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Chicago Area

  • July 7, 2009
    Job openings with Legal Assistance Foundation
    The Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago has two opening for staff attorneys. The first position is for its Immigration Project at the downtown office (111 W. Jackson). This staff attorney will handle cases for immigrant victims of crime and trafficking and help them apply for U and T visas. The second position if for a bilingual staff attorney at the Northwest Service Office (1279 N. Milwaukee). LAF is looking to fill this position with an attorney who is a member of the Illinois Bar and is committed to working with low-income clients and is fluent in speaking and writing Spanish or Polish. The deadline for applications is July 20, 2009. Click here for more information or to e-mail a resume.
  • July 6, 2009 | People
    Crawford installed as President of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois
    [caption id="attachment_1813" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Sandra Crawford"][/caption] Sandra Crawford of the Chicago firm of Law Crawford, P.C., was installed as the 2009-2010 President of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois on June 1. Currently, Crawford concentrates her practice in the areas of Family Law, Real Estate Law, Collaborative Practice and Mediation. Crawford obtained her Bachelors of Arts degree from DePaul University, Chicago, in 1984, and her Juris Doctorate from The John Marshall Law School in 1989. Collaborative Practice is an emerging model of dispute resolution which is actively practiced in 17 countries around the globe. The education in and growth of this newest dispute resolution model in Illinois is the primary mission of The Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois (CLII), a not-for-profit volunteer organization established in 2002. Crawford has been an active member of CLII since its inception. Crawford is a Fellow in the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.  She is also a member of the Illinois State Bar Association (a member of the ISBA Assembly and Vice-Chair of the Women and the Law Committee), the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association.
  • July 6, 2009
    Breaking legal news for Monday, July 6

    State

    Central Illinois

    Chicago Area

    Southern Illinois

    Nation

    This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day.
  • July 6, 2009 | People
    Former Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine joins Resolute Systems
    [caption id="attachment_1792" align="alignright" width="170" caption="Dick Devine"][/caption] Former Cook County State's Attorney Richard A. Devine has joined Resolute Systems, LLC's Chicago office to provide mediation, arbitration, and Alternative Dispute Resolution services, the company announced. Mr. Devine, a partner at Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson LLP, will concentrate his mediation practice on the resolution of complex commercial, public entity, employment and products liability disputes. "Mediation is an important alternative to litigation. It gives adversaries a vehicle for resolving disputes short of going to court and helps unclog our judicial system," said Dick Devine. "I am proud to be part of a team that seeks to settle conflicts fairly and economically and look forward to my work at Resolute Systems." Resolute vice-president of consulting Michael E. Weinzierl said that Mr. Devine will help fill the growing demand for mediators with the knowledge, skill and expertise to help Chicago lawyers and their clients settle complex litigation. Resolute Systems was founded in Milwaukee in 1988, Resolute Systems has offices throughout the country and mediates thousands of cases across the U.S. each year. Resolute established its Chicago office in 1992. Illinois Lawyer Now is happy to announce transitions for ISBA members. Please include name, position, law firm, practice areas, education information and former employer.
  • July 6, 2009 | Practice News
    New Rules of Professional Conduct and lobbying
    Last week the Supreme Court of Illinois issued new Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct to take effect Jan. 1, 2010. New Rule 3.9 has created quite a buzz among the lawyer-lobbyists as to what it means. It may have broader applicability than those of us who lobby in Springfield to include appearances before other governmental bodies. The Rule states that “A lawyer representing a client before a legislative body or administrative agency in a nonadjudicative proceeding shall disclose that the appearance is in a representative capacity and shall conform to the provisions of Rules 3.3(a) through (c), 3.4(a) through (c), and 3.5.” The incorporation of Rule 3.5 creates the buzz. Rule 3.5 prohibits ex parte communication with an official during the proceeding. Can this be construed to prohibit all lobbying by a lawyer-lobbyist unless it is part of a scheduled public hearing? In other words, is all I can do to lobby is testify in committee? No position papers to elected members of the General Assembly? No one-on-one individual lobbying? I can’t imagine that was the intent. Rule 3.5’s title is “Impartiality and Decorum of the Tribunal.” Key word is “tribunal.” It is defined in Rule 1.0(m) as follows: “Tribunal” denotes a court, an arbitrator in a binding arbitration proceeding or a legislative body, administrative agency or other body acting in an adjudicative capacity.
  • July 6, 2009 | ISBA News
    Sun-Times highlights ISBA's Lincoln mosaic poster
    Chicago Sun-Times Advertising Critic Lew Lazare discussed the Illinois State Bar Association's Lincoln mosaic poster in today's column: The organization's latest marketing initiative from & Wojdyla is a poster that features a prominent image of Abraham Lincoln, perhaps Illinois' most famous -- and readily recognizable -- attorney. But recently a few other attorneys with strong connections to Illinois also have become almost as famous as Lincoln, and they are included in the dense collage of tiny headshots of past or present ISBA members that are superimposed over the poster's dominant Lincoln image. ISBA members can also submit their photo to danderson@isba.org to be seen in the next edition of the poster. Click here to read the full story (3rd item) Click here to order the poster
  • July 6, 2009 | People
    Lammiman joins Meltzer, Purtill & Stelle
    [caption id="attachment_1776" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Forrest Lammiman"][/caption] Meltzer, Purtill & Stelle is pleased to announce that Forrest Lammiman, for nearly three decades a respected leader in bankruptcy and restructuring, has joined its legal team. Mr. Lammiman comes to Meltzer, Purtill & Stelle after serving as a partner in the bankruptcy group at the Chicago office of DLA Piper US LLP. From 1991 to 2008, he was a partner at Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell in Chicago, where he served as chair of the bankruptcy and restructuring group from 2001 to 2008. Prior to that, he practiced for eight years in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A bankruptcy and restructuring attorney for 26 years, Mr. Lammiman represents corporate debtors, creditors, liquidating trustees, committees and other parties in interest in chapter 11 cases, liquidations and out-of-court restructurings, including related transactions and litigation. Mr. Lammiman received his law degree (with high distinction) from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1983. He also holds a master of divinity degree from Vanderbilt University and both a master of philosophy and doctorate from Yale University. Meltzer, Purtill & Stelle, with offices in Chicago and Schaumburg, is a transactional law firm dedicated to providing high-quality legal services to entrepreneurs, the corporate middle market, real estate developers, and financial institutions. Illinois Lawyer Now is happy to announce transitions for ISBA members.
  • July 6, 2009 | Member Services
    ISBA Membership Mondays, July 6

    The Power of Peer Discussion

    Got substantive law or practice management questions?  Get answers, maybe in minutes. All ISBA members are eligible to join ISBA e-mail discussion groups, where you can pose questions and share information with lawyers from Chicago to Cairo (Illinois that is.)  Available discussion groups include “general discussion” (open to all law-related topics), “ISBAcafe”, “litigation”, “transactional law”, “family law”, and “criminal-DUI-traffic”. Members who sign up for one or more discussion groups can also search those groups’ archived posts. Here’s what your fellow members are saying about the ISBA e-mail discussion groups … “It's like having all the benefits of a partnership without the office politics." Melissa Maye, Yorkville "Thanks for all your quick responses. WOW!!! This list is so great!" Peggy Raddatz, La Grange Click here to join the discussion
  • July 2, 2009 | Events
    Illinois State Bar Association marches in Pride Parade
    [caption id="attachment_1718" align="alignright" width="300" caption="John Marshall Law Professor Mark Wojcik points out the ISBA message on the Lincoln billboard."][/caption] Several members of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity marched in Chicago’s Pride Parade on Sunday, June 28, alongside the ISBA’s mobile billboard, featuring a photo of Lincoln the lawyer with a message that reads:  “Illinois has a history of some pretty good lawyers.  We’re out to keep it that way.” Click here to view our Pride Parade photo gallery
  • July 2, 2009
    Breaking legal news for Thursday, July 2

    Nation

    Central Illinois

    Chicago area

    Southern Illinois

    This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day.