Chair’s column

We hope you enjoy this newsletter for experienced senior lawyers. We encourage our readers to become writers to share your experiences with other seniors. We learn so much from each other.

I want to start by asking you to do what John Damisch shared in his short article on “HOW TO STAY YOUNG.” On March 10, 2016, his 90th birthday, he went skiing in Telluride, Colorado. (See picture on page 8).

This issue again has another excellent technology article by John T. Phipps, “IPAD PRO – EXPENSIVE BUT WORTH IT IF IT MEETS YOUR NEEDS!” The iPad Pro 12.9 that came out at the end of last year has a number of advantages but some disadvantages. John does his usual great job of writing about technology. He covers the pros and cons of the new IPad Pros.

Don Mateer has also written another excellent article on technology. His article “TECH TIPS” shares his recent experience with two PC computer crashes. His laptop became infected due to a lapse of protective software and his desktop became corrupted to the point of no return. There was a solution.

In “ANOTHER FAVORITE APP,” Bill Austin quotes from PC Magazine, in a February 9, 2016 article, “The Best Password Managers for 2016,” where the author says “…[c]reating one strong password that you can remember is hard enough; doing it for every website is just about impossible—unless you use a password manager….” Bill writes an excellent article on LastPass 4.0 Premium, a password management app or browser plug-in. With a password manager, you reduce the number of passwords that you need to remember to just one, which is the password for the app itself.

Mike Maslanka wrote a very interesting article: “IT DOESN’T HURT TO ASK, AND IT MAY HURT NOT TO ASK!” A client taking care of his father received two separate premium notices from a national health insurer with different amounts. The client contacted and asked the insurer about the different amounts and was told a mistake had been made and, unfortunately, the higher premium was correct. What would you do? Read Mike’s article for his suggestion.

Gary Rafool has done another excellent book review. Schwerpunkt: From D-Day to the Fall of the Third Reich, available in soft cover (341 pages) and electronically, was written by Susan Gunty, who practices law in Chicago. She is a World War II historian and wrote this historical novel in 2015. Gary’s book review is fascinating and you will be surprised at many of the details.

John Damisch completes a double header with his book review of Operation Graylord, co-authored by one of the lawyers who worked with the FBI on the operation. John’s perspective, that of a lawyer who was practicing law in Cook County during that period (but never in traffic or criminal court he is quick to point out) is equally fascinating.

I also want to highlight an article I read this morning by Rebecca Love Kourlis, a former justice of the Colorado Supreme Court, who is now executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System. 10 ways to reform the civil justice system by changing the culture of the courts. <http://maestro.abanet.org/trk/click?ref=zpqri74vj_4-2b006x335258x0127179&>. She suggests that “culture is the collation of individual choices of members of the group. To that end, challenge yourselves to make different choices—and to change the culture.” I hope many of you will read her brief “10 Ways to Reform . . .” It also has a link to a larger article that you will learn a lot from: “Change the Culture, Change the System.” 