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  • February 4, 2010 | ISBA News
    Aldermen Burke and Fioretti presented with ISBA Lincoln street banners
    [caption id="attachment_8160" align="alignright" width="300" caption="John Bailen, Russell Hartigan, Ald. Fioretti, Ald. Burke and ISBA President John O'Brien"][/caption] ISBA President John G. O'Brien presented ISBA street banners to Aldermen Robert Fioretti and Ed Burke, both lawyers, in gratitude for their assistance in the bar association's commemoration of the  200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. The banners were displayed at various locations in downtown Chicago and in Springfield during the year-long celebration.  Also on hand for the presentation at Burke's City Hall office were ISBA Board Member Russell Hartigan and John Bailen, chair, ISBA Committee on Strategic Marketing.
  • January 29, 2010 | ISBA News
    Nominate a colleague for an ISBA award
    Nominations are being accepted for ISBA awards that will be presented on June 25 during the 134th Annual Meeting at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis Riverfront. Nominating forms are available at www.isba.org/awards. General Practice The Matthew Maloney Tradition of Excellence Award is sponsored by the General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section. Nominees must be ISBA members who have been in general practice for at least 20 years and have made significant contributions to the profession and community. Nominations are due by Friday, March 26. The nominating form is available at www.isba.org/awards/gp. Community Leadership The Community Leadership Award is sponsored by the Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Nominees should be lawyers, judges, lawyers, members of state or local legislative bodies, educators or community activist groups who have worked to eliminate discrimination and foster understanding of legal issues relating to the LGBT community. Nominations are due by April 16. The nominating form is available at www.isba.org/awards/sogi. Young Lawyers The ISBA Young Lawers Division presents two Young Lawyer of the Year awards - one for Cook County and one for outside Cook County. Nominees must be ISBA members under age 36 who have achieved excellence in litigation, advocacy or counseling, and have contributed to the profession through public service and pro bono activity.
  • January 28, 2010 | ISBA News
    ISBA helps support IJC traveling exhibit
    [caption id="attachment_7874" align="alignright" width="300" caption="IJC Chair LaQuietta Hardy-Campbell and ISBA President John O'Brien"][/caption] The Illinois State Bar Association Board of Governors approved a sponsorship of the Illinois Judicial Council Foundation's Subcircuit Traveling Exhibit during its meeting last Friday. IJC Chair Hon. LaQuietta J. Hardy-Campbell presented the request on behalf of the Council. The IJC project is an expansion of the IJC's Pictorial Exhibit which has pictures of its members and a history of the IJC. The Subcircuit Traveling Exhibit is a new and separate exhibit which discusses the creation and impact of subcircuits in Cook County. Since the passage of Cook County's subcircuits, the number of black judges in Cook County and the number of pictures in the exhibit have greatly increased. The Chicago Mayor's Office of Special Events has allowed the IJC to annually display its exhibit in the Daley Center. The pictorial exhibit has been displayed in the Daley Center for over 15 years during February, Black History Month.
  • January 28, 2010 | ISBA News | People
    ISBA YLD council member Justin Heather to receive National Outstanding Young Lawyer Award
    The ABA Young Lawyers Division will honor Justin Heather, co-editor of the Illinois State Bar Association's YLD newsletter, with its National Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. The YLD will present the award during the ABA Midyear Meeting in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, Feb. 6. The YLD presents this award annually to a young lawyer who exemplifies professional excellence, service to the legal profession and the bar, service to the community, and who has a reputation for the advancement of legal ethics and professional responsibility. Heather, a litigation associate with the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, concentrates his practice on complex corporate litigation. He represents clients in a variety of disputes, including international gas and oil matters, intellectual property, securities law, bankruptcy, franchise law, complex commercial contracts, and mergers and acquisitions. In his eight years of practice, Heather has logged more than 4,000 pro bono hours, more than 10 times the ABA's recommended 50 hours a year. His pro bono service involves working with such clients as death row inmates, West African citizens suffering political persecution, and other clients in various race and disability discrimination lawsuits. In addition to his frequent pro bono contributions, Heather actively supports a variety of bar activities.
  • January 28, 2010 | ISBA News
    Evanston, Oak Park advance in Mock Trial Invitational
    [caption id="attachment_7828" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Chief Judge Holderman and the mock trial team from Oak Park/River Forest High School"][/caption] On Friday, January 22, 2010, the Illinois State Bar Associations' Law Related Education Committee conducted one of four regional high school trials at the High School Mock Trial Invitational. The invitational is co-sponsored by Illinois LEARN, the University of Illinois Springfield, The Illinois Judges Association, and the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago. Two teams, Evanston and Oak Park/River Forest, took the top two placements and will proceed to the finals in Springfield later this spring. Over 16 teams competed in the trials on Friday and Saturday. Chief Federal Judge James F. Holderman presided over the last trials between Evanston and Oak Park/River Forest. The teams presented the case of Logan Lovell v. Pat Sainsbury, which was a civil case dealing with teenage drivers who get into a traffic accident after leaving a party where alcohol is being served.
  • January 27, 2010 | ISBA News
    Nominations being accepted for Austin Fleming Newsletter Editors Award
    No one knows better than fellow Section Council members how much time and effort Editors put into the Section or Committee Newsletter! If you believe your Newsletter Editor has done an exceptionally good job this year, why not honor him or her with a nomination for the prestigious Austin Fleming Award? Click here for more information and to download a nomination form. Questions? E-mail Katie Underwood, newsletter managing editor, at kunderwood@isba.org.
  • January 22, 2010 | Events | ISBA News
    Young Attorneys of Champaign County answer call for aid to Haiti
    The Young Attorneys of Champaign County have answered the call by the ISBA and IBF to provide aid to Haiti: POUNDS for DOLLARS: One CommUNITY, One World Giving to CU gives to Haiti GIVING TO CU... Donate your canned goods and other non-perishable food items to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank at Jupiter's at the Crossing on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 between 7-9 p.m. (Biggest needs: canned meats, canned complete meals, canned beans and other vegetables, canned fruits, boxed meals & peanut butter.) GIVES TO HAITI... For every POUND of food donated to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank, select Champaign-Urbana law firms will pledge a donation of ONE DOLLAR (up to $250 each) to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to help the response in Haiti. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is absorbing all associated administrative costs so that 100% of every dollar you give to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF will support UNICEF's relief efforts for children in Haiti. Please help your CommUNITY, your world.
    • Wednesday, January 27, 2010
    • 7:00pm - 9:00pm
    • Jupiter's At The Crossing
    • 2511 Village Green Pl.
    • Champaign, IL
    Sponsored by the Young Attorneys of Champaign County (YACC).
  • January 21, 2010 | ISBA News | Member Services
    Illinois Lawyer Finder makes nearly 8,000 referrals in 2009
    The Illinois State Bar Association's Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For 2009, ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:
    • Administrative 86
    • Animal 28
    • Bankruptcy 206
    • Business Law 165
    • Civil Disputes 882
    • Civil Rights 153
    • Collection 264
    • Consumer protection 219
    • Contracts 136
    • Criminal Law 684
    • Education Law 146
    • Elder Law 27
    • Employment law 909
    • Estate/Probate 261
    • Family 1,342
    • Government benefits 159
    • Health Law 58
    • Immigration 39
    • Insurance disputes 77
    • Intellectual Property 53
    • Misc 19
    • Municipal Law 75
    • Personal Injury 909
    • Real Estate 691
    • Social Security 148
    • Tax 62
    • Worker Compensation 123
    These numbers do not include additional referrals made through the online Lawyer Finder service. Want to be part of the ISBA Lawyer Finder Service? Call (800) 252-8908 and ask for the Legal Department, or visit www.illinoislawyerfinder.com Clients should call (800) 922-8757.
  • January 20, 2010 | ISBA News
    ISBA, IBF issue urgent call for aid to Haiti
    [gallery link="file" columns="2"] Dear Colleagues, Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti, whose lives have been turned upside down following last week's terrible earthquake. The media reports of destruction, injuries and loss of life are simply overwhelming. Sadly, the Haitian people do not have the resources to cope with a disaster of this magnitude. In the days, weeks and months ahead, Haiti and its people will need an extraordinary amount of humanitarian and financial aid in order to recover and rebuild. We know that lawyers can be extremely generous. Please consider supporting one of the many organizations on the ground in Haiti that are doing their best to help. To assist our members in directing their donations where they will do the most good, the Illinois Bar Foundation will be gathering information about relief efforts and posting them at www.isba.org/ibf as they become available. These include the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org), the United Nations Children's Fund (www.unicef.org), and Doctors Without Borders (www.doctorswithoutborders.org). You can also text "HAITI" to 90999, and a donation of $10 will automatically go to the Red Cross and be charged to your cell phone bill. Together, we can make a difference. We urge each of you to do what you can to help. John G. O'Brien, ISBA President - Vincent Cornelius, IBF President
  • January 12, 2010 | ISBA News | Practice News
    ISBA releases Judicial Evaluations for 2010 Primary
    Since Illinois voters have the responsibility to elect judges, the Illinois State Bar Association feels it has an obligation to share with the public information about qualifications of judicial candidates. The lawyers who practice alongside candidates for judicial office are in a unique position to assess the professional qualities that are necessary for good judges. Here are the ISBA's ratings and poll results on judicial candidates: Download the ISBA Voters Guide for Cook County Judicial Candidates Download the ISBA Voters Guide for Judicial Candidates for all counties outside of Cook Methods ISBA uses to rate candidates For most judicial offices, ISBA will provide either an evaluation or a poll rating; in the case of Supreme and Appellate court candidates outside of Cook County, ISBA will provide both an evaluation rating and poll results. NOTE: Evaluation ratings, which are the result of an in-depth review of candidates, are the opinion of the Illinois State Bar Association; the Judicial Advisory Poll ratings do not reflect the opinion of ISBA, but rather the opinion of those attorneys who participated in the poll. Find out more about how it works