Central Illinois

Judging by the traffic on ISBA's criminal-law listserver, few topics are more important to day-to-day criminal defense practice than expungements. And on that topic, Coles County lawyer Jeremy J. Richey has some advice for his peers -- don't put them off. In a recent post to his excellent East Central Illinois Criminal Law & DUI Weblog, he says this: "Since expungement is a slow process, a person should seek expungement the first day he is eligible for it and not when he needs it later down the road." Read the whole thing. And if you're an ISBA member, sign up for the criminal-DUI-traffic listserver and other e-mail discussion groups here.

The Peoria County Bar Association will hold its 2009 Golf Outing on Aug. 13 at the WeaverRidge Golf Club, 5100 N. Weaverridge Blvd., Peoria. Registraion begins at 11 a.m. Prices: Golf only, $85; Dinner only, $35; Golf and dinner, $115 Reservation deadline is Aug. 7. Contact the PCBA at (309) 674-6049 for more information.

Longtime ISBA member Homer W. Keller passed away in June at age 91. He was born in Peoria and attended Franklin Elementary School and Peoria High School. Mr. Keller earned his law degree from the University of Illinois in 1943 and practiced with the Westervelt firm for 66 years. Mr. Keller was President of the Peoria County Bar Association in 1971-72. He will long be remembered for his integrity, quick wit and kindness.

From the Peoria County Bar Association's July Newsletter.

In a recent column for the Law Technology News, veteran lawyer and legal-tech writer Bob Ambrogi compared the two leading bar-sponsored legal research services, Fastcase and Casemaker. As he notes, Casemaker partners with 28 bars representing 475,000 lawyers, while Fastcase is offered by 17 state and other bars -- including the Illinois State Bar Association -- representing 380,000 lawyers. His conclusion? "[B]oth are worthwhile services with many similarities. In the coverage of federal and state libraries and the relative strengths of their search tools, neither stands out as significantly superior to the other. But in their intuitiveness and ease of use, Fastcase has the clear edge." Read his review.