The Bar News

Bar News Sections

Illinois Bar Journal

  • June 5, 2023 | Practice News
    A Tender You Can’t Refuse

    As Bryan Lesser notes in his June Illinois Bar Journal article, “A Tender You Can’t Refuse,” federal courts in the U.S. Seventh Circuit have raised the bar on standing requirements and will continue to bring more consumer class actions to Illinois state courts. All the more reason, Lesser suggests, to be aware of some procedural quirks when bringing class actions in Illinois state court.

  • May 31, 2023 | Practice News
    Continuing Excellence

    In its June issue, the Illinois Bar Journal documents the evolution of the Illinois State Bar Association’s continuing legal education programming.

  • May 22, 2023 | Practice News
    Seven in Seven

    Unless you’re a linchpin of a major multinational corporation or have access to top secret government information, you’re most likely not going to be the target of sophisticated hacking measures. But then again, most hackers aren’t running sophisticated schemes; instead, they’re looking over your shoulder (literally or metaphorically) to steal your password or login information. Adopting a few simple defensive measures will allow you to fend off these kinds of intrusions.

  • May 15, 2023 | Practice News
    Worthwhile Speedbumps

    Although the COVID-19 pandemic forced nearly everyone into remote work of some kind, Illinois courts by then were gradually introducing various remote technologies and options into trial and case work. In his May Illinois Bar Journal article, “Worthwhile Speedbumps,” Christopher DiPlacido considers the fortuitous blend of remote hearings forced upon us due to the pandemic and the Illinois Supreme Court’s gradual refinement of remote policies and practices.

  • May 8, 2023 | Practice News
    When Not To Bypass Passive Voice

    First District Illinois Appellate Court Justice Michael B. Hyman says this about the passive voice in his Judging Your Writing column in the May Illinois Bar Journal: “An abundance of passive sentences tends to force the reader to work harder to understand what is being said. Think statutes, rules, and regulations. They usually read as if composed by a committee of theoretical physicists whose native tongue is German. Yet, while junior to active, passive has an indispensable role in writing that essentially goes unnoticed.”

  • May 2, 2023 | Practice News
    Creating and Managing Your Firm’s Budget

    In the Illinois Bar Journal’s May cover story, “Creating and Managing Your Firm’s Budget,” Jeffrey Krause, attorney and senior consultant with Affinity Consulting Group, says “too many firms—too many households for that matter—they create a budget as this thing that they want to do, and then never follow through on it. They don’t actually make it a working document that they have to use in their business. You have to refer to it all the time—and stick to it. If you’re not looking at it to see whether you’re on track, you’re probably off track. It sounds so common sense, but if you don’t look at it until next year, that doesn’t accomplish anything.”

  • April 24, 2023 | Practice News
    Let’s Make a Deal (But Not Without the Client)

    In his April Illinois Bar Journal ethics column, “Let’s Make a Deal (But Not Without the Client),” ISBA General Counsel Charles J. Northrup mentions reading the Illinois Supreme Court’s opinion in Midwest Sanitary Service, Inc. v. Sandberg.

  • April 17, 2023 | Practice News
    Bringing in the Experts

    In his April Illinois Bar Journal article, “Bringing in the Experts,” Cook County Circuit Court Judge James M. Varga takes a basic and practical aim at permitting or barring expert witnesses and admitting or excluding opinion-witness testimony based upon Illinois Rules of Evidence 702-705, Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction—Civil 2.04, and Illinois caselaw.

  • April 12, 2023 | Practice News
    When Something’s Not Right

    A client calls and says they need your help with a complaint that has been filed against an employee. Or, maybe it’s one of your own employees who is in the hot seat. Sometimes, employees screw up and lawyers are asked to conduct investigations on behalf of clients or give the third degree to someone in their own office.

  • March 13, 2023 | Practice News
    Quick, Cheap, Consensual

    When the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA) was enacted in February 2020, it provided a timely lifeline for small businesses struggling to survive the economic realities of the pandemic, including the resulting supply chain disruptions and inflation, writes Devan de los Reyes in her March Illinois Bar Journal article, “Quick, Cheap, Consensual.”