The bill would have adopted a version of the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which was first published by the Uniform Law Commission in 2014.

A revised version of the Digital Assets Act was proposed, passed by the General Assembly, and signed by the governor on August 12. It took effect immediately.

The Act is designed to make it easier for a fiduciary to access the digital assets of a decedent. Digital assets cover a broad range of resources, including email, social media accounts, documents stored in the cloud, and more. As people increasingly organize their lives online, their families and heirs may need to access their online accounts for a sense of closure, to recover photographs, or to find information related to other assets belonging to the decedent. Access to an email account may reveal a bank account or retirement account for which no physical documents exist. 

Find out how the Act paves the way for fiduciaries, family members and heirs in the September Illinois Bar Journal.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. We are a 12-lawyer firm in Austin, Texas. We have been approached by the owner of a three-attorney firm in an adjacent city who has a complimentary practice consisting of institutional business clients. He is looking to retire within the next 30 days and he would like us to acquire his clients. We have reviewed his practice and we would be willing to take over his clients but not his personnel or other fixed assets. He has no interest in a merger or a lengthy relationship with us. It could add $800,000 per year to our practice. We would appreciate your thoughts.

Fastcase is free for ISBA members and sponsored by ISBA Mutual Insurance Company. In downtown Chicago and need to do some legal research? ISBA members can stop by our Chicago office located at 20 S. Clark, Suite 900, Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and make themselves at home at our new 'Fastcase Kiosk'. Be sure to check in with the front desk receptionist upon arrival.

The ISBA Standing Committee on Women and the Law and the Women's Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI) co-hosted a Professional Development Luncheon on Aug. 17 at the Chicago Office. The luncheon topic was the Illinois Paid Family Leave Act. On hand for the luncheon were Women and the Law Chair Julie Neubauer, Board Co-liaison Bridget Duignan, WBAI President Adria Mossing and ISBA Board member Lisa Nyuli.

The Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) is dedicated to releasing innocent men and women imprisoned in Illinois for crimes they did not commit. In 2014, the IIP assisted in the passage of a law to allow post-conviction DNA and other forensic testing in guilty plea cases under 725 ILCS 5/116-3. The IIP has since received a grant from the United States Department of Justice for DNA testing in guilty plea cases in which the defendant may be innocent.

Because this change to 116-3 is so recent, many people incarcerated as a result of guilty pleas do not realize they can request this testing, nor do they know about our grant funding. So we are asking you, their attomeys, to think back on your criminal law careers, focusing on serious felony cases. Did you have a client who you thought was likely innocent, but took a plea for any number of reasons (avoiding a harsher sentence, a false confession, etc.)?

Please send us information on any serious felony case in which the client took a guilty plea and might be innocent. Even if you do not believe there is any potential DNA to test, we would still like to know about the case for future grant applications. Please feel free to contact Lauren Myerscough-Mueller via email at  lmyersc2@uis.edu, or phone at (217) 206-6051. If you can only remember a name, please send that and we can figure out the rest. We appreciate your time and attention.

These offers are provided to you by Illinois State Bar Association. 

Celebrate summer with amazing offers nationwide! There's so much to enjoy - look for great deals on hotels, shows, events, tours and attractions nationwide! Planning a long weekend getaway with the family or friends? Check out offers from Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando, Six Flags and more. 

Don't forget, TicketsatWork members have access to great local deals, discounted movie tickets, rental cars and much, much more! 

As the practice of telemedicine grows in popularity, so does the list of legal and ethical issues that physicians and health care attorneys need to be aware of. Join us online on September 9, 2016 for a look at how you can help your health care clients stay up-to-date in this evolving and dynamic field. Attorneys with intermediate to advanced levels of practice experience will better understand: how patient/physician relationships are established in a virtual medical practice; the concern for continuity of care; the American Medical Association policies regarding telemedicine; regulatory issues and privacy concerns; and payment requirements. The program closes with a brief look at Teladoc v. Texas Medical Board, which has been entangled in a legal battle since 2011.

Blumenthal v. Brewer

By Michael T. Reagan, Law Offices of Michael T. Reagan

In Blumenthal v. Brewer, 2016 IL 118781, the court reaffirmed Hewitt v. Hewitt, 77 Ill.2d 49 (1979) which concerned the rights of unmarried cohabitants, restated that the Supreme Court alone may overrule or modify one of its previous opinions, and concluded that it is exclusively for the legislature to determine whether a change in public policy governing the rights of parties in nonmarital relationships is necessary.  Justice Karmeier wrote for the majority; Justice Theis, with Justice Burke joining her, wrote separately, concurring in part and dissenting in part.