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  • November 14, 2013 | People
    Frederic N. Richman 1937-2013

    Frederic N. Richman passed away Sunday at the age of 76.  For nearly 50 years, Fred provided much respected legal and business counsel to a range of clients in the areas of  labor relations, business, transactional and real estate law, as well as clients in the entertainment industry.  

    Fred was born and raised in Chicago. He lived in Rogers Park and went to Senn High School and then obtained his degrees in the Chicago area as well. Educated at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and then DePaul University College of Law in Chicago, Fred was elected to the 2010 Class of Distinguished Counsellors by the Illinois State Bar Association Board of Governors. 

    Fred joined Loeb & Loeb in 2004 along with a lateral group of attorneys from the Los Angeles law firm of Richman, Mann, Chizever, Phillips & Duboff in Los Angeles. He and his group immediately became significant and valued contributors to the LA office.  During his esteemed career, Fred served as a labor arbitrator and a member of the arbitration panels of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. He was a member of the Los Angeles County Public Employee Relations Board and an arbitrator for the City and County of Los Angeles. He was also former chairman of the Labor Law Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association and a member of the Board of Governors of Cedars Sinai Hospital.

    His burial took place in Los Angeles. Despite his move to Los Angeles, Fred has a long history in Chicago and has maintained close ties to the city. 

  • November 14, 2013 | People
    Peter Birnbaum named IIT Chicago-Kent Alumni of Distinction

    Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund CEO Honored for Dedication to Legal Profession, Community and College

    Peter Birnbaum, president and CEO of Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. (ATG®), has been designated one of IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law’s 125 Alumni of Distinction for his outstanding professional and community service achievements.

    “We are proud to honor Peter Birnbaum for his role in shaping the legal profession, giving back to his community and the law school, and helping to raise the profile of the College of Law on a global level,” said Harold J. Krent, Dean of Chicago-Kent College of Law, which celebrates 125 years of distinctive legal education this year. All Alumni of Distinction will be honored at a dinner on Thursday, Nov. 21 at The Renaissance Hotel, 1 West Wacker Dr., Chicago, from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

    Birnbaum said, “I’m extremely humbled to be among this list of distinctive alumni, and to be honored in such a way by the IIT Kent-Chicago College of Law, which offered me an excellent education and numerous opportunities to grow as a person and a professional.”

    A past president of the Alumni Board and current member of the Board of Overseers for the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, Birnbaum received a Distinguished Service Award from the College in 2004. As a first-year student there in 1981, he began his career at ATG as a law clerk, and advanced to positions of staff attorney, and vice president and counsel, before being namedm president and CEO in 1991.

    1 comment (Most recent November 15, 2013)
  • November 14, 2013 | People
    Longtime ISBA Legislative Counsel Daniel Houlihan passes away

    Daniel L. Houlihan, of Wilmette, formerly of Beverly, and summer resident of Long Beach, Indiana, passed away on Tuesday night. Dan was a prominent zoning attorney who began his career as an Assistant State’s Attorney, served as an Illinois State Representative and longtime Legislative Counsel for ISBA.

    Dan was a long-standing Board of Director Member for Misericordia Heart of Mercy, and a member of Catholic Charities Advisory Board.

    Visitation will be held on Friday, November 15 from 2:00 PM until 9:00 PM at Donnellan Family Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Boulevard at Old Orchard Road, Skokie.  Funeral will be held on Saturday, November 16 at 10:00 AM at St. Francis Xavier Church, 9th and Linden, Wilmette.

  • November 13, 2013 | Events | ISBA News
    Female bar presidents share lessons in leadership

    Paula H. Holderman (second from right), president of the Illinois State Bar Association, was one of four speakers at a November 7 Chicago Bar Association seminar at the CBA headquarters themed “Lessons in Leadership: A Conversation with Female Bar Presidents.” With Ms. Holderman in the photo are three former CBA presidents (seated, from left) Terri Mascherin, Aurora Abella-Austriaco and Appellate Court Justice Joy Cunningham. Standing are the event’s moderators Deidre Baumann and Michele Jochner. The panelists discussed their backgrounds, how they prepared for their leadership roles, advancement opportunities in the profession, the gender-equity pay issue, work-life balance and their personal definitions of success.

  • November 13, 2013 | CLE
    CLE: Medical Cannabis in Illinois

    The legalization of medical marijuana affects a broad range of legal practices – from those attorneys counseling hospitals, physicians, practice groups, and clinics, to attorneys representing patients wishing to use medical marijuana, businesses employing medical marijuana users, and entities seeking dispensary licenses. Join us in Chicago or via live webcast on Friday, Dec. 6 for a better understanding of: The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act; the rights of and constraints on patients for the purchase, possession and use of medical marijuana; how and when physicians will be able to recommend cannabis for their patients; the scope of forthcoming regulations; how the legal use of medical cannabis will affect employers; and how health care facilities can accommodate or restrict the use of medical marijuana.

    The seminar is presented by the ISBA Health Care Section and qualifies for 1.75 hours MCLE credit.

    Click here for more information and to register for the CHIGAGO program.

    Click here for more information and to register for the LIVE WEBCAST.

  • November 11, 2013 | Events
    Register now for YLD Holiday Party

    Please join us at the 16th Annual Holiday Party and show your support for the IBF/ YLD Children's Assistance Fund.

    WHEN: Friday, December 6, 2013, 6:00pm-10:00pm

    WHERE: Cubby Bear Lounge, 1059 W. Addison, Chicago, Illinois

    WHAT: Open Bar, Warm Appetizers, and Live Music by Stache!

    COST: $35 per person, for tickets purchased on or before November 22, 2013 Discount rate: $30 for law students, for tickets purchased on or before November 22, 2013.
    $40 per person, for tickets purchased after November 22, 2013

    Register at www.isba.org/sections/yld/holidayparty/registration

  • November 7, 2013 | People
    Robert S. Atkins 1931-2013

    Robert Sheldon Atkins, 81, a long-time Chicago litigator and public servant who argued one case before the U.S. Supreme Court, died on Oct. 20. In the 1960s and early 1970s, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and State of Illinois Assistant Attorney General, prosecuting white collar crime, price-fixing, and big business conspiracies. After establishing and leading the state's anti-trust division, the Chicago Sun Times called him (at 5'8) "a little giant-killer."

    As a private litigator for three decades, Atkins worked with the Better Government Association, fighting corruption in Chicago and Illinois politics and government. Upon his retirement in recent years, Atkins taught constitutional law to elementary school students and presented himself as an inveterate letter-writer and gadfly in the Evanston community where he and his beloved wife, Patricia "Patty" Atkins made their home the past half-century.

    Son of Allen and Hattie Atkins, he grew up in Chicago, graduated from Senn High School, University of Wisconsin, and Northwestern University Law School. As a prodigious teenage violinist, Atkins once won the Morris B. Sachs Amateur Hour (the Chicagoland "American Idol" of its time) and was the concertmaster of his high school orchestra. After a hiatus, he performed various violin recitals on the North Shore for the past 30 years.

  • November 6, 2013 | People
    Crawford, Riley-Vargas promoted to shareholder at Polsinelli

    Polsinelli congratulates John F. Crawford and Rebecca C. Riley-Vargas, who have been elected to shareholder in the firm's Chicago office. The pair were among 33 promoted attorneys nationwide.

    “The professional achievements and excellent work by these attorneys support our firm’s dedication to providing our clients with practical legal guidance for better business decisions,” said Polsinelli Chairman Russ Welsh. “We are pleased to acknowledge our new shareholders' successes.”

    The promotions to shareholder are occurring during an exciting period of growth for Polsinelli. In 2013, the firm added 104 attorneys nationwide to help meet client needs. The firm also expanded with a new office and team in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Five years in a row Polsinelli has been ranked the fastest growing law firm in America by The American Lawyer. Polsinelli focuses on finding practical solutions for clients in health care, financial services, real estate, life sciences and technology, energy and business litigation matters.

    Chicago

    • John F. Crawford– Nonprofit Organizations. He earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri, 2005.
    • Rebecca C. Riley-Vargas –Science & Technology. She earned her J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, 2007.
  • November 6, 2013 | People
    Howard & Howard welcomes Michael J. Gilmartin to Chicago office

    Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC is pleased to announce that Michael J. Gilmartin has joined the firm.  He will practice out of the firm’s Chicago Office.

  • November 5, 2013 | People
    Nancy Piña selected 1st Rodriguez Scholarship Recipient at John Marshall

    Nancy Piña, a first-generation American with a passion for real estate law, has been presented with a scholarship honoring The John Marshall Law School’s first Hispanic graduate.

    To celebrate John Marshall’s legacy of diversity, the law school established the William E. Rodriguez Memorial Scholarship in November 2012. Ricardo Meza (JD ’90) and Joan Pantsios (JD ’75), two of the first donors to the scholarship, met with Piña at a recent luncheon honoring scholarship donors and recipients. Meza is executive inspector general for the State of Illinois.  Pantsios’ aunt was at one time married to Rodriguez.