Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the civil cases Stevens v. McGuireWoods, LLP,  Lake Environmental Inc. v. Arnold, Seymour v. Collins, The Village of Vernon Hills v. Heelan and O’Toole  v. The Chicago Zoological Society.CIVILStevens v. McGuireWoods L.L.P.By Michael T. Reagan, Law Offices of Michael T. ReaganThe court’s unanimous opinion in Stevens v. McGuireWoods, LLP, is grounded on the established points that legal malpractice plaintiffs must be able to establish actual monetary loss as damages, that such a plaintiff cannot be in a better position by bringing suit against the attorney than if the underlying action had been prosecuted successfully, and that damages obtainable in a corporate derivative action belong to the corporation, and not to plaintiff shareholders. The plaintiffs here are former minority shareholders in an LLC.  They had retained the defendant law firm to bring claims against managers of the LLC as well as its majority shareholder.  Those claims were brought in both individual and derivative capacities.  Substituted counsel brought additional claims against the LLC’s corporate counsel.  Those claims were dismissed for various reasons, including standing and statutes of limitations and repose.  The plaintiff shareholders settled the underlying case, and relinquished all ownership interest in the LLC.

Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. I am the managing partner of our six attorney firm in Fresno, California. I recently went to a management seminar that stressed the importance of creating a budget for the firm. We currently do not have one. The budgeting process looks like a lot of work. Is it really worth the effort?

For the first time, the Cook County Circuit Court will actively advertise for applicants for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today.Also for the first time ever, the court will post every applicant’s submitted application form online at www.cookcountycourt.org.“Our court’s process to recruit and screen potential candidates will be as transparent as possible,” Chief Judge Evans said. “With one spot currently open and another one expected to become vacant, now is the time for a more transparent way to select the commissioners who administer the elections in our city. And we’re seeking the media’s help to get the word out that we’re accepting applicants for these two prestigious positions in the public sector.”The current Republican vacancy on the three-member board is due to the April 2015 death of Commissioner Richard A. Cowen. The Board of Election Commissioners has informed the Chief Judge’s Office that another vacancy will occur when Election Board Chairman Langdon D. Neal steps down after that Republican appointment is made.Under state law, vacancies are filled by the circuit court where the election board is located. On the Chicago Board of Election, the Cook County Board has set commissioner salaries at $77,798 annually. Commissioners serve three-year terms.The commissioners manage voter registrations; safeguard the rights of all voters to cast ballots independently in a safe and quiet atmosphere, free of interference or intimidation; and inform voters of all of their balloting options, such as Election Day voting, Early Voting and Vote By Mail.

The ISBA Environmental Law Section, CBA Environmental Law Committee, CBA Young Lawyers Section Environmental Law Committee and ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources are hosting a networking reception for environmental attorneys in Chicago. There will be brief remarks from IIT Chicago-Kent Professor Dan Tarlock on U.S. Supreme Court environmental cases in the upcoming term.This event will be held on Monday, Oct. 5, from 5-7 p.m. at Jenner & Block, 45th Floor Conference Center, 353 N. Clark. Click here to RSVPComplimentary food and drinks will be provided thanks to our generous sponsors: Jenner & Block, BRG Berkely Research Group, Ramboll Energy and RPS GaiaTech.