Bench & Bar

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Bench & Bar Section

ISBA Members, please login to join this section

January 2025 • Volume 55 • Number 4 •

January 2025 Bench and Bar Newsletter

Looking for a Chance to Lead?
By being appointed to a section council or committee, you have an opportunity to propose legislation and rules, write newsletter articles, plan CLE programs, and help the ISBA serve and protect its members in countless ways. Deadline for nominations is February 1, 2025.

Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism | 2025 Future is Now: Legal Services Conference April 24, 2025

In This Issue

The Most Important Thing You Can Bring to Court

By Judge Brian Weinthal

An administrative law judge shares insight on how attorneys can avoid losing credibility when appearing before a finder-of-fact.

David C. Marcus: The Unsung Civil Rights Hero

By Hon. Jesse G. Reyes

A civil rights lawyer who represented the Mendez family in the landmark case, Mendez v. Westminster.

Mandatory Arbitration Clause Found Unconscionable and Therefore Unenforceable in Nursing Home Contract

By Albert E. Durkin & Peter W. Buchcar

On October 11, 2024, the Illinois First District Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s decision to deny a Motion to Dismiss and Compel Arbitration, finding that mutually binding arbitration clauses or agreements in adhesion contracts that are so one-sided as to be deemed illusory can be substantively unconscionable and unenforceable, regardless of a severability provision.

Recent Appointments and Retirements

Recent changes to Illinois' judiciary.
LAWPAC Needs You!

The Illinois Lawyers’ Political Action Committee (LAWPAC) needs your help to fulfill its mission to support the legislative goals of the ISBA and Illinois’ legal community.

Free CLE for ISBA Members - Sponsored by ISBA Mutual Insurance Company - https://www.isba.org/cle/ondemand

CLE

LIVE WEB - Latest Developments in DUI and Traffic Laws
April 25 | Online
Law Day 2025: The Constitution's Promise: Out of Many, One
May 1 | Springfield
LIVE WEB - Family Law Contracts: Drafting Enforceable Agreements (The Devil Is in the Details)
May 9 | Online
LIVE - IJA/ISBA Spring Seminar 2025
May 15 | Chicago
LIVE - The Rainmaker's 17 Secrets to Marketing & Advertising
June 6 | Lincolnshire

Full CLE Calendar…

Featured Free On-Demand CLE

2025: New Year, New Laws
1.00 hours MCLE credit

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for subscribers’ personal use only; redistribution is prohibited. Copyright Illinois State Bar Association. Statements or expressions of opinion appearing herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Association or Editors, and likewise the publication of any advertisement is not to be construed as an endorsement of the product or service offered unless it is specifically stated in the ad that there is such approval or endorsement.

What do you want to do?

All ISBA Sections
Bench and Bar
Section Newsletter
January 2025 Issue
Section Activities Summary
Section Community
Section Council Roster
Section Minutes
Links