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Illinois Bar Journal

  • June 19, 2019 | Practice News
    Can You See It? Predicting an Augmented Future for Illinois Attorneys

    In 2016, a new game called Pokémon Go invited players to use their smartphone cameras to find and battle animated creatures the game layered on top of, or near, images of real objects displayed on their smartphone screens. Creatures could be hunted anywhere: on sidewalks, on pets, at restaurants, in parks, and on your neighbor's backyard patio. The game was a massive, worldwide success. But news stories proliferated of Pokémon hunters entering other people's property without permission, causing traffic accidents, and congregating in large groups at random locations.

    Read Alexander Porter’s article, “Can You See It? Predicting an Augmented Future for Illinois Attorneys,” in June’s Illinois Bar Journal for an overview of how augmented reality likely will touch upon many legal issues, including trespassing, public and private nuisance, privacy, personal and financial data, terms of use, and intellectual property.

  • June 10, 2019 | Practice News
    Practice Checkup

    Lawyers are trained to practice law, not run businesses. But solo practitioners and leaders of smaller firms generally need to excel at both. That means winning cases, satisfying clients, and attending to the financial wellness of your firm-each of which requires a combination of strong administrative habits and skills. In the Illinois Bar Journal’s June cover story, “Practice Checkup,” we consider suggestions from lawyers for staying organized, maintaining your revenue stream, assessing your marketing tactics, and planning for the future. How long has it been since you took stock of your business acumen?

  • June 3, 2019 | Practice News
    What Did You Say?! The Changing Landscape of Juvenile Custodial Interrogations

    The 2017 Illinois Juvenile Court Act calls for extra diligence by attorneys who represent juvenile delinquents and attorneys who prosecute them or represent law enforcement agencies. These changes better protect minors' constitutional rights, but also place additional burdens on law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. In their June Illinois Bar Journal article, “What Did You Say?! The Changing Landscape of Juvenile Custodial Interrogations,” Emily Fitch and Brenda Mathis examine the standards that apply when attempting to interrogate juveniles charged with crimes and the nine exceptions that exist in the new Act.

  • May 28, 2019 | Practice News
    A Better Approach to Installment Contracts

    As interest rates rise, more sellers are financing the sale of their real estate at lower-than-market rates and with less money down. Transactional attorneys are therefore being asked with some regularity to prepare installment agreements by which the client is either purchasing property from a seller on an installment basis or selling property and self-financing the purchase over time. For more than 30 years, real estate attorney Gary Gehlbach has routinely refused to structure transactions using installment contracts. To learn why he recommends an outright sale structured on purchase-money notes and mortgages (or trust deeds), read his article, “A Better Approach to Installment Contracts,” in June’s Illinois Bar Journal. 

    1 comment (Most recent May 30, 2019)
  • May 20, 2019 | Practice News
    Sports Gambling: Will Illinois Bet on It?

    A hot topic in Illinois, legalized sports gambling is a possibility now that the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that the federal ban on the activity is unconstitutional. While Congress has yet to act, states are free to legalize sports gambling on their own. In Zachary Bock’s May 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Sports Gambling: Will Illinois Bet on It?,” Bock provides an overview of recent efforts to legislate gambling in Illinois and elsewhere. He also summarizes the wide range of decisions that need to be made before bets are placed in Illinois. Among his takeaways: Illinois should monitor states such as Pennsylvania, where high sports-gambling fees and taxes have been imposed.

  • May 13, 2019 | Practice News
    Branching Out

    A survey of more than 40,000 people in 22 countries conducted jointly by the University of Southern California, the London Business School, and PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) found that 80 percent of millennials and members of Generation X prefer face-to-face meetings with colleagues. Also, 80 percent said in-person interactions, more than any other individual form of communication, are critically important to maintaining relationships and 96 percent preferred face-to-face meetings with their supervisors regarding professional growth. In “Branching Out,” the cover story for the May 2019 Illinois Bar Journal, we note that while traditional face-to-face interactions at bar association events (e.g., golf outings) remain part of the culture, social media and online interactions have become increasingly important and have altered expectations and preferences for networking in general. Granted that networking preferences may differ across generations, the IBJ asks whether meaningfully connecting with colleagues in person remains a high priority for attorneys of all ages.

  • May 6, 2019 | Practice News
    (Why) I Object!

    Trial practice is a fast-moving endeavor; practitioners must make frequent decisions, often without access to all the facts. At the end of all that preparation and hard work, a judge or jury inevitably anoints a winner and a loser. But the trial outcome need not be the final word on the matter. In her May 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “(Why) I Object!,” Ruth Masters, who has practiced appellate law for the past 20 years and is the principle attorney at MastersLaw, provides 10 tips to preserve some commonly occurring issues for appeal in Illinois courts. One takeaway: Parties often get into trouble on appeal because they didn't specify the basis of an objection during trial or they raise new arguments for exclusion on appeal.

  • April 29, 2019 | Practice News
    Zombie Settlements

    The typical settlement occurs at the end of a long day of mediation. The exhausted parties pen the basic terms in a memorandum of agreement. But unless the attorneys are careful to create an enforceable settlement agreement, a case that appears to be settled can unexpectedly spring back to life. Can a “settled” case come alive again? Sadly, yes. Failing to pound the last nail into a case’s coffin can leave enough of an opening to allow an apparently settled case to rise from the dead. Read Hon. Geraldine Soat Brown’s (ret.) and Lorence H. Slutzky’s article, “Zombie Settlements,” in May’s Illinois Bar Journal.

  • April 23, 2019 | Practice News
    GE May Bring Good Things to Life, but It Does Not Bring Personal Jurisdiction in Illinois

    If it’s been a few years since a personal jurisdiction issue has come across your desk, you may want to take note of a recent decision by the first district involving General Electric Co. (GE). The case of Campbell v. Acme Insulations, Inc. powerfully illustrates how Illinois courts are continuing a clear legal trend in limiting the availability of general or “all-purpose” personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants who are sued in Illinois courts. In Eric Muñoz’s April Illinois Bar Journal article, “GE May Bring Good Things to Life, but It Does Not Bring Personal Jurisdiction in Illinois, ” Muñoz, a partner at Scandaglia Ryan, shows, in light of Campbell, how non-Illinois-based companies, with significant and longstanding business and financial contacts in Illinois, like GE, may be unamenable to general jurisdiction in the state. Counsel on both sides of potential litigation would be well-served to appreciate the implications of this important legal trend in personal jurisdiction caselaw and to be prepared to aggressively incorporate these developments into their litigation and defense practices.

  • April 15, 2019 | Practice News
    How to Appeal Final Judgments in Ongoing Litigation

    A judgment is entered as to part of your case, but other matters still remain. Can you appeal? The answer is “yes” under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 304(a), but only if you follow the guidelines set forth in Don Sampen’s April Illinois Bar Journal article, “How to Appeal Final Judgments in Ongoing Litigation.”

    Sampen, a partner at Clausen, Miller P.C., has argued cases in the Illinois Supreme Court and all appellate districts, appellate courts in four other states, and in six U.S. courts of appeal. He cautions that while “Illinois Supreme Court Rule 301 begins: ‘Every final judgment of a circuit court in a civil case is appealable as of right,’ the statement is deceptively simple. While final judgments may be appealable as of right, in Illinois they are not necessarily immediately appealable upon entry. Where a final judgment is entered as to fewer than all parties or claims, one must look to Rule 304(a) to determine appealability.”