2003 Articles

Editors’ note November 2003 The editors owe a special thanks to Associate Editor Tim Howard and his firm, Howard & Howard Attorneys, P.C. in Peoria, and Magistrate Judge Morton Denlow of the Northern District of Illinois, for this insightful special edition of the newsletter on the important subject of federal jurisdiction.

A few words about Judge Wood from his colleagues May 2003 I am so happy to have Judge Harlington Wood, Jr. as a colleague. The "Jr." is important to Woody because of his veneration of his father, also Judge Harlington Wood, though the latter was judge of an Illinois Court.

The first appearance By James F. Holderman September 2003 When appearing before a federal judge for the first time on a case, you of course want to make a good impression not only for yourself, but for your client and your case as well.

From the Bench September 2003 The "From the Bench" column which starts with this issue, will be a regular feature in the Federal Civil Practice newsletter, and will include comments and practical tips from various federal judges across Illinois

From the bench: Federal jurisdiction By Morton Denlow November 2003 You must make sure there is federal jurisdiction before filing a lawsuit in federal court. Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. They must have both subject-matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction.

Magistrate judge settlement conferences in the Northern District of Illinois By Morton Denlow January 2003 There are nine United States magistrate judges in Chicago. A major part of our duties consists of conducting settlement conferences.

Mediation of civil cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit By Joel N. Shapiro January 2003 If you practice in the federal courts of the Seventh Circuit, you probably know that the Court of Appeals requires litigants in many civil appeals to participate in court-sponsored mediation.

Message from the Chair By Michael P. McCuskey May 2003 This issue is devoted to Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Harlington Wood, Jr. Judge Wood is not only a giant in stature, whose career of public service spans seven decades, but also a giant in the Illinois judiciary.

Message from the chair By Michael P. McCluskey January 2003 Welcome to the second newsletter of the Federal Civil Practice Section Council. I have received many favorable comments about our inaugural newsletter.

News you can use September 2003 Each United States District Court in Illinois has now modified its local rules to allow a lawyer admitted to practice in one federal district court to be admitted in each of the other federal districts without requiring a personal appearance to do so.

“Real Judges” By Harlington Wood, Jr. May 2003 My father was a lawyer in Illinois and for 16 years was an elected judge on the county court, a court of limited jurisdiction.

Recent Seventh Circuit decisions of interest By Joseph G. Bisceglia & Nada Djordjevic September 2003 In In re Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., Tires Products Liability Litigation, 333 F.3d 763 (7th Cir. 2003), plaintiff tire owners attempted to circumvent the Seventh Circuit's earlier ruling, In re Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., Tires Products Liability Litigation, 288 F.3d 1012 (7th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1105 (2003), which decertified a nationwide class, by filing suit in multiple state courts.

Settlement conferences in the Southern District of Illinois By Gerald B. Cohn January 2003 Settlement conferences are held approximately 60 days prior to the Final Pretrial Conference.

“The summer of jurisdiction” By Timothy J. Howard November 2003 For those who do not remember, the “Summer of Love” took place in 1967 and was intended to be dedicated to a celebration of music, peace and love (sex).