A lawyer on a Zoom videoconference with other attorneys has to take a phone call during the meeting. But he forgets to press mute as he begins to discuss details of a high-stakes negotiation with the person on the phone. Lots of arm waving from the other Zoom participants ensues, but to no avail. Also, the Zoom host had left the room, leaving no one with the power to mute the attorney. Did the loquacious lawyer breach his duties to his client? What were the duties, if any, of the innocent lawyer-bystanders who were now in possession of very significant information? What about the opposing party in the real estate transaction, were she to be presented with this information? In his April Illinois Bar Journal ethics column, “No, I Am Not a Cat,” Illinois State Bar Association General Counsel Charles Northrup examines this situation—a new twist on the old “errant fax” issue made more unique by now-widely used technology.

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Voting is now underway in the 2021 ISBA Election.  Ballots for the ISBA Election were distributed March 29 by our election provider Election America.  All members of the Association (except non-lawyer members) with dues paid by March 1, 2021 are eligible to vote.  The deadline for voting is April 30, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. The canvass of the Election will be available on or before May 7, 2021.

While cash bail may be going away in Illinois, other pretrial release requirements remain. In his April Illinois Bar Journal article, “What Is So Special About a Bond Review?,” Jarrad Woodson reinforces why a bond review may set the tone and control pressure points of your client’s case from the very beginning. If your clients cannot afford their bail, or if bail is denied, the burden of getting them out of custody will always be present. Even if your client is waiting the case out from home, the conditions of bond could be so oppressive they make your client a prisoner there as well. Therefore, arguing effectively at the bond review stage is crucial. Your client already went through bond court, so why ask for a bond review? Ideally, Woodson notes, officials at the bond-court level do their best to work together for a fair initial bond, but sometimes this does not happen. The bond court churns and turns cases quickly. Important information about a defendant can get misplaced. This is where the beauty of bond reviews come in: You get another chance.