Justice Rita B. Garman of the Supreme Court of Illinois has begun an application process for a Circuit Court vacancy in the Sixth Judicial Circuit. The vacancy will be created by the retirement of Judge John P. Shonkwiler on July 31, 2012. Judge Shonkwiler has been a resident circuit judge since 1974.

Under the Illinois Constitution, judicial vacancies are filled by Supreme Court appointment. The application process will lead to final Court approval. The applicants will undergo an evaluation and screening process.

Notice of the vacancy has been posted in courthouses throughout the Circuit. The application form and instructions may be obtained by visiting the Illinois Supreme Court’s website at www.state.il.us/court and follow the instructions on the “Latest News” scroller announcing the Sixth Judicial Circuit vacancy. Original applications must be submitted via mail to:

• Supreme Court of Illinois
• attn.: Mrs. Mary Hurley
• 3607 North Vermilion, Suite 1
• Danville, Illinois 61832

No electronic or facsimile applications will be accepted.

Deadline for submission of applications is Tuesday, June 12, 2012. The person appointed to fill the vacancy will serve until the position is filled by election in November, 2014. To be eligible for consideration for appointment, the applicant must be a lawyer licensed to practice law in Illinois.

The Sixth Judicial Circuit is comprised of Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Macon, Moultrie and Piatt counties.

The practice of law involving local government is diverse and, although one’s practice may be focused, a good local government lawyer needs to be well-versed in all aspects of local government representation. Get the information you need on economic development issues, mid-contract actions, and the role of social media with this informative half-day seminar in Chicago on May 24^th! A discussion on the ethical issues concerning the secrets within the attorney-client relationship and a transparent government is also included. Attorneys engaged in representing or dealing with any form of municipal government will benefit from the information presented throughout this seminar.

The program is presented by the ISBA Local Government Law Section and qualifies for 4.0 hours MCLE credit, including 2.0 hours approved Professional Responsibility MCLE credit.

Click here for more information and to register.

Can’t attend on May 24^th?Visit http://isba.fastcle.com for access to the online recorded version of this program approximately 6 weeks after the program.

In today's competitive environment, you need tech tools to help youincrease your bottom line, serve clients better, and reduce your risk of malpractice or ethics missteps.The ISBA has developed partnerships with tech vendors in key areas to help you make wise choices and, in many cases, provide you with discounted services.

Visit ISBA's PracticeTech Resources page to learn more about these essential practice-management tech tools. Our current line-up includes:

• Clio Practice Management System

www.goclio.com/landing/ilsba/   (1-888-858-CLIO)

Practice management softwareto help you track time and billing, manage documents, avoid conflicts, meet make-or-break deadlines, and more, all at a price you can afford.  Clio is a 100% web-based practice management system designed specifically for solo and small firm attorneys. ISBA members receive a 10% lifetime discount on their Clio subscriptions, a free 30-day trial, free data migrations, unlimited access to Clio’s live customer support, and unlimited access to live and recorded training.

• CoreVault Cloud Backup & Hosting

www.corevault.com/isba  (1-866-981-5946)

"[T]his may not be the job market you anticipated," Fastcase CEO Ed Walters told University of Illinois law grads last Saturday, "but it may well create the unexpected opportunity, an opportunity that you may otherwise have missed, that makes your career."

Walters, commencement speaker for the class of 2012, knows something about finding success by way of the path less traveled. "The shortest distance between you and your goals is rarely a straight line," he said. "It’s a little like driving across the mountains: the fastest way usually isn’t a straight line across the map. You don’t control the terrain.  And the path usually takes you on a few turns in the opposite direction along the way.

"This job market is full of mountains and obstacles. Your path across them may be different from the one you charted. But openness, flexibility, and hard work will get you there."

Read Ed's thoughtful and wide-ranging speech, which is about living, not just making a living, and has sound advice for newly minted and veteran lawyers alike.

The blogosphere is full of information about discovery practices – particularly e-discovery. However, none is more creative and inspired than a piece authored by Mark Herrmann, Vice President and Chief Counsel-Litigation at Aon, and posted at Above the Law, Inside Straight: Why Are Elections Like E-Discovery?

With a more straightforward bent is the article by James Grosee and posted at Lawyerist.com surveying recent decisions determining the discoverability of Facebook posts, warning in the title: Private Facebook Pages May Be Discoverable. 

One of the best sources of academic information these days is SSRN, Social Studies Research Network.  A number of professors, including law professors, post their academic articles at this cooperative resource site.  One such article, dealing with discovery issues is When Staying Discovery Stays Justice: Analyzing Motions to Stay Discovery When a Motion to Dismiss is Pending, by Professor Kevin Lynch, which appears in the Wake Forest Law Review.  It is also referenced at Civil Procedure and Federal Courts Blog, one of the many helpful web pages in the Law Professors Blog Network.

Illinois State Bar Association President John G. Locallo recently met with Moldovan Bar Association President Alexander Turcan. Mr. Turcan was visiting the ISBA to get a greater understanding of the operations of bar associations.

The Moldovan Bar Association has grown from 300 to over 3,000 lawyers in the last 10 years. The former Soviet republic is a land-locked country that sits between Romania and Ukraine.

"Veterans Court" and "Military Legal Rights," two half-hour programs presented by Illinois Law, will air on Tuesdays in May and June at 10 p.m. on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago. Illinois Law is a cable production of the ISBA can also be viewed online at http://iln.isba.org/blog/illinois-law-video.

"Veterans Court" will air at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, May 22 and June 5, 2012. Appearing on the show are Mark Kammerer, MS, LCPC, director of Drug Treatment Programs/Narcotics for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Prosecution’s Bureau; program moderator Nancy K. McKenna, assistant professor, University of St. Francis in Joliet; and Hon. Lawrence Flood, a judge in the Criminal Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

"Military Legal Rights" will air at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, May 29 and June 12, 2012. Appearing the show are Jason T. Vail, chief counsel, legal services for the American Bar Association (ABA) and a member of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel; program moderator Nancy K. McKenna, assistant professor, University of St. Francis in Joliet; and Frank M. Grenard, of Johnson & Bell, Ltd., in Chicago, and vice chair of the ISBA’s Standing Committee on Military Affairs.

ISBA President John G. Locallo uses his latest Tech Minute to highlight the Practice Tools section of the ISBA website.

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Senate Bill 2894 (Probate fees), Senate Bill 2569 (Child support and dissipaation of assets), House Bill 4081 (One-party consent wiretapping), Senate Bill 3792 (Mechanics Lien Act) and Senate Bill 3823 (Sanctions for visitation violations). More information on each bill is available below the video.