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Illinois Supreme Court

  • November 14, 2019 | Practice News
    Building Your Law Firm’s Social Capital From the Inside Out

    By Mark C. Palmer, Chief Counsel at the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism

    What channels of trust have you built lately? Put another way, what social capital tracks have you put down to promote and maintain the delivery of your firm’s services?

    Whether you’re the managing partner at a large firm or a solo practitioner, part of your job as a professional is being attentive to your social capital networks. This could include anyone from friends, neighbors and former classmates, to colleagues in civic organizations and legal associations. Your network also intersects with those of your employees; and together, your firm’s social capital provides the foundation for a business to thrive.

  • November 1, 2019 | Practice News
    Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier Announces Retirement

    Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier has announced his retirement effective Dec. 6, 2020.

    Justice Karmeier served as Chief Justice from Oct. 26, 2016-Oct. 25, 2019. He was succeeded by Chief Justice Anne M. Burke, whose three-year term commenced Oct. 26, 2019. 

    Justice Karmeier, of Nashville, Illinois, was the state’s 120th Chief Justice and the second person from Washington County to hold that office. Justice Byron O. House, for whom Chief Justice Karmeier served as a law clerk, was the first.

    Justice Karmeier served as a member of the Assembly of the Illinois State Bar Association from 1996 to 2002, and as chair of the ISBA’s Bench and Bar Section Council.

  • October 28, 2019 | Practice News
    Anne M. Burke Becomes Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court

    Justice Anne M. Burke was elected to the office of chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court at the court’s September 2019 Term. She will serve a three-year term commencing Oct. 26, succeeding Lloyd A. Karmeier, whose tenure as Chief Justice ended on Oct. 25, 2019.  Chief Justice Burke is the third woman to serve as chief justice, following the late Mary Ann McMorrow and current Justice Rita B. Garman.  

    As chief justice, Justice Burke will serve as the chief administrative officer of the Supreme Court, which is constitutionally vested with general administrative and supervisory authority over the more than 900 judges in the statewide judicial system.  

    1 comment (Most recent October 29, 2019)
  • October 22, 2019 | Practice News
    Illinois Supreme Court Appoints J. Nelson Wood as an ARDC Commissioner

    The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed J. Nelson Wood of Mt. Vernon to serve as a commissioner of the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC). The ARDC is the Supreme Court agency that investigates allegations of lawyer wrongdoing in Illinois. 

  • October 18, 2019 | Practice News
    Illinois Courts Awarded $100,000 Grant from Justice for All Project

    The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts announced today that it will receive a $100,000 grant from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) as part of the Justice for All (JFA) project. The Illinois Courts’ Access to Justice Commission (ATJ) will use the funds to support a strategic action planning effort to expand access to justice in Illinois. 

    JFA grants, which are funded by The JPB Foundation, The Public Welfare Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and Open Society Foundations, were created in an effort to implement two advanced resolutions: meaningful access to effective assistance for essential civil legal needs and for traditional and non-traditional stakeholders to collaborate to develop a comprehensive approach to achieve meaningful access to justice.

  • October 2, 2019 | Practice News
    Illinois Judicial Conference Releases Three-Year Strategic Plan

    The Illinois Judicial Conference (IJC) has announced its three-year strategic agenda for the Illinois judicial branch.

    The IJC has created a mission statement, vision statement, and core values for the branch, along with strategic goals and strategies designed to achieve them. The agenda will serve as a guide for the future of the branch as it begins the implementation phase.

  • September 30, 2019 | Practice News
    Illinois Supreme Court Rule Amendments Issued on September 26, 2019

    The Illinois Supreme Court on Sept. 26 amended Rules 206, 212, 306, 308, 315, and 342. All changes go into effect Oct. 1.

    Amended Rule 206 makes it explicitly clear that a “party has the right to use the video recording of a deposition or any part thereof in lieu of reading from a stenographic transcript of the deposition.”

    Amended Rule 212 states that discovery depositions may be used “as a former statement, pursuant to Illinois Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2).”

  • September 23, 2019 | Practice News
    Illinois Supreme Court Amends Rule 767

    The Illinois Supreme Court has amended Rule 767, which pertains to reinstatement petitions for lawyers who have been disbarred or suspended.

    The changes go into effect Jan. 1, 2020.

    The amended Rule clarifies what attorneys must include in a petition for reinstatement.

  • September 20, 2019 | People
    David Thies Recognized for Service to ISBA’s Trusts and Estates Section Council

    Attorney David Thies recently received a past chair plaque from Susan Bart for his service to the ISBA’s Trusts and Estates Section Council.

  • September 20, 2019 | People
    Illinois Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments at Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey

    The Illinois Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Sept. 18 at Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey.

    The arguments at Lewis & Clark Community College were the court’s first road trip since March 15, 2018, when arguments were heard at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.