Starting a new law firm can be an incredibly exciting endeavor, but it can also be daunting to navigate the process and face the unknown. After all, attorneys must consider everything from software to practice management to client services.

The Illinois Department of Central Management Services is seeking a public service administrator in Springfield. Responsibilities of the position include performing technical and legal work in the areas of labor agreements and arbitration as a representative of the department; representing the state in arbitration hearings and before the Illinois Labor Relations Board; reviewing resolutions and disciplinary actions and recommending approval or denial; writing memoranda of law and legal opinions; researching issues pertaining to labor relations; representing the department regarding union petitions of classifications into the bargaining unit; and performing a variety of special projects as assigned.

Join us online from noon until 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12 to enhance your knowledge on what the Uniform Commercial Code does and doesn’t mandate on the liquidation of collateral, the legal issues involved, and what happens if the liquidation isn’t commercially reasonable. Attorneys with basic practice experience who are responsible for the lawfully correct disposition of UCC-style collateral who attend this seminar will better understand: the need to confirm the borrower's default; the secured party’s obligations on debtor’s default; how to take possession of collateral; the debtor’s right to redeem collateral; the procedures for full and partial foreclosure; how and when to give notice of sale; the differences between a public or private sale; knowing when a sale is commercially reasonable; the application of sale proceeds; and the legal effects of a sale.

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down one opinion on Thursday, Aug. 1. In People v. Johnson, the court held that the act of shoplifting could be prosecuted as burglary as opposed to retail theft.  People v. Johnson By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender In July 2014, Darren Johnson and another man entered the Rock Falls Walmart, placing two backpacks on top of a coin counting machine in the vestibule on their way into the store. Inside, they gathered some items of clothing and then, without paying for the clothing, returned to the vestibule, retrieved the backpacks, and loaded the clothing into the backpacks. They repeated this process a second time. A customer called the police, and Johnson was stopped outside of the store. Johnson admitted stealing the clothing, telling the police it was for his daughter.