Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride and the Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday several important new measures to improve equal access to justice for all of the people of Illinois, and especially for the poor and vulnerable.
ISBA President John E. Thies says goodbye and looks back on his presidential year in his final Member Update.
ISBA President John Thies discusses civics education and other law-related issues with Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman.
View the extended footage from the interview at http://youtu.be/h1XGoI1TacA
Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride announced Friday that the Illinois Supreme Court has approved a proposal designed to lessen the legal costs in civil cases for clients of limited means.
The proposal deals with a concept known as "limited scope representation" which more than 20 other states also permit. Limited scope representation allows attorneys to provide paid legal services on a portion of a client's legal matter, rather than seeing it through from beginning to end. By providing services, specifically limited by agreement between the lawyer and the client, total legal fees should be more affordable for the client.
The proposal, first made several years ago by the Lawyers Trust Fund, is contained in amendments to three Supreme Court rules. It had the formal support of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association, who formed a joint task force to study the matter in detail.
The Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) will host its Annual Pro Bono Reception next week on Wednesday, June 19 at The Ivy Room at Tree Studios. A fixture in the Illinois pro bono community’s summer calendar, this event celebrates the remarkable and critically-needed pro bono work being done in Illinois, as well as the work of PILI's Pro Bono Initiative Program. Among the 250 guests who regularly attend are pro bono leaders from law firms and corporate legal departments, representatives from Illinois law schools and legal service agencies, and the current class of PILI Interns and Fellows.
Present at the event will be Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride, who will introduce PILI’s 2013 Pro Bono Recognition Roster. Understanding the mounting legal needs of Illinois’ poor and under-represented, and realizing the critical role that law firms and corporations play in meeting that need through pro bono legal assistance, PILI created this roster in 2010 to celebrate these contributions and express gratitude. This year, 34 law firms and 10 corporate legal departments been named to the Roster. View the full 2013 Pro Bono Recognition Roster on PILI’s website at www.pili-law.org/probonorecognitionroster.htm.
The 2013 Pro Bono Reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Ivy Room at Tree Studios, located at 12 East Ohio Street (Ohio & State). Tickets are available through June 18 online at www.pili-law.org/probonoreception.htm for $65, or at the door for $75.
ISBA President John E. Thies applauds the action of the Illinois General Assembly to increase court funding to $302.3 million, up from $281.1 million last year.
"With the leadership of the Illinois Supreme Court, and especially Chief Justice Thomas Kilbride, we have begun what we all hope will be a sustained commitment to reverse the reduction in court funding, thereby ensuring that courts continue to provide their constitutionally-mandated services to the people of Illinois," Thies said, continuing: "It remains an important priority of our Association to work with the Supreme Court, the Conference of Chief Judges, the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts and the rest of the organized bar to achieve this goal."
During his term as president, Thies advocated for an increase in court funding. He established a Special Committee on Fair and Impartial Courts, co-chaired by Kane County Judge Patricia P. Golden (Ret.), of West Dundee, and Illinois Appellate Court Justice James M. Wexstten, of Mt. Vernon. Their 64-page report, which addressed the serious funding crisis facing Illinois courts, was accepted on May 17 at a meeting of the ISBA Board of Governors.
"The committee's report stopped short of saying that the current court system could not do its job, but it recognized that the breaking point was near," Thies stated.
The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Allan J. Masters to the position of Circuit Judge of Cook County, Ninth Subcircuit. This appointment is effective June 14, 2013 and terminates on Dec. 1, 2014. The vacancy was created by the retirement of the Hon. Lee Preston.
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Privacy and the workplace (Senate Bill 2306), Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (House Bill 2339), E-insurance card (Senate Bill 1775), Recorded interrogations (Senate Bill 1006) and Mortgage Foreclosure Article (Senate Bill 56). More information on each bill is available below the video
Applying the Family Medical Leave Act properly -- i.e., in a way that doesn't open the door to FMLA interference or retaliation claims -- can be a tricky for employers, Lisle Stalter notes in the latest ISBA Local Government Law newsletter. But now there's help, she writes. "McClelland v. CommunityCare HMO, Inc. an unpublished Tenth Circuit opinion and its district court case, provides good guidance on appropriate process and procedure to protect employers on the application of FMLA." Read her analysis.
Join us as we celebrate our accomplishments and outline initiatives for the coming bar year. The deadline for advance registration is June 14th at 4:30 pm.
The advanced member registration fee is $75 online. The onsite member fee is $100. Register at webarchives.isba.org/annual/2013/reg.html
More information on the 137th Annual Meeting is available at www.isba.org/annual