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The Illinois Bar Foundation hosted its 19th Annual Gala on Friday, October 20 at the Four Seasons in Chicago. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin was honored with the Distinguished Award of Excellence.
Photo credit: Ralph Greenslade
Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 7, to join us at the 20th annual ISBA Young Lawyers Division Holiday Party at Exchequer Pub in Chicago from 7:00-9:00 p.m.! This event is an opportunity to socialize, enjoy food and refreshments, and meet young lawyers from across the state while supporting a great cause. Proceeds from the holiday party will go to the Illinois Bar Foundation YLD's Children Assistance Fund.
Initially created to assist with the opening of children's waiting rooms in courthouses across the State of Illinois, the Children's Assistance Fund has since grown, and now provides funding to organizations across Illinois that provide legal assistance to children, maintain children's waiting rooms in courthouses, work to reduce recidivism of juveniles, and/or work to reduce the incidents of domestic violence in families with children.
Tickets are now available online for $30, but may also be purchased at the door for $35.
Even if you can't attend this year's Illinois Bar Foundation Gala, you can still support the work of the IBF and this year's honoree, Senator Dick Durbin, by participating in the online silent auction.
This year's packages include tickets to your favorite Chicago sporting events, luxurious hotel stays and getaways, fabulous adventures like exclusive dinner parties, wine and beer tasting events, date night ideas in downtown Chicago and beyond, and so much more.
Visit the IBF website for online bidding instructions, tips, and tricks, and place your bids now. The auction closes at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, October 20.
The newly-created ISBA Privacy and Information Security Section held its first meeting at the Chicago Regional Office on October 17, 2017. The meeting kicked off with President Hon. Russell Hartigan delivering remarks to the section before moving to member introductions, mission statement discussion, and business items.
The 35-member section, initially proposed by Ari Scharg, partner at Edelson PC in Chicago and section chair, and approved by the ISBA Board of Governors earlier this year, was created in recognition that the field of privacy law is evolving at an exponential rate. Its purpose is to serve as a comprehensive resource for lawyers who practice in or are interested in the privacy and information security space to learn about information sharing practices. It will also provide a forum to discuss global developments and emerging technologies that will disrupt current business practices; learn best practices and debate issues; and review, monitor, and propose relevant legislation.
ISBA and DuPage Bar presidents participated in memorial ceremony for Hon. John (Jack) Darrah at a DuPage County Board meeting held Tuesday, Oct. 10, at the County Board Room in Wheaton.
Judge Darrah passed away on March 23, 2017. He was elected to serve in the state court in 1986, assigned to the Chancery Division of the 18th Judicial Circuit, DuPage County. He served in this capacity until 2000, when he was appointed to the United States Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by President Bill Clinton.
Hon. John Darrah's full obituary is available on Illinois Lawyer Now.
Mark your calendars for the ISBA High School Mock Trial Invitational, March 24-25, 2018, at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign-Urbana!
Help us make the 2018 invitational a success by participating! All lawyers, judges, law students, and paralegals are invited to volunteer as judges and jurors. No trial experience is necessary. Volunteer registration information will be distributed in January 2018.
The Mock Trial Handbook, Problem, and Registration Packets will be made available by November 1, 2017.
For information about the program, please visit the ISBA’s Law-Related Education for the Public’s website or email the mock trial coordinator, Katy Karayannis.
On Friday, October 6, the Chicago Regional Office hosted "Pathways to Becoming Corporate General Counsel and the Issues You Will Face," a CLE program geared toward attorneys interested in learning about life as a general counsel. The half-day seminar featured seven speakers, all general counsel at major corporations, who discussed the steps and skill set needed to become a general counsel, and tips to success once you've secured a position in a corporate legal department.
The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For the month of September 2017, there were a total of 922 calls. ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the 33 areas of law.
Here are the results for September 2017:
The 2017 Midyear Meeting will be held December 7– 9 at the Palmer House Hilton located at 17 East Monroe Street in Chicago. Our conference rate for 2017 is $179 for single or double occupancy, plus applicable taxes. Reservations at the Palmer House Hilton may be made online.
The deadline for making reservations for lodging is on or before November 4. Reservations received after this date will be subject to availability. The deposit will be forfeited for all no-shows, early departures, and cancellations less than 72 hours prior to arrival.
Watch Illinois Lawyer Now and the ISBA website for additional details, schedule of events, and registration information in the upcoming months.
By Michael G. Bergmann
Coordinated by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, Pro Bono Week is intended to inspire greater pro bono participation by lawyers throughout the nation. This initiative provides an opportunity for legal organizations across the country to collaboratively commemorate the vitally important contributions of America’s lawyers, and to recruit and train the many additional volunteers required to meet the growing demand. The Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service undertook this initiative to provide a format for showcasing the incredible difference that pro bono lawyers make to our nation, to our system of justice, to our communities and, most of all, to the clients they serve.
The ISBA commemorates this national celebration each year by encouraging its members to do pro bono and by recognizing those who meet the call. Two years ago, the ISBA launched its Pro Bono Partner initiative, through which members commit to: (1) seek out the local pro bono legal services being supplied to individuals or charitable, religious, or civic organizations in their community; (2) attend or support a recognition ceremony for those who participate in pro bono services in their community; (3) consider attending training provided to lawyers who provide pro bono services; and (4) commit to joining the efforts to increase access to the legal system.
The ISBA Delivery of Legal Services Committee organized two webinars in October geared towards those interested in helping low-income individuals with their legal needs. Tune in to “Working Effectively with Interpreters” on Wednesday, October 11 at 2:00 p.m., which is free for the first 26 registrants who agree to take a pro bono case in the next year. “Working with Low Income Clients” will be held on Wednesday, October 25 at noon, and is available at no cost for the first 30 registrants who agree to take a pro bono case in the next year.