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  • July 29, 2010 | Events
    IBF to honor Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke at 2010 Gala
    [caption id="attachment_13562" align="alignright" width="243" caption="IBF 2010 Gala Committee: Front row (left to right): Program Book Co-Chair Frank Sommario, Auction Co-Chair Michael Monico, Gala Co-Chair Jerry Solovy, Back row (left to right): IBF Board President Vincent F. Cornelius, Gala Co-Chair Peter Birnbaum and Auction Co-Chair Shawn Kasserman."][/caption] The Illinois Bar Foundation will honor Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke with the 2010 Distinguished Award for Excellence at the 13th Annual Gala on Oct. 15 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago. Funds raised through the 2010 Gala support the IBF and its mission to ensure meaningful access to the justice system, especially for those with limited means, and to assist lawyers who can no longer support themselves due to incapacity. This year, the Foundation will distribute $165,000 in grants vital to non-profit organizations across Illinois. The Gala Committee (pictured at right) is currently working on the event and confirming sponsors - with 3 major Gala Partners already lined up: Jenner & Block, Power Rogers & Smith, and Simmons Browder Gianaris Angelides & Barnerd LLC. Other partners include: Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (VIP Reception Sponsor), ISBA Mutual Insurance Company (Wine Sponsor), Foote, Meyers, Mielke & Flowers (Raffle Sponsor) Attorney Title Guaranty, Inc (Champagne Sponsor). There will be a Live and Silent Auction over over 100 items which include trips, cases of wine, sports tickets and signed memorabilia, jewelry and artwork. A raffle will also be held - tickets are $100 and prizes include a trip for 2 to Colorado, a Samsung 55" 3D LED-LCD HDTV and $2,500 in cash. Contact the IBF at (312) 726-6072 for more information. Gala Co-Chairs
    • Jerry S. Solovy
    • Peter J. Birnbaum
  • July 22, 2010 | Events
    Judge Murray installed as Chair of the Illinois Judicial Council
    [caption id="attachment_13382" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Master of Ceremonies Jim Rose, Judge Murray, Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans, ISBA President Mark Hassakis and Ex-officio Judge La Quietta J. Hardy-Campbell"][/caption] Cook County Circuit Judge Leonard Murray was installed as Chair of the Illinois Judicial Council on Thursday during its 28th Installation and Awards Ceremony at the Union League Club of Chicago. Judge Murray succeeds the Hon. La Quietta J. Hardy-Campbell. The Council awarded Legend Scholarships to Jason Allen of John Marshall Law School and Rebekah Childers of the University of Illinois School of Law. Legacy Scholarships were awarded to Carla Sherieves of John Marshall and Tamara Rogers-Grant of Loyola University School of Law. John Marshall's Calvin Townsend received the Role Model Scholarship.
  • July 8, 2010 | Events
    Learn how to use - or better use - Fastcase at the 2010 ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference
    Register for the 2010 ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference and sign-up for one or both Fastcase seminars on Thursday morning, Oct. 21, to receive training on how to use, or better use, this FREE online legal research tool for ISBA members.
  • July 8, 2010 | Events
    Abraham Lincoln walks at midnight in Springfield - and you can too at the 2010 Solo & Small Firm Conference
    [caption id="attachment_12973" align="alignright" width="230" caption="“It is portentous, and a thing of state; that here at midnight in our little town; a mourning figure walks, and will not rest; near the old courthouse pacing up and down.” Vachel Lindsay – “Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight in Springfield, Illinois”"][/caption] This year’s 2010 ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference will once again take place in the hometown (Springfield) of our state’s most famous and beloved lawyer (Abraham Lincoln.)  But Conference attendees won’t be the only ones to haunt the capital city… While there are a number of spirits who are said to haunt this historic town, the most famous is that of Abraham Lincoln himself. According to over a century of legends, Abraham Lincoln continues to lurk around his tomb. He has also been reported to have been seen walking the streets surrounding Springfield’s original courthouse, as well as the hallways of his former home. Others have reported seeing the ghost of Mary Lincoln at their old home located at 413 South Eighth Street. Having a long-standing reputation as being haunted, reports range from apparitions of a woman to toys moving of their own accord. Most people believe that the house is haunted by Mary. The most interesting haunting surrounding Lincoln is the phantom funeral train.
  • July 7, 2010 | Events
    Professional business portraits to be offered free at 2010 Solo & Small Firm Conference
    Is your last professional business portrait looking a little dated?  Never had one to begin with? Photographer Daniels-Ackerman of Springfield will be taking portraits of registered attendees (complimentary) at the Solo & Small Firm Conference on Thursday, Oct. 21 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sittings are first come, first served (no appointments). To find out more about the Conference and to register, please visit www.isba.org/soloconference
  • July 7, 2010 | Events
    Learn from a Master (practice advisor) at the 2010 ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference
    [caption id="attachment_12956" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Dustin Cole"][/caption] Looking to build a more successful and satisfying practice, especially as it relates to technology?  Then be sure to attend the 2010 ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference Lunch & Program – Practice Pointers for the Changing Legal Landscape – on Friday, October 22nd, featuring Dustin Cole, President and Master Practice Advisor of Attorneys Master Class – Mastering the Business of the Law. Over the last 15 years, Mr. Cole has trained over 10,000 attorneys across the United States in how to build more successful practices. He brings more than 35 years of experience in every phase of business management and development, marketing, advertising, and public relations to his work with the legal profession. He has supported firms ranging in size from sole practitioner to over 2,000 attorneys and has been the keynote speaker at numerous state bar and solo & small firm conferences around the country. Here’s what people are saying about Mr. Cole and Attorneys Master Class:
    • “My office is no longer in such a state of chaos that a small breeze feels like a hurricane…my practice is transmogrifying into the practice that personifies N. Diane Holmes, family lawyer extraordinaire…I would have never believed that my mental outlook and attitude would be what it is today; it will only get better!
  • July 7, 2010 | Events
    Mix and mingle in "The People's House" at the 2010 ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference
    [caption id="attachment_12952" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The ISBA Networking Reception at this year's Solo and Small Firm Conference will be held at the Executive Mansion."][/caption] Share stories and swap best practices with other solo and small firm lawyers from around the state at the 2010 ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference’s Networking Reception at the Illinois Executive Mansion on Friday, Oct. 22. (Sponsored by ISBA Mutual Insurance Company) This event will be a great way to wind down after a day packed with programming and give you a chance to make some new personal and professional acquaintances (and catch up with old friends too) over food and drinks. While there you’ll also be able to tour the official residence of the Governor of Illinois – a three-story red brick Italianate style mansion designed by Chicago architect John M. Van Osdel, completed in 1855 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The Mansion is one of three oldest continuously-occupied governor’s mansion in the United States. The libraries, bedrooms, parlors, sitting rooms, etc. are maintained as they may have looked in the 1800s. The Mansion has hosted many important social events, including receptions for seven U.S.
  • July 7, 2010 | Events
    Meet bestselling author (and lawyer) Mark Curriden at the 2010 ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference
    [caption id="attachment_12931" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Mark Curriden"][/caption] NYT bestselling author Mark Curriden (“Contempt of Court: The Turn-of-the-Century Lynching that Launched a Hundred Years of Federalism”) will be the morning plenary speaker at the 2010 ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference on Friday, Oct . 22.  He will be telling the true account (based on his book) of the only two African-American lawyers practicing law in Tennessee in 1906 and their representation of a black man falsely accused of rape and sentenced to death.  This sequence of events led to the first and only criminal trial ever held in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States.  Mr. Curriden will also be speaking at a breakout session later that day regarding “The News Media and Your Law Practice.” So who is Mark Curriden? He is a writer and frequent lecturer on topics including legal history, trends at the Supreme Court of the United States, the American jury system and relationships between lawyers and journalists.  He has made presentations on these topics to numerous federal and state judicial organizations, state bar associations, law firms and law schools throughout the country.  In April 2004, Mr. Curriden was appointed to serve on the ABA’s Blue Ribbon Panel on the future of the American jury system. Interested in learning more about Mr.
  • July 6, 2010 | Events
    Judges contribute $25,000 to internship program - will hold fundraiser on July 19
    [caption id="attachment_12911" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Illinois Judges Foundation President Jesse Reyes presents the $25,000 check to Ronald Marmer."][/caption] The Illinois Judges Foundation has helped the American Bar Association’s Judicial Intern Opportunity Program (JIOP) observe its 10th year with a significant contribution of $25,000. Cook County Judge Jesse G. Reyes, the foundation president, made the presentation during a recent reception at Jenner & Block. It was accepted by Ronald L. Marmer, a partner in the law firm who is vice chair of the sponsoring ABA Section of Litigation. Established in February 2000, the JIOP is a key component of the section’s initiatives to expand opportunities in the legal profession. Minority and financially disadvantaged law students receive $1,500 stipends and are placed in six-week internships with federal and state judges. The internships provide practical experience in the courts, enhance professional and writing skills, offer valuable insights about the judicial system, and open doors to future careers. The Illinois Judges Foundation raises funds for the ABA internship program, its largest grantee, through special events such as “Batter Up for Justice,” a rooftop benefit and viewing of a Chicago Cubs baseball game on Monday, July 19. The second annual event will begin at 6:05 p.m. at the Sheffield Baseball Club, 3619 N. Sheffield, across from Wrigley Field.
  • July 2, 2010 | Events | ISBA News
    ISBA marches in Chicago's Gay Pride Parade
    The Illinois State Bar Association had its mobile billboard in the lineup of Sunday's Chicago’s Gay Pride Parade – one of more than 200 entries. Toby Eveland, of ISBA’s SOGI section, organized a group of lawyers and law students to march alongside the ISBA entry. Other SOGI members present included Mike Goldberg and Joannie Rae Wimmer. The parade entry was a collaborative effort between the ISBA, CBA, and LAGBAC (the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago). Additionally, members of Northwestern University's law school group, OUTLaw, marched with the float.