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Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride and the Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday several important new measures to improve equal access to justice for all of the people of Illinois, and especially for the poor and vulnerable.
Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride announced Friday that the Illinois Supreme Court has approved a proposal designed to lessen the legal costs in civil cases for clients of limited means.
The proposal deals with a concept known as "limited scope representation" which more than 20 other states also permit. Limited scope representation allows attorneys to provide paid legal services on a portion of a client's legal matter, rather than seeing it through from beginning to end. By providing services, specifically limited by agreement between the lawyer and the client, total legal fees should be more affordable for the client.
The proposal, first made several years ago by the Lawyers Trust Fund, is contained in amendments to three Supreme Court rules. It had the formal support of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association, who formed a joint task force to study the matter in detail.
The Illinois Supreme Court issued an amended Rule 138 on June 3. Check out the changes at http://www.state.il.us/court/SupremeCourt/Rules/Amend/2013/060313.pdf
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the civil cases McFatridge v. Madigan, Standard Mutual Insurance Company v. Lay, In re Marriage of Mayfield and In re the Parentage of J.W. and the criminal cases People v. Henderson and In re M.I.
CIVIL
By Karen Kies DeGrand, Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC
The State of Illinois need not pick up the litigation tab incurred by an elected state official in defending a civil lawsuit where the claim arises from certain types of misconduct, even if he acts in the scope of employment. Accordingly, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld a circuit court's dismissal of the complaint of Michael McFatridge, a former Edgar County State's Attorney, seeking to force Attorney General Lisa Madigan to approve payment of McFatridge's legal expenses.
The Supreme Court of Illinois has announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders entered during the May Term 2013. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.
The attached list contains the name of each disciplined lawyer, the address at which the lawyer last practiced, and a brief summary of the misconduct that led to the sanction. The announcement of the orders may be reviewed at the Supreme Court of Illinois website: www.state.il.us/court. Unless otherwise noted, the mandate of discipline issued immediately.
More than 600 new attorneys were admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday with Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court presiding and administering the attorney’s oath at five separate locations.
All of the candidates have passed the Illinois state bar examination, an ethics examination, and have been certified by the Committee on Character and Fitness.
The largest group (467) was admitted in the First Judicial District at the Arie Crown Theatre. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman presided, with Justices Anne M. Burke and Mary Jane Theis participating.
Appellate Court Justice Maureen E. Connors from the First Judicial District made the motion to admit the class.
The 668 men and women certified as candidates were sworn in as Illinois attorneys at ceremonies in the five Supreme Court judicial districts.
The other ceremonies included:
More than 600 new attorneys will be admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday, May 9 with Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court presiding and administering the attorney’s oath at five separate locations.
All of the candidates have passed the Illinois state bar examination, an ethics examination, and have been certified by the Committee on Character and Fitness.
The largest group, 467, will be admitted in the First Judicial District during ceremonies starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Arie Crown Theatre. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman will preside, with Justices Anne M. Burke and Mary Jane Theis participating.
Appellate Court Justice Maureen E. Connors from the First Judicial District will make the motion to admit the class.
The 668 men and women were certified as candidates and will be sworn in as Illinois attorneys Thursday at ceremonies in the five Supreme Court judicial districts.
Here are the time and locations of Thursday’s ceremonies:
Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride and Justice Robert R. Thomas, McHenry County Chief Judge Michael J. Sullivan, and NIU Law Dean Jennifer L. Rosato cordially invite you to the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice Listening Conference. The conference will be held on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 from 1:30-4:00 p.m. at the Northern Illinois University College of Law (DeKalb, IL) in the Riley Courtroom (Room #170).
The purpose of this conference is to hear from people engaged in the judicial system about problems confronting the poor and vulnerable in our communities and to hear about possible solutions.
Additional speakers/panelists for the conference includeJustice Mary S. Schostok (2nd Judicial District), Patrick M. Kinnally (MCLE Board/Kane County Bar Association), Michele Meyer (Mutual Ground), Mike O’Connor (Prairie State Legal Services), Professor David H. Taylor (NIU College of Law), and Michelle Rock (Director of Illinois Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health and Justice).
Chief Justice Moses W. Harrison II was a judge and a gentleman. Most of all, he was a friend and a champion of ordinary people. Chief Justice Harrison passed away Thursday, April 25, after a long illness. He was 81.
"My former colleague, friend and mentor Chief Justice Harrison will be remembered as a prominent judge in Illinois legal history not because he was a great man, but because he never lost sight of the common man," said Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride "His commitment to equality and fairness went well beyond his simple, succinct, yet superlative opinions. He treated all people in all stations in life with the same kindness, dignity and respect. That fundamental decency guided his work as a judge, and his work guided Illinois law.
"Illinois is a sadder place today because of his death, but it will forever be a better place because of his life."
Justice Harrison was a member of the Illinois judiciary for 29 years; a member of the Illinois Supreme Court for 10 years; and Chief Justice from Jan. 1, 2000 to September 5, 2002, when he retired. His legacy is quite larger.
A Chicago Tribune profile in 1999 described him as "a gentleman rebel, a distinctly gracious man whose convictions are firm and manners mild."
During his tenure on the Supreme Court, he was most known and honored for demonstrating a commitment to justice and human welfare, writing—either for the majority or in dissent—to defend the poor, the weak, the young and the elderly against corporate or government policies which went against their interests.
By Michael T. Reagan, Law Offices of Michael T. Reagan, Ottawa
Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore, while nominally about the circumstances in which a condominium unit owner can obtain the records of the condominium association, is fundamentally about whether the section of the Chicago Municipal Code dealing with that subject is a valid exercise of the City’s home rule power. The court also decided that the prevailing plaintiff unit owner, entitled to attorneys fees pursuant to the ordinance allowing recovery of "his reasonable attorney fees," is not limited to the fees actually charged by his attorney, but could recover greater fees at the reasonable market rate established by the evidence. The circuit and appellate courts were affirmed.
The association defendants asserted that the Chicago ordinance conflicted with the Condominium Property Act and the General Not For Profit Corporation Act. The statutes require unit owners to state a proper purpose for obtaining association financial books, limit requests to ten years of records, and allow the association 30 days in which to gather the records. The ordinance does not require statement of a purpose, does not restrict the age of the documents, and requires production with three business days. The parties and the court all agreed that the ordinance conflicted with the statutes.