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The Illinois Supreme Court hosted "Law School for Legislators" on March 13, with all seven justices, leadership, and new members of the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate in attendance.
The event, held at the Illinois Supreme Court Building in Springfield, was intended to familiarize the legislative branch with court operations and to foster dialogue of communication, cooperation, and coordination between the legislative and judicial branches.
The Illinois Supreme Court announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on March 19, 2019. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.
In 2015, the first district significantly expanded the attorney-litigation privilege, finding that it immunized attorneys from claims in addition to defamation and, in addition to an attorney's communications, protected an attorney's conduct. While it is axiomatic that "with great power comes great responsibility," Amanda Hamilton notes in March's Illinois Bar Journal that "recent expansions of the attorney-litigation privilege demonstrate why attorneys must be increasingly vigilant in their commitment to ethical principles to ensure they do not abuse their power."
The Cook County Circuit Court granted the Illinois Land Title Association’s motion for summary judgment for its writ of mandamus to require the Cook County Recorder of Deeds to record heirship deeds and affidavits without first requiring a certified probate court order.
The court made its ruling March 15.
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers IMDMA, guardian ad litems, home warranty, FOIA, BAIID and DUIs, judicial review and permitting decisions, the Condominium Property Act, and statutory summary suspension.
IMDMA. House Bill 185 (Ford, D-Chicago) makes three changes to the IMDMA in House Amendment No. 1.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the owner of a four-attorney firm in Indianapolis, Indiana. The firm has three associate attorneys, three paralegals, and three other staff members. One of my attorneys recently advised me that he wanted to do more work remotely. The next day I emailed him my thoughts and advised him that I would not let him work remotely. He then emailed me that he was giving me his two weeks’ notice. What should I have done differently?
The Illinois Supreme Court issued substantial rule changes on March 8 to implement the state’s recently overhauled cash bail and bond system.
The new and amended rules go into effect July 1. They include amended Rules 501, 503, 526, 527, 528, 529, 551, 553, 554, 555, and 556. Rule 530 is renumbered as Rule 532, and new Rules 530 and 531 are adopted.
Recent plea-bargaining related decisions in the U.S. and Illinois Supreme Courts have complicated the landscape for ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims brought in the state. With various tests for ineffective assistance now in tension, questions may become more difficult to resolve when such tests can be applied to the same case. In his March 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and Plea Bargaining in Illinois,” Nate Niemann traces the developments leading to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Lee v. United States and the Illinois Supreme Court’s in People v. Brown.
Attorney Andreas Liewald discusses the limits of guardianship for a person diagnosed with a mental illness and under what conditions guardianship is appropriate.
The Illinois Equal Justice Foundation (IEJF) has awarded grants totaling $2,485,794 to 37 Illinois civil legal aid providers.
Grants were made possible with funding from the state appropriation for civil legal aid as well as settlement funds awarded to the IEJF by former Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Eighteen grants were funded by the state appropriation.