Illinois Bar Journal back issues from January 2008:
ADR and the image of lawyers: lawyer-warrior or lawyer-peacemaker - what's the better public image for our profession?(President's page)
Jan 01, 2008; ... "Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser--in fees, expenses and waste of time. As a peacemaker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good [person]. There will still be business ...
Court upholds $1 million penalty arising out of $12,000 support debt: the Supreme Court ruled that a $1 million-plus penalty for an employer's failure to timely pay a $12,000-plus child support obligation was not unconstitutional on the facts.(Illinois)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Illinois currently authorizes the assessment of penalties against not only obligor parents but also their employers if they do not pay over child support as ordered. In a late-November case, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of 750 ILCS 28/35(a), part of ...
Supreme Court upholds parent's refusal to allow grandparent visitation: a grandmother failed to show that denying her visitation was harmful to her grandchild's physical, mental, or emotional health.(Illinois)
Jan 01, 2008; ... For the first time since Illinois's current grandparent visitation statute took effect in 2005, the Illinois Supreme Court has issued a substantive ruling applying the statute to a case before it. In it, the court held that a paternal grandmother had not shown that the child's mother's ...
Illinois Supreme Court oral arguments go online: the court is making video and audio of oral arguments available on the Web.
Jan 01, 2008; ... Supreme court junkies, rejoice: The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that, starting with the January 2008 term, video and audio recordings of oral arguments before the court will be posted and archived on its Web site. Archive will begin with January arguments ...
Custody conundrum: your client's ex-husband, who moved to Texas and had custody of the children, dies. Your client wants the kids, her ex's Texas relatives say no. What do you do?
Jan 01, 2008; ... A new client--or maybe a returning client--appears in your office, distraught. She tells you her former husband, who, as specified in their Illinois judgment of dissolution of marriage, had custody of their children and was living with them in Texas, has suddenly died. The children are now ...
Contacting, deposing employees of opposing parties: a how-to: don't just call up your opponent's employees, even if they're working elsewhere. Consider first whether doing so might violate legal or ethical rules.(Illinois)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Rockford lawyer and ISBA Civil Practice and Procedure member Mark Rouleau supplies useful case law and some wise counsel to lawyers considering whether to contact or depose employees or former employees of an opposing party. his article, "Contacting an opponent's employee and former ...
Protection of military personnel from false, misleading, or deceptive insurance practices.(Illinois)
Jan 01, 2008 ... Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Effective January 1, 2008, the Department of Financial and Professional regulation has issued new regulations affecting what methods and practices insurance companies can employ when they sell or attempt to sell life insurance ...
New procedures for selection of design-build firms for Capital Development Board Projects.(Illinois)
Jan 01, 2008 ... Capital Development Board The Capital Development Board (CDB) has added a new part with sixteen new sections to Title 44, government Contracts, Procurement and Property Management. 44 Ill Adm Code 1030. The new part details the selection procedures for design-build entities ...
Nominate yourself for an ISBA committee or section.(Illinois State Bar Ass'n)
Jan 01, 2008; ... As president-elect, it is both a privilege and responsibility to appoint members to the section councils and committees for the 2008-2009 term. Participating members of the ISBA committees and section councils are the lifeblood of the Illinois State Bar Association. I encourage each member ...
Law firm marketing 101: you didn't go to law school to be a salesperson, you say. But you still have to sell yourself to prospective clients, especially if you're a solo or small-firm lawyer. Here are fellow lawyers' and marketing pros' tips for building your book of business.(Illinois)
Jan 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Have you heard the tale of the insurance agent who's golfing with his regular foursome and learns that one of the golfers bought insurance from another agent? When the disappointed agent asks his golf partner why she didn't come to him for her insurance ...
Vision Point: a course correction on requests to admit: the Illinois Supreme Court's important new opinion reverses numerous appellate decisions and promises to mitigate the harsh consequences that can result from a narrow application of Rules 216 and 183.
Jan 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In its recent opinion in Vision Point of Sale, Inc v Haas, (1) the Illinois Supreme Court strikes a blow--five blows, actually--for a common sense interpretation of Illinois Supreme Court rule 216(a), which governs requests for admission of facts. Vision ...
The new Illinois right-to-sue law for employment discrimination: the Illinois Human Rights Act now provides for a right to a jury in the Illinois Circuit Court in employment discrimination cases. But with that new power comes a new set of tactical decisions for parties and practitioners. Here's a look at some of the most important issues.
Jan 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In its most recent term, the Illinois General assembly approved, and the Governor signed, house Bill 1509, (1) which significantly amends the Illinois human rights act (act). (2) The amendments to the act represent a major change in how the Illinois ...
Member-to-member referral directory.(Illinois)(Directory)
Jan 01, 2008 ... BANKRUPTCY DAVID P. LEIBOWITZ 847/249-9100 Leibowitz Law Center 420 W. Clayton St. Waukegan, IL 60085 Fax: 847/249-9180 Web sites: www.lakelaw.com; www.lakelaw. com/kenosha; www.bankruptcy.lakelaw.com ...
Proposed reforms to the Illinois capital punishment system: a status report: a co-chair of the Illinois Governor's Commission on Capital Punishment reports on the fate of various commission proposals for death-penalty reform. While the system is better, there is ample room for improvement.
Jan 01, 2008; ... It has been over seven years since former governor George h. Ryan imposed a moratorium on executions, five years since the Illinois Governor's commission on capital Punishment made its 85 recommendations on ways the system could be made more "just, fair and accurate," (1) and four years ...
Police interrogation of motorists at traffic stops: the Fourth Amendment prohibits the police from turning routine traffic stops into investigations of other criminal activity. This article reviews several recent cases addressing the limitations of police inquiry in these circumstances.
Jan 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Intersate Highway 80 connects the West Coast to the major urban areas north of the Mason-Dixon line and east of the Great Plains. Not surprisingly, it is a major corridor for drug traffickers. (1) As I-80 runs across the north central part of this state, ...
Premarital agreements need premeditation: before you draft a premarital agreement for a soon-to-be spouse, consider what you have to lose.(Illinois)
Jan 01, 2008; ... As the lawyers' population increases, lawyers seek new markets. One of the popular new markets is premarital agreements. But consider carefully before proposing a premarital settlement agreement to your client. It may not be to your client's advantage or probably will not be to yours. ...
Predatory lending laws: the next, not last, step: new laws expand the prohibitions on predatory lending, and more regulation is on the horizon.(Illinois)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Readers of this quarterly column will note that we seem to be stuck on a single topic: matters relating to the predatory lending database pilot program (765 ILCS 77/70) ("pilot program"). Initially, this program was limited to about 25 percent of the land area of Chicago on its southwest ...
Ready reference for the occasional question: where can you go when you need to bone up on international law or research medical info? Here's a grab bag of miscellaneous and (mostly) free research sites.
Jan 01, 2008; ... For many attorneys practicing in a single area of law, or a small handful of areas, the usual sources of information are well known: the relevant IICLE, perhaps, or Gitlin on Divorce for those in matrimonial law. However, even for the seasoned practitioner, occasions arise when ...