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Chicago Area

  • August 30, 2016 | People
    Retired Judge Geraldine Soat Brown Joins JAMS in Chicago

    JAMS, the largest private provider of mediation and arbitration services worldwide, today announced the addition of Hon. Geraldine Soat Brown (Ret.) to its panel. Judge Brown will be based in the JAMS Chicago Resolution Center. She will serve as a mediator, arbitrator and special master in a variety of disputes including Business/Commercial, Construction, Employment, Intellectual Property and Professional Liability.

    Judge Brown joins JAMS after 16 years of distinguished service as a Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, including four years as Presiding Magistrate Judge. During her time on the bench, Judge Brown presided over thousands of civil cases in both pretrial and trial stages, including jury and bench trials in breach of contract, employment, civil rights, tort and civil RICO cases.

  • August 25, 2016 | Events
    Young Lawyers to host Day at the Races on Sept. 24

    Join your peers for an afternoon of socializing and horse racing at this annual event! 

    When: Saturday, September 24, 2016, Noon – 6:00 p.m.

    Tickets will be available for pick up at 11:15 a.m. on race day at the will call window, Grandstand Entrance (east side off of Wilke Road entrance).

    Where: Arlington Park Racecourse, 2200 W Euclid Ave, Arlington Heights, IL 60005
    ISBA will be at the Canopy Tables in the Winners Circle Section. (Map and Directions)

    Cost: Cost: $9.00 per adult, $4.00 per youth age 4-17. Tickets are complimentary for children 3 and under. General Admission cost includes admission to the park, a daily racing guide, and a fabulous day of Thoroughbred racing!

    Lunch is not included but our seating area is BYOB!

    Please register by Wednesday, September 21, 2016

    For information on permitted and prohibited items in the park, please visit: http://www.arlingtonpark.com/visit/general-information

    Questions: Please email Blake Howard at bhoward@isba.org.

  • August 25, 2016 | Member Services
    Chicago Blackhawks preseason ticket offer for ISBA members

    Dear Illinois State Bar Association Member,

    With the 2016-17 season quickly approaching, we would like to offer you an exclusive opportunity to purchase preseason tickets.

    Receive a framed, autographed locker room photo with the purchase of four or more tickets in the 100 or 200 level, while supplies last.* Each 11x17 framed photo will be signed by one of the following players: Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith or Brent Seabrook!

    This is your opportunity to get an early look at the Blackhawks and see opponents like Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Detroit.

    To purchase tickets, click here and enter the promo code LAW

    Blackhawks Preseason Games Offered:

  • August 24, 2016 | Practice News
    DuPage County accepting applications for associate judge vacancy

    Chief Judge Kathryn E. Creswell announced today that applications for the Office of Associate Judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois, DuPage County, have been received from those on the attached list.

    The vacancy is the result of the appointment of Associate Judge Karen M. Wilson to Circuit Judge.

  • August 23, 2016 | Member Services
    New Fastcase Kiosk: On-the-Go and the CRO

    Fastcase is free for ISBA members and sponsored by ISBA Mutual Insurance Company. In downtown Chicago and need to do some legal research? ISBA members can stop by our Chicago office located at 20 S. Clark, Suite 900, Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and make themselves at home at our new 'Fastcase Kiosk'. Be sure to check in with the front desk receptionist upon arrival.

  • August 22, 2016 | ISBA News
    Women and the Law Committee hosts Professional Development Luncheon

    The ISBA Standing Committee on Women and the Law and the Women's Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI) co-hosted a Professional Development Luncheon on Aug. 17 at the Chicago Office. The luncheon topic was the Illinois Paid Family Leave Act. On hand for the luncheon were Women and the Law Chair Julie Neubauer, Board Co-liaison Bridget Duignan, WBAI President Adria Mossing and ISBA Board member Lisa Nyuli.

  • August 17, 2016 | Practice News
    Judge removed from hearing cases due to alleged misconduct

    Pursuant to action taken today by the Executive Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Judge Valarie E. Turner has been temporarily reassigned to duties other than judicial duties in the office of the Presiding Judge of the First Municipal District, Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. The assignment is effective until further notice.

    The decision to reassign Judge Turner followed a meeting of the Circuit Court of Cook County Executive Committee convened today by Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans to discuss allegations of improper conduct involving Judge Turner. The committee was informed that Judge Turner allegedly permitted attorney Rhonda Crawford, a law clerk with the Office of the Chief Judge and candidate for judicial election in November 2016, to adjudicate at least two cases from the bench while wearing a judicial robe in Judge Turner’s courtroom.

    Until today, Judge Turner had been assigned to the Sixth Municipal District Courthouse in Markham where she heard a variety of matters in rotation with other judges. 

     “The public’s confidence in the judiciary is the cornerstone of our system of justice, and I have taken the steps necessary to preserve that confidence,” said Chief Judge Evans. “Because the investigation is pending, I believe it is inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

    In addition, Crawford was suspended pending internal investigation without pay by the Office of the Chief Judge. Her current annual salary is $56,961, and she has been employed as a law clerk/staff attorney with the office since 2011.            

  • August 17, 2016 | Events
    Attorney Mental Health and Substance Use: A Call to Action

    On September 9, 2016, The Kennedy Forum and the Lawyers' Assistance Program will co-host a breakfast focused on the prevalence of depression, addiction, and anxiety in the legal profession. A landmark study conducted by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs revealed substantial and widespread levels of problem drinking and other behavioral health problems in the U.S. legal profession. The event will feature Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, Brian Cuban, ESPN legal writer/reporter Lester Munson, and the study authors for a panel discussion. 

  • August 15, 2016 | People
    Dykema attorneys listed in "The Best Lawyers in America"

    Dykema, a leading national law firm, announced today that 115 of the its attorneys, in multiple practice areas and markets, have been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2017 guide. Additionally, 14 of the firm’s practitioners have been named Best Lawyers 2017 “Lawyer of the Year,” a special distinction conferred upon a single lawyer within a practice area and metropolitan market.

  • August 15, 2016 | CLE
    CLE: The Fear Factor: How Good Lawyers Get Into (and Avoid) Ethical Trouble

    Some of the scariest stories are those where responsible lawyers who care about acting in an appropriate manner get into disciplinary trouble – because if it can happen to them, it can happen to us. Join us in Chicago or via live webcast on September 16, 2016 as our speaker, Stuart Teicher, gives us a guided tour along the path where common missteps are frequently made by otherwise honorable attorneys. Topics include: the responsibilities of a subordinate lawyer and what to do if you’re told to do something unethical; how to avoid making false statements or misrepresenting the truth in five key areas; the duties of a supervising attorney toward associate lawyers; the changing trends toward professionalism in the practice; conflicts of interest issues; keeping your attorney-client relationships at an appropriate level; and substance abuse and money issues.