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Bar News Sections

Illinois Bar Journal

  • January 16, 2024 | Practice News
    What I Learned From Teaching Trial Advocacy: The Cross-Examination

     In the fourth of five installments of his series on trial advocacy, former trial Judge and Appellate Justice Gino DiVito focuses on cross-examination. The cross-examining attorney’s role is to teach the jury while never giving it an opportunity to learn from an opposing witness, Judge DiVito writes. He suggests that, to avoid turning the jury against you, carefully set up the witness during cross-examination with leading and closed questions, and questions for which you know the answers. And never provide a witness you are cross-examining with an open-ended question.

  • January 8, 2024 | Practice News
    Ethical Spills at the Water Cooler

     During the COVID-19 pandemic, many legal professionals abandoned their brick-and-mortar offices for Zoom calls from a home office. Since then, law offices large and small have evaluated the need for a central physical workplace, questioning whether it is best for their employees and clients.

  • January 2, 2024 | Practice News
    The Limitless Uses of Limited Scope

     For attorneys looking to expand their client rosters and potential clients who need limited assistance—and have limited resources—limited scope representation (LSR) is a very welcome development. In its January issue, the Illinois Bar Journal (IBJ) provides an overview of a two-part CLE webinar sponsored by the ISBA and prepared for those who haven’t explored LSR and for those who’d like to hone their approaches.

  • December 18, 2023 | Practice News
    A Change at the ARDC

     In an interview with the Illinois Bar Journal, published in December’s issue, retired Illinois Attorney and Registration Commission (ARDC) administrator Jerry Larkin reflects back on his long career and the agency’s development over that time, while his replacement, Lea Gutierrez, discusses her career to date and where she plans to take the ARDC. 

  • December 13, 2023 | Practice News
    What I Learned From Teaching Trial Advocacy: The Direct Examination

     In his third of five installments on trial technique in the Illinois Bar Journal’s December issue, Gino DiVito dissects the essential tactics of a successful direct examination. “Except possibly for adverse-witness testimony, direct examination should simulate a friendly conversation,” DiVito writes. “After introductory information based on ‘who’ the witness is and ‘when’ and ‘where’ events occurred, witness questioning shifts to an open-ended question such as ‘what happened?’” One of DiVito’s main takeaways is that proper direct examinations require relevant questions resulting in answers that create reality.

  • December 4, 2023 | Practice News
    Looking Back at 2023, Looking Ahead to 2024

     For the second consecutive year, the Illinois Bar Journal reached out to leaders from several ISBA sections and asked if they’d be willing to reflect on highlights in their areas from the past year and provide a few thoughts on anticipated developments in 2024. Contributors were free to deviate from this theme, so long as their content conveyed a looking-back/looking-forward approach. Read on for contributions from six sections: Civil Practice and Procedure, Criminal Justice, Family Law, Real Estate, Trusts and Estates, and the Young Lawyers Division (YLD).

  • November 27, 2023 | Practice News
    Bene Vale Dicere Latine

     In the November Illinois Bar Journal’s Judging Your Writing column, Illinois Appellate Court Justice Michael B. Hyman issues a salvo in the long-simmering debate over the continued use of Latin in the legal profession. His column title translates as “Say Goodbye to Latin,” which gives you more than a clue to his perspective.

  • November 20, 2023 | Practice News
    Welcome the Stranger

     In his November Illinois Bar Journal article, “Welcome the Stranger,” Administrative Law Judge Junaid “J” Afeef, discusses whether it is morally and ethically imperative to be more inclusive. Inclusiveness, Judge Afeef writes, contributes to increased innovation, improved problem-solving, and expanded access to a broader range of ideas and perspectives. A more diverse network encourages a richer, more nuanced understanding of the global marketplace, enhancing one’s capacity to address multifaceted challenges effectively.

  • November 14, 2023 | Practice News
    What I Learned From Teaching Trial Advocacy

     Building on Aristotle’s teachings concerning logos, pathos, and ethos, retired judge Gino L. DiVito continues his five-part series on trial advocacy in November’s Illinois Bar Journal. In Part Two, “The Essential Elements of Persuasion: What To Do and How and Why To Do It,” Judge DiVito reframes Aristotle’s principles as the three Cs—character, competency, and conviction.

  • November 5, 2023 | Practice News
    Writing Matters

     For the Illinois Bar Journal’s November cover story, “Writing Matters,” the IBJ reached out to members of the bench and bar and law-school writing professors, and asked them to reflect on where good and bad writing begin, and why good writing is worth the practice. They had plenty to say, beginning with their observation that graduating from law school does not mean, ipso facto, you have become a good writer.