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  • August 16, 2023 | Practice News
    Durbin, Duckworth Announce Screening Committee, Application Process for Federal District Court in the Northern District of Illinois

    U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that they will begin accepting  applications from those interested in serving as a Federal District Court Judge in the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division. The Senators will be assisted by a screening committee whose task is to review and vet District Court candidates and advise the Senators regarding the candidates’ qualifications and fitness for the position. 

  • August 14, 2023 | Practice News
    The Insurer-Insured Privilege

     In his August Illinois Bar Journal article, “The Insurer-Insured Privilege,” Scott O. Reed observes that Illinois is one of the few U.S. jurisdictions to recognize what is known as the “insurer-insured privilege,” which protects from discovery statements made by an insured to its insurer, even though no attorney is involved in those communications. This description of the doctrine is straight-forward, but Reed notes Illinois cases have recognized several limitations, exceptions, and qualifications to this privilege.

  • August 14, 2023 | Practice News
    Spotlight on Pro Bono: The Importance of Virtual Pro Bono Through Illinois Free Legal Answers

    By Abigail Causer, Managing Attorney at the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI)

    Imagine being without legal guidance when you need it most. Now, imagine being the ray of hope that brightens that darkness- from the comfort of your home. Hosted by the ABA and Administered in Illinois by PILI through the incredible support of the Illinois Bar Foundation, the Illinois Access to Justice grant program, and the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, Illinois Free Legal Answers is a secure website where lower income Illinois residents can ask a lawyer for help with a legal issue. Qualified users post questions about civil legal problems, then volunteer lawyers log onto the site - anytime and anywhere you can access the internet - and select questions to answer. It’s a virtual walk-in legal clinic and a great pro bono opportunity that you can engage with over your lunch or in your off hours in sweatpants.

  • August 11, 2023 | Practice News
    Quick Take on Illinois Supreme Court Opinion Issued Friday, August 11, 2023

    A leading appellate attorney reviews the Illinois Supreme Court opinion handed down Friday, August 11. 

  • August 10, 2023 | Practice News
    Spotlight on Pro Bono: Pro Bono Opportunities With the Illinois Aging Network

    by Karen Alice Kloppe 

    Free legal assistance is available to qualifying older adults in priority civil cases based on available funding allocated to each of the 13 Area Agencies on Aging in the Illinois Aging Network under the Older Americans Act (OAA) of 1965, as amended. (Public Law 89–73 as amended through Public Law 116–131.) The goal is “to assist older individuals in understanding their rights, exercising choices, benefiting from services and opportunities authorized by law, and maintaining the rights of older individuals at risk of guardianship. See 42 USC 3058j(5) and 42 USC 3002(33) (defining the term “legal assistance”).

  • August 9, 2023 | Practice News
    Mary Smith Installed as President of the ABA

    Mary Smith is President of the American Bar Association and is the first Native American woman in this role.

    Mary is an independent board member and former CEO of a $6 billion national healthcare organization, the Indian Health Service. She currently serves on the board of PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTCT), a global biopharmaceutical company and on the board of HAI Group, a leading member-owned insurance company for the affordable housing industry. She is also vice chair of the VENG Group, a national consulting firm.

  • August 8, 2023 | Practice News
    Skip-the-Line Program – Eliminating the “Time Tax” to Serve You Better

    By Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias

    Everything we do at the Secretary of State’s office is centered around creating an environment of excellent customer service. Each day we look to make improvements to better achieve this goal.

    Our “Skip-the-Line Program” is an important step to improve the customer experience using a multi-pronged approach designed to eliminate the unpredictability of wait times at Driver and Motor Vehicle (DMV) facilities that Illinoisans have experienced for far too long.

  • August 7, 2023 | Practice News
    2023 Legislative Roundup

     Each August, the Illinois Bar Journal features summaries of legislation passed by the Illinois General Assembly during the most recent spring session and that may be of interest to ISBA members. Compiled by the Illinois State Bar Association’s legislative affairs department, the IBJ’s annual Legislative Roundup includes new and amended statutes concerning such areas of law as family, real estate, trusts and estates, criminal, civil litigation, and more. 

     

  • August 3, 2023 | Practice News
    Boon or Bust

     The cover story for the August Illinois Bar Journal brainstorms and examines ways attorneys can use artificial intelligence tools to market their practice, and do so ethically. Relying on the experience of Drew Vaughn, a former practicing attorney who now runs Chicago-based, lawyer-oriented Deviant Marketing, the article breaks down advice he delivered on this topic in a June Illinois State Bar Association CLE webcast.

     

  • July 24, 2023 | Practice News
    Unnecessary Roughness

    Millions of professional and amateur athletes are injured in the U.S. every year, with Illinois having more than its fair share of serious examples. Most people would agree that while players assume the typical risks of rough contact, a line has been crossed when an opponent carves the skin off the face of a downed opponent with a player’s football cleats, demolishes a quarterback’s arm after a play is over, pummels an opposing NBA player within inches of his life, and paralyzes a high school hockey opponent.

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