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  • December 13, 2017 | ISBA News
    Temporary ISBA Service Interruption on Dec. 29-30
    All ISBA systems will be down due to electrical work beginning Friday, Dec. 29 at 8 a.m. until Saturday, Dec. 30 at 12 p.m. (noon). During this time the ISBA website will not be available. As a result you will also not be able to log into Fastcase, online CLE, and ISBA Central. Here is what you need to know and steps you can take to ensure continued service. Online CLE You will not be able to access online CLE at all during the outage. If you need to complete CLE credit before the end of the year, we strongly urge you to plan to finalize that before the outage.  ISBA Central Communities and Discussion Groups Discussion groups will still be available via email, but you will not be able to log into ISBA Central. (Note: if you are already logged into the ISBA website, you may be able to access ISBA Central by going to it directly at http://central.isba.org). Fastcase For members who need to access Fastcase during this time, please follow the instructions below.
  • December 13, 2017
    Best Practice Tips: Law Firm Owners Use of a Leadership Team
    Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am the owner of a 14-attorney law firm in South Bend, Indiana. The firm is a health care firm that represents various medical facilities in the area. I am the managing attorney who makes all of the management decisions, and all of the other attorneys in the firm are associates. I also bring in the bulk of the firm's clients. I want to retire in the next five years and would like to sell my interests to three associates in the firm. However, I am unsure if they will be good partners with each other, whether they have the management and client development skills to lead the firm, or even if they would want to be partners. My other option would be to merge with another firm. I prefer to sell my interests to the three associates rather than merge if at all possible. What are your thoughts?
  • December 13, 2017 | Practice News
    Illinois a Hub of Biometric Privacy Lawsuits
    Illinois has become a center of biometric privacy litigation. The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act is the only one in the nation that allows private parties to sue and has a fee-shifting provision allowing plaintiffs to recover attorney fees. And biometric privacy lawsuits are in the news - there has been a spike in litigation against employers over fingerprints and other biometric data. Biometric data is a measurement or copy of a unique physical characteristic of an individual. It can be a fingerprint, retina or iris scan, voiceprints, hand scans, or facial geometry. In March 2016, Google faced a class-action lawsuit alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (see "Class action suit alleges Google is violating Illinoisans' 'biometric' privacy," May 2016 LawPulse, at http://bit.ly/2zE4FRQ). As of November 11, 2017, the case is still in the discovery phase. Most new lawsuits in Illinois are based on employers and retail businesses that allegedly fail to obtain written authorization before collecting fingerprint scans ("Spike in IL lawsuits vs employers over fingerprints, other biometric data may be just the beginning," Cook County Record, at http://bit.ly/2jqsTc0). Find out more in the December Illinois Bar Journal.
  • December 12, 2017 | ISBA News
    2017 Midyear Meeting Highlights
    The 2017 Midyear Meeting was held last week, Dec. 7-9, 2017, at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in Chicago. Attendees celebrated the profession, discussed issues of mutual interest to the bench and bar, attended business meetings, earned CLE credit, and expanded their social and professional networks at receptions and dinners. During section meetings and at the Assembly meeting, various members of the ISBA community were recognized with awards.  The photo galleries containing highlights from this year's Midyear Meeting are now available and listed below: Opening Ceremony YLD 20th Annual Holiday Party ISBA/IJA Joint Meeting Luncheon Law School Alumni Receptions Diversity Leadership Council "Count Me In" Reception Illinois Supreme Court Cocktail Reception Illinois Supreme Court Dinner
  • December 12, 2017 | Member Services
    Holiday Cheer from Lenovo
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  • December 12, 2017
    Midyear Meeting 2017 Assembly Meeting
    The ISBA Assembly met on Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Joint Midyear Meeting.
  • December 12, 2017
    Midyear Meeting 2017 Diversity Leadership Council Reception
    The ISBA Diversity Leadership Council hosted, "Count Me In," a complimentary networking reception at the Joint Midyear Meeting to celebrate diversity in the profession. 
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    December 12, 2017
    Midyear Meeting 2017 IJA Joint Luncheon
    The Illinois State Bar Association and Illinois Judges Association hosted a Joint Meeting Luncheon at the 2017 Joint Midyear Meeting on Dec. 8.  Photos by Ralph Greenslade
  • December 12, 2017
    Midyear Meeting 2017 Law School Alumni Receptions
    DePaul University College of Law and SIU School of Law hosted alumni receptions on Dec. 9 at the Joint Midyear Meeting Photos by Ralph Greenslade
  • December 12, 2017
    Midyear Meeting 2017 Opening Ceremony
    ISBA hosted the Joint Meeting Opening Reception at the Midyear Meeting on Dec. 7 at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago. Photos by Ralph Greenslade