ISBA leaders attended the 12th Annual Peoria County Bar Association Diversity Luncheon on Oct. 21 at the Peoria Marriott Pere Marquette. Bradley University Athletic Director Chris Reynolds (left) served as the keynote speaker. ISBA leaders in attendance included (from left after Reynolds) ISBA President Umberto S. Davi, ISBA Board member Sonni Choi Williams, ISBA President-elect Vincent F. Cornelius and ISBA 3rd Vice President James F. McCluskey.

The Illinois Bar Foundation will honor Paula Hudson Holderman and Jennifer Rosato Perea at the annual Fellows Breakfast on Friday, December 11, 2015 at The Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers.

Paula Hudson Holderman, Winston & Strawn 

ISBA Past President Paula Hudson Holderman will be honored with the 2015 Distinguished Service to Law & Society Award. This award is given to individuals who have made a significant contribution to law and society and his/her contribution includes involvement with the Illinois Bar Foundation and The Fellows.  

Jennifer Rosato Perea, Dean, DePaul University College of Law  

Dean Jennifer Rosato Perea will be honored with the 2015 Honorary Fellow Award. This award is given to individuals whose professional and public careers set an example to which others aspire. 

Don’t miss this opportunity in Chicago on November 5, 2015 to update your knowledge on a number of key criminal law areas. Criminal defense attorneys, general practitioners, assistant state’s attorneys, and assistant public defenders with all levels of practice who attend this seminar will better understand: how the marijuana laws intersect with DUI laws in Illinois; the application and approval requirements for a concealed carry permit; the alternative courts available to defendants in Cook County and the requirements to qualify for the courts; how to effectively use – or bar – smartphone evidence in your next your case; the recent cases that have been overturned due to wrongful conviction; the ethical dilemmas facing criminal practitioners on a daily basis and how they are best handled from both the prosecution and defense perspective; and much more!

The program is presented by the ISBA Criminal Justice Section and qualifies for 6.5 hour MCLE credit, including 1.0 hour Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval).

Click here for more information and to register.

Ballard RN Center, Inc. v. Kohll's Pharmacy & Homecare, Inc.

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

In this “junk fax” class action case, the court held that a motion for class certification filed contemporaneously with the complaint was sufficient to bar a claim of mootness by defendant, which tendered the full amount recoverable under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act after the complaint, and class certification motion, were filed. In partially reversing the appellate court and in affirming the circuit court, the supreme court centered its analysis on its opinion in Barber v. American Airlines, Inc., 241 Ill.2d 450 (2011).

In Barber, plaintiff’s class action was properly dismissed because there was no motion for class certification pending when the defendant refunded the $40 baggage fee which was at issue, thereby mooting the class plaintiff’s claim. An underpinning of the reasoning in Barber was that in the absence of a motion for certification, the interests of the other class members were not then before the court.  

Here, defendant argued, in part, that the motion for class certification was a “shell” motion that lacked content. The supreme court disagreed, saying that the motion contained a general outline of the action, and effectively communicated the fundamental nature of the putative class action.

Attorney Rory Weiler discusses the new family law maintenance guidelines for 2015.

Jim Calloway has had numerous lawyers tell him they didn't realize what clients experience until they hired an attorney themselves. One of those so testifying suggested to Calloway, director of the Oklahoma State Bar management assistance program, that every law student should have to become a client on some matter. "It would turn out a better crop of lawyers," he says.

Michael Belleau can relate. The training, learning, and development manager at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister in Chicago, and formerly of Winston & Strawn, Belleau once hired - and then fired - an attorney for a real estate transaction that was a bit more complicated than usual because it involved documents for a construction loan.

Why the parting of the ways? "He did not use e-mail, and you could not leave a voicemail," Belleau says. "His secretary had to write down a paper copy of your message. It was extraordinarily frustrating. The reason it was set up this way was because it was convenient for him, or he was comfortable with the process. The experience of someone like myself wasn't taken into consideration," he says.

"Why should it be in the legal profession that you should have to call and schedule an appointment and then wait three weeks to see if I can help you and what it's going to cost?" Calloway says. "It's basically [about] sitting in the client's seat." Learn tips for creating a client-centered practice in the November Illinois Bar Journal and at a live noontime webinar on Tuesday, December 1.

Northwestern University School of Law alumnus J.B. Pritzker and his wife, M.K. Pritzker, have made a $100 million gift that will significantly advance the mission and vision of Pritzker’s alma mater, one of the nation’s leading law schools.

The 156-year-old school will be named the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

The Pritzkers’ gift is the largest single gift ever to any law school.

Northwestern President Morton Schapiro and Law School Dean Daniel B. Rodriguez made the announcement during an event at the Law School today (Oct. 22).

The Pritzkers’ game-changing gift will allow the best students, no matter what their socio-economic background, to get a legal education at one of the top law schools in the country. In addition, it simultaneously focuses on the advancement of the study of law, business and technology, and on public interest initiatives in the areas of civil and human rights.

The funding will help support and advance the Law School’s strategy of developing new kinds of highly marketable lawyers -- creative, constructive problem-solvers armed with entrepreneurial and multidisciplinary skills, resolutely committed to social justice and the rule of law.  

The gift supports several social justice centers at Northwestern Law School, including the Center on Wrongful Convictions, the Children and Family Justice Center, the Center on International Human Rights, the Environmental Law Center and other key programs to improve civil society and implement justice.

Eight Chicago residents have qualified as candidates for the open Republican seat on the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today.

Under a state statute, the composition of the three-member board is to include one member from the state’s two leading political parties. Currently, the board must have one Democrat, one Republican and one member from any political party. The current opening is the Republican seat. The qualified candidates are (in alphabetical order):

Asked and Answered

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

Q. I am the managing partner of a 16 attorney business transactional firm in Chicago. Over the last five years, we have lost several core clients due to consolidation of their outside law firms and mergers of the clients themselves. Competition is getting fierce in our market, our services are being viewed as commodities, and it is getting harder to stand out. What can we do to differentiate ourselves from everyone else? We welcome your thoughts.

A. Creating a competitive advantage that is sustainable over time is difficult at best. It is so easy for your competitors to copycat your recent innovations. Clients of law firms advise us that they hire the lawyer - not the firm. However, this is only partly true. The firm - its image and brand - provides a backdrop for the individual attorneys marketing efforts as well and provides backup and bench strength that many clients require before retaining a lawyer.

In general the law firm is faced with the dual challenge of developing a reputation (brand) at both the firm and the individual lawyer level. In general, client delivery practices and behaviors that are part of the firm's core values and have been burned into the firm's cultural fabric are the hardest to copycat.

Areas in which you can consider differentiation strategies:

Volunteer hotline attorneys wanted to give advice to Chicago-area low-income clients in the areas of landlord/tenant, consumer debt, and family law. Day and night shifts are available. Daily hotline shifts are Mondays-Fridays 9:00 a.m.-1 p.m. or 1-5 p.m. A minimum commitment of 1 shift per week over a 10-week session is requested. Evening shifts are Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m.–8 p.m. We seek a minimum commitment of 36 hours over a one-year period. Training (with CLE credit and dinner!) and malpractice insurance provided.

Our next training cycle begins Wednesday, November 4, 2015 from 4 p.m.-8 p.m.  For more information, contact Leslie Wallin at 312/421-4427 or lwallin@carpls.org or go to https://www.carpls.org/getinvolved/pro-bono-opportunities/