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  • August 27, 2010 | People
    Amie "Tukung" Joof 1962-2010
    [caption id="attachment_14232" align="alignright" width="174" caption="Amie Joof"][/caption] Amie "Tukung" Joof passed away recently after a long battle with cancer. Amie graduated from St. Joseph’s High School, in The Gambia West Africa, in 1979. Upon completion of her high school studies, she worked in The Gambia in the Statistics Department as a junior clerk.
  • August 27, 2010 | People
    Bisceglia receives Humanitarian Award from IACC
    Jenner & Block Partner and ISBA Past President Joseph G. Bisceglia has been selected to receive the Humanitarian Award of the Italian American Chamber of Commerce-Midwest (IACC). Mr. Bisceglia is receiving this award for his “outstanding charitable work with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, his long-standing support of and involvement in the Jenner & Block’s pro bono program, and his work for humanitarian causes as President of the Illinois State Bar Association." For the past century, the IACC has been recognizing the accomplishments of influential business men and women. Mr. Bisceglia has an extensive record of charitable service to the greater community. Since 1995, he has spent thousands of hours and other resources in support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the world leader in the treatment and research of childhood cancer, as a committee member of the hospital's annual "4 Stars of Chicago" fundraiser. He has served as co-chair of the event since 2006. During his service on the committee, the event has raised more than $5.4 million for the hospital. As part of his service to the bar, Mr. Bisceglia has been a consistent advocate for human rights and the rights of minorities and the underprivileged. As President of the Illinois State Bar Association, he instituted initiatives designed to increase diversity in the legal profession, including through civic education and educational pipeline programs, and succeeded in obtaining bar association support for resolutions on such issues as civil unions and death penalty reform. Mr. Bisceglia will receive the award at the IACC’s 103rd Annual Gala and Awards Dinner being held on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010.
  • August 26, 2010
    Breaking legal news for Thursday, Aug. 26

    Chicago area

    This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day. More Daily Legal News available at www.isba.org/dailylegalnews
  • August 25, 2010 | Events
    Judges throw pitch for internships
    The Illinois Judges Foundation is warming up for “Batter Up for Justice,” its second annual Chicago rooftop fundraiser in support of a summer judicial internship program for qualified law students. The benefit will begin at 5:05 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, at the Sheffield Baseball Club, 3619 N. Sheffield, across from Wrigley Field. A dinner buffet with unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks will precede viewing of the 6:05 p.m. baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants. Sponsored by the Lawyers’ Auxiliary Committee of the Foundation, the collegial outing will help provide full-time, minimum six-week internships and stipends to first- and second-year law students who qualify because of minority status or financial need. The Judges Foundation is a platinum sponsor of the coordinating American Bar Association Judicial Intern Opportunity Program. Participants include state and federal judges throughout Illinois. The “Batter Up for Justice” admission fee of $150 per person includes food and beverages before and during the game. Raffle prizes include a baseball jersey autographed by Ron Santo, a plaque with statistics of Chicago hockey star Jonathan Toews, and a variety of sports-related attire. The philanthropic event is open to the public, but space is limited. Reservations may be made by calling (312) 554-2008, or e-mailing ijf@chicagobar.org. Sponsorships at various levels are partly tax-deductible.
  • August 25, 2010 | People
    Holisky and Lenz join Aronberg Goldgehn
    [caption id="attachment_14145" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Mark Lenz"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_14144" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Jerry Holisky"][/caption] Aronberg Goldgehn Davis & Garmisa is pleased to announce that Jerry Holisky and Mark Lenz have become Members of the firm. Mr. Holisky focuses his practice on the legal concerns of closely-held companies and their owners, including business formations, mergers and acquisitions, commercial finance, secured transactions, real estate, commercial agreements, and structuring complex business relationships. He has a particular expertise in ownership and management disputes, frequently structuring, negotiating, and closing transactions to resolve these disputes. Mr. Holisky received his J.D. degree from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He joins the firm from Holland & Knight, where he was Senior Counsel. Mark Lenz focuses his practice on public finance, real estate and public law. He advises clients on utilizing tax credits and financing provided by governmental entities and private foundations.
  • August 25, 2010 | People
    Ray James Schoonhoven passes away
    Ray James Schoonhoven passed away at his Lake Forest home last month. Mr. Schoonhoven served in the Navy in WWII on a PT Boat in the South Pacific. He returned to Chicago after the war and received his J.D. from Northwestern Law School. He joined the law firm then called Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather and Geraldson. He was widely regarded as one of the premier management labor lawyers in the country and was a dedicated mentor to several generations of lawyers. Click here to read the full obituary
  • August 24, 2010
    Breaking legal news for Tuesday, Aug. 24

    Chicago area

    Nation

    This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day. More Daily Legal News available at www.isba.org/dailylegalnews
  • August 23, 2010
    Breaking legal news for Monday, Aug. 23

    State

    Chicago area

    Nation

    This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day. More Daily Legal News available at www.isba.org/dailylegalnews
  • August 23, 2010 | People
    Clyde E. Murphy 1948-2010
    Clyde E. Murphy, a crusading civil rights attorney who won a Supreme Court case on behalf of African-American firefighter applicants, passed away on Aug. 17 at Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago. Services have been held. In his 35-year legal career, first with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and more recently as executive director of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Mr. Murphy handled employment discrimination, affirmative-action, police misconduct and housing bias cases. His pivotal achievement came this year when the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal judge's ruling that the city of Chicago discriminated against a group of more than 6,000 African-American applicants who took the 1995 firefighter entrance exam. Read the full obituary in the Chicago Tribune
  • August 23, 2010 | People
    Cournane named general counsel of IFA
    The Illinois Finance Authority has appointed Brendan Cournane, 56, as General Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Directors. Cournane replaces Christopher Meister, 45 (who was recently promoted to IFA Executive Director). Cournane had served as Senior Assistant General Counsel of the Chicago Board of Education, a position held since 2003. Cournane received his B.A. from Loyola University of Chicago in 1975 and his J.D. from Loyola in 1978.