Chicago Area

March 9, 2010 | People

Rosalyn B. Kaplan passes away

Rosalyn Kaplan, former Illinois solicitor general and current manager of Appeals and Ancillary Litigation for the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, passed away Friday at her Near North Side due to complications from cancer. Kaplan, a member of the ISBA Government Lawyers Committee, also worked for the Illinois attorney general's office for 14 years and was a former president of the Appellate Lawyers Association. Kaplan graduated from The John Marshall Law School in 1981 after teaching high school and college French. Burial will be private. Click here to read the obituary in the Chicago Tribune.
March 8, 2010

Breaking legal news for Monday, March 8
Chicago area
- Prosecutors appeal ruling in judge's DUI, Daily Herald
- U.S. appeals court denies developers last-minute plea, Chicago Tribune
Northern Illinois
- Hononegah parent files complaint over remark by Algebra teacher, Rockford Register Star
Nation
- Justices to decide funeral protest case, Daily Herald
- Supreme Court rules 2005 law applies to lawyer bankruptcy advice, ABA Journal
This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day.
March 8, 2010 | People

Quarles & Brady adds three associates in Chicago office

[caption id="attachment_9295" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Kevin Burns"][/caption] The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP is pleased to announce that the following associates joined the firm’s Commercial Litigation Group in Chicago: Kevin J. Burns majored in Economics and Psychology, and received his B.S. degree in 2005 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his law degree from the University of Iowa in 2009. Prior to beginning work at Quarles, Kevin gained litigation experience volunteering in the Torts Division at the City of Chicago. [caption id="attachment_9296" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Brooke Krekow"][/caption] Brooke Krekow received her B.A. in American Cultural Studies from Whitman College in 2002, and her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law in 2009. While attending law school, Brooke worked in the Bluhm Legal Clinic's Center on Wrongful Convictions and Federal Criminal Appellate Clinic.
March 5, 2010

Breaking legal news for Friday, March 5
State
- Lawmaker hopes to toughen guilty plea sentences in murder cases, Decatur Herald & Review
Central Illinois
- Peoria firm out of Woodford dispute, Peoria Journal Star
Chicago area
- Deadly fire set for insurance money: prosecutors, Chicago Sun-Times
- Parents settle in son's Lincolnshire day-care death, Daily Herald
Nation
- Lawyer wins new trial for client because judge forgot to put jury under oath, ABA Journal
- Newspaper illustrates "explosion" of suits over mobile device patents, ABA Journal
This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day.
March 5, 2010 | Practice News

Wheatley fills Cook County Circuit Judge vacancy

The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Arthur P. Wheatley as a Circuit Judge of Cook County, Seventh Subcircuit. This fills the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Amanda Toney. Wheatley's term runs through Dec. 3, 2012.
March 4, 2010

Breaking legal news for Thursday, March 4
Chicago area
- Parking ticket target sues police officers, city, Chicago Tribune
Northern Illinois
- Missing stop sign at crash site costs Winnebago County $500,000, Rockford Register Star
Southern Illinois
- Attorney doesn't have to show how he spent people's estate money, Belleville News-Democrat
- Charges mount against southern Illinois sheriff, St. Louis Post-Distpach
This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day.
March 3, 2010

Breaking legal news for Wednesday, March 3
Chicago area
- Loren-Maltese attorney joins race to replace Scott Lee Cohen, Chicago Tribune
- Bucktown's tallest building faces foreclosure suit, Chicago Business
- Widow tells jury of painful loss in Aurora murder, Daily Herald
- Groupon promises "class action" in response to lawsuit, Chicago Tribune
Northern Illinois
- Second doctor says suspect in couple's death fit for trial, Rockford Register Star
Southern Illinois
- Accused killer of Southern Illinois teacher gets trial moved, Belleville News-Democrat
Nation
- Summer associate offers plummet, hitting 17-year-low, ABA Journal
This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day.
March 2, 2010 | Events

Loyola wins AAJ Regional Mock Trials

Antonio M. Romanucci, a partner in the Chicago injury firm of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, congratulated students from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, the winning team in the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Regional Mock Trial Championship held Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 27 and 28) at the Daley Center in Chicago. The Loyola students included Jaclyn Polsinelli, Kathleen Sullivan and Amber Battin. Cook County Judge Jamie Shapiro served as a judge of the case. The winning team will compete in the finals in New Orleans March 18-21. Romanucci & Blandin served as regional coordinator of the event for 10 years.
March 2, 2010

Breaking legal news for Tuesday, March 2
Central Illinois
- Local attorney turns columnist, Danville Commercial News
Chicago area
- Supreme Court appears ready to overturn Chicago gun ban, Chicago Tribune
- Blood alcohol evidence barred from judge's DUI trial, Daily Herald
- Cook County pays $525,000 in wrongful prosecution case, Chicago Tribune
- The shoe fits the crime, Island Lake detective says, Daily Herald
Nation
- Jury finds Becker guilty of killing coach, Quad-City Times
- Arnold & Porter's age policy cited as reason partner skipped to Davis Polk, ABA Journal
This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day.
March 2, 2010 | Practice News

"Using Mediation to Settle Disputes" to air on Judicial Perspective

Using Mediation to Settle Disputes will be the topic of “Judicial Perspective,” a half-hour cable program presented by the Illinois Judges Association (IJA), airing on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago, on Saturday, March 13 at 11 a.m., and Monday, March 15, at 9 p.m. Appearing on the show to discuss mediation, increasingly being used as a tool to settle business and personal disputes outside of the courtroom, are three former Cook County judges who retired from the bench and now provide mediation services, including (from left) Karen Shields, James Henry, and Stephen A. Schiller. Also pictured is Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jesse G. Reyes, a previous IJA president who serves as moderator. The Illinois Judges Association, formed in 1971, provides continuing legal support to members of the judiciary and education to the public on matters regarding the court system.