Section Newsletters

Articles From 2015

Spring into 2015 with an overview of five rule amendments in Illinois By Shawna Boothe Young Lawyers Division, April 2015 A review of the minor and significant changes to several rules of civil procedure and evidence.
Stage set for November Statewide Symposium on College Sexual Assaults By Yolaine Dauphin Administrative Law, October 2015 Save the date for this important day-long seminar on November 6. 
Stage set for November Statewide Symposium on College Sexual Assaults By Yolaine Dauphin Women and the Law, October 2015 Save the date for this important day-long seminar on November 6. 
Standing Committee on Disability Law By Phil Milsk Diversity Leadership Council, June 2015 An update on the Committee's recent activities from Chair Phil Milsk.
Standing Committee on Racial & Ethnic Minorities and the Law By Cory White Diversity Leadership Council, June 2015 Committee Chair Cory White provides an update on the Committee's activities.
Standing Committee on Women and the Law By Letitia Spunar-Sheats Diversity Leadership Council, June 2015 An update from Committee Chair Letitia Spunar-Sheats.
Statutory silence on burden of proof By Jeffrey A. Parness Civil Practice and Procedure, June 2015 It seems reasonable to infer that the General Assembly desires the same clear and convincing evidence norm in removal petition cases as it has expressly articulated for custody order modification cases. Individual statutes should be interpreted, at times, by references to other statutes.
Stepping up the Basis on Credit Shelter Trust Assets: Having your cake and eating it too By Curt W. Ferguson Trusts and Estates, February 2015 The Basis Bump Trust™ is one new tool for the new environment: estate tax avoidance if the clients need it, but capital gain step up to the extent they could still have it.
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Stone Street Partners v. City of Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings—Non-lawyers cannot represent corporations at administrative hearings By Patrick T. Driscoll, Jr. (Ret.) Government Lawyers, April 2015 The Appellate Court of Illinois, in Stone Street Partners, LLC v. City of Chicago Dept. of Administrative Hearings, reviewed the issues of notice to corporations of municipal code violations and the propriety of non-lawyers appearing on behalf of a corporation at a municipal administrative hearing.
Strobel: When there’s no audio on the video By David B. Franks Traffic Laws and Courts, February 2015 Trial Court abused its discretion in barring testimony regarding field sobriety tests and barring the introduction of the video depicting defendant's performance on the field sobriety tests since no audio recording of the Police encounter with Defendant ever existed.
Student loans and the reality of repayment By Arsenio L. Mims Young Lawyers Division, December 2015 A look at some of the repayment options following the completion of a law student's six-month grace period.
Studio Session on Section 31 Enforcement By Kent Mohr Environmental Law, September 2015 The ISBA’s Environmental Law Section Council will be sponsoring a live webcast program at 9:30 a.m. on October 22, 2015 titled "Navigating a Section 31 Enforcement Case."
Substitution of judge as of right is in need of a time restriction By Robert I. Berger & Jin Yan Civil Practice and Procedure, September 2015 A party’s statutory right to a substitution of judge without the need to allege cause is a unique privilege. To prevent abuse of this privilege, the authors argue the statute should be amended to impose time limitations on exercising the right.
SUFFRAGETTE: Women’s fight for the right to vote By Meg O’Sullivan Women and the Law, November 2015 A look at the movie "Suffragette," which leaves viewers with the realization that the fight for the right to vote for women is far from over.
Summary judgment without asking: The Power of a United States District Court Judge to enter Summary Judgment sua sponte under Rule 56(f) By Hon. Tom Schanzle-Haskins Federal Civil Practice, June 2015 Rule 56(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure codifies previously existing law which permits granting sua sponte summary judgment by a District Court.
Summary of Public Acts for the 98th Illinois General Assembly By Kent E. Mohr, Jr. Environmental Law, June 2015 A summary of select public acts from the 98th Illinois General Assembly (2013-2014) relating to environmental law.
A summary of the Trusts & Estates Section’s June business meeting Trusts and Estates, October 2015 Learn more about the Section's recent activities.
Summary of United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruling in DeBoer v. Snyder By Heidi E. Ramos Human and Civil Rights, January 2015 On November 6, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a ruling overturning district court rulings on behalf of the Plaintiffs, and in favor of the recognition of gay marriage, in the four states that make up the Sixth Circuit.
The Sunlitz decision: A primer on shareholder demand for corporate books and records when self-dealing is at issue By Charles W. Murdock & Katelyn Sprague Business and Securities Law, November 2015 In Sunlitz Holding Co. W.L.L. v. Trading Block Holdings, Inc., the court reaffirmed the view that good-faith fears of mismanagement, in contrast to proof of actual wrongdoing, support a proper purpose for inspection of corporate books and records under the Business Corporations Act of 1983.
Supreme Court applies sovereign immunity exception to university disciplinary investigation By Tracy Douglas Administrative Law, September 2015 In an interesting case for administrative law practitioners, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled circuit courts have jurisdiction over equitable claims against state universities.
Supreme Court resolves split on meaning of election board service of process By Tracy Douglas Administrative Law, November 2015 The case of Bettis v. Marsaglia resolved the split among the appellate courts about how to comply with serving an electoral board with notice of a lawsuit seeking judicial review.
Supreme Court Rule 304(a): Does including the language of the rule in an order make it appealable? By Lisa M. Giese, Lindsay Michelle Jurgensen, & Jane E. Nagle Family Law, February 2015 What effect does the inclusion of Rule 304(a) language have on the ability to appeal a court's order for evaluation of a party's fitness as a parent for custody and visitation purposes?
Supreme Court Rule changes: 2015 end-of-year report By Hon. Lloyd A. Karmeier Bench and Bar, December 2015 A brief summary of the recent significant changes to the Illinois Supreme Court Rules.
Supreme Court Rule changes: End-of-year report By Hon. Lloyd A. Karmeier Bench and Bar, January 2015 Details on the amendments to the Illinois Supreme Court Rules.
Supreme Court Rule changes: Mid-year report By Hon. Lloyd A. Karmeier Bench and Bar, July 2015 Significant amendments approved in 2015.
Supreme Court update—The day the ERISA presumption of prudence died By James Baker Employee Benefits, April 2015 ERISA plaintiffs’ lawyers have a new hill to climb—framing ERISA fiduciary breach claims that comport with the insider trading restrictions contained in federal securities laws.
Supreme Court update—The ERISA plan sponsor can now control the game clock By James Baker Employee Benefits, January 2015 The U.S. Supreme Court, in Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life & Accident Insurance Co., determined that the limitations period at issue was not unreasonably short.
Survey Legal Technology, Standing Committee on, May 2015 This survey, which will take only a few minutes to complete, will help us explore useful topics for CLE programs or newsletter articles.
Taking a default By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, November 2015 Defaulting has pejorative connotations, but sometimes accepting a default judgment may be a wise decision. Courts sometimes permit alternatives to traditional service, FRCP 4. The Hague Service Convention, the Inter-American Convention on Letters Rotatory, and the ubiquitous, pervasive Internet make service of process easier. The Internet has also spawned complaints with hundreds of defendants, often for alleged copyright or trademark violations. For the innocent, downstream, small business defendant, defaulting may be more rational than defending, even when the complaint contains deceptive and false allegations. Decision considerations and likely settlement elements are presented.
A tale of two communities: Bringing pro bono collaborative law to Illinois National Guard veterans By Sandra Crawford Family Law, December 2015 The Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and the Health & Disability Advocates of Warrior to Warrior have rolled out a pro bono program to bring the Collaborative Practice model of divorce dispute resolution to Illinois Army National Guard Veterans and their families.