Communications expert Steve Hughes showed lawyers how to look and sound smart in the first installment of the Law Ed Faculty Development Series last week at the ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
With over 140 attendees, the first installment of ISBA’s Law EdFaculty Development Series: The Art of Effective Communication was a huge success!
The series is designed to further the personal and professional growth of our faculty speakers by expanding their legal communication skills. The program was held on Friday, August 27th and taught by communications expert, Steve Hughes. As the founder and president of Hit Your Stride, a communications consulting company, Steve helps attorneys look and sound smart when they talk. The program covered topics such as establishing credibility; becoming an appealing legal presenter; strategies for creating an interactive audience; creating engaging PowerPoint slides; preparing effective presentations; delivering material in a compelling way; eye contact and confidence; and connecting with the legal audience.
ISBA would like to thank the faculty attendees for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend this program! Our faculty members’ unwavering commitment and contributions to ISBA Law Ed programming are invaluable to the Association and paramount to our success.
The Illinois State Bar Association is committed to cultivating an environment where Law Ed faculty members have access to the resources and tools they need to foster quality programming and excellence in learning. For this reason, ISBA has developed a faculty resources webpage containing links to informative articles, relevant websites, and information about becoming an ISBA Law Ed speaker. Be sure to check it out the new faculty resources webpage – and check back often – as new material and information will be added regularly.
Posted on September 1st, 2010 by Christopher Bonjean |
Filed under CLE
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Don’t miss this one-day only opportunity to learn advanced negotiation skills from a national expert and renowned instructor!
Thursday, Sept. 16
Chicago History Museum
1601 N. Clark Street
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Live Webcast
8:30 a.m. – 2:15 p.m.
You negotiate every day. In fact, your ability to effectively negotiate may be the most critical skill you possess, yet most negotiate instinctively or intuitively. This Master Series seminar trains you to approach negotiations with a strategic mindset, allowing you to become a more effective lawyer. Topics include: the five golden rules of negotiation; strategies to get past “no”; gaining leverage; emotionally-charged techniques; generating creative solutions; sharing information; dealing with untrustworthy adversaries; building future relationships; deadlines and time tips; and much more.
The seminar is taught by Martin Latz, one of the nation’s leading experts and instructors on negotiating techniques. As the founder of the Latz Negotiation Institute, he has trained over 50,000 lawyers and business professionals around the world. As an adjunct professor on Negotiations at Arizona State University College of Law (1995-2005), Mr. Latz has negotiated for the White House, nationally and internationally, on the White House Advance Teams. Mr. Latz, a Harvard Law cum laude graduate, is the author of Gain the Edge! Negotiating to Get What You Want (St. Martin’s Press, 2004) and has appeared as a negotiation expert on CBS’s The Early Show and such national business shows as Your Money and First Business. He also writes a monthly negotiation column for The Arizona Republic. For more information on Mr. Latz, please visit: www.NegotiationInstitute.com
Each registrant will receive a copy of Martin Latz’s book, Gain the Edge! Negotiating to Get What You Want
Illinois’ premier event for solo and small firm lawyers will be held from Oct. 21-23 in Springfield.
Join us this fall as we explore best practices for solo and small firm lawyers and provide you with “The Right Stuff” to help launch your practice to the next level
You’ll find educational sessions, networking opportunities and an exhibit hall that showcases services and products to help you expand your career and improve the efficiency your law practice. Choose from three tracks of programming – Substantive Law, the Effective and Ethical Practice of Law and Legal Technology. Our outstanding line up of national and local speakers will teach you about best practices in the field and how to stay competitive as a solo or small firm lawyer.
Come ready to be inspired by the stories that you’ll hear and the connections you will make with other attendees. It’s the only conference in Illinois dedicated to meet the needs of the solo and small firm lawyer and it only happens once a year.
Next Session – Tuesday, September 7 – Tuesday, September 28, 2010**
ISBA’s New Admittee Virtual Coffeehouse Basic Skills course is a balanced brew of rich fun and robust learning that’s served in small sips over the course of three weeks, making it the perfect fit for hectic schedules. And the best part? The ISBA New-Admittee Virtual Coffeehouse does more than help you satisfy your mandatory MCLE Basic Skills requirement! Rather, it provides you with an opportunity to network with other community members (both new and experienced!), a portal for engaging in meaningful online discussions on topics for new admittees, a place to ask questions they didn’t answer in law school, not to mention an affordable way to keep abreast of current topics and legal trends!
The International Association for Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA) has announced that the Illinois State Bar Association received the Best Program Award for Professional Excellence for ISBA’s innovative New Admittee Virtual Coffeehouse: Basic Skills and More program, the top award in the Best Program category. ACLEA will formally present the award to the ISBA at the ACLEA Annual Meeting in New York City on July 27.
ACLEA award winners are selected from competitors representing ACLEA’s more than 300 member organizations.
The ISBA’s New Admittee Virtual Coffeehouse: Basic Skills and More four week session was introduced as a pilot program in February and repeated in May 2010 as an option for new admittees to satisfy the Illinois Supreme Court requirement of 15 hours of Basic Skills instruction in the first year of practice. Additional repeats are scheduled for September and November 2010. The Virtual Coffeehouse ISBA online learning community offered both required and optional selections to new admittees as if they were selecting items from a menu in a coffeehouse and included online streaming video; live, interactive weekly webinars; online discussion forums; video practice tips; and access to relevant online resources for new admittees.
“The success of the Virtual Coffeehouse program was made possible by the voluntary efforts of many ISBA members, sections, and committees” said Jeanne B. Heaton, ISBA CLE Director.
In order to insure quality interaction and pass on valuable information, various ISBA sections and committee members representing Legal Technology, Law Office Management and Economics, Mentoring, Young Lawyers Division, and CLE contributed by interacting online with community members, posting items regularly to the Coffeehouse website, and monitoring the weekly question and answer discussions. The live weekly webinars featured presentations by experienced member lawyers and judges, and such innovations as instant polling of attendees with results displayed onscreen. Online attendees were also offered an opportunity for live Q&A discussions with panel members. ISBA’s vendor and technical partner for the Coffeehouse, Peach New Media - FastCLE, provided the platform, webinar management, and 24/7 logistical and technical support for the Virtual Coffeehouse program.
Information about upcoming sessions of the Virtual Coffeehouse can be found on the web at www.isba.org/cle/newadmittees.
Posted on July 6th, 2010 by Christopher Bonjean |
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ISBA members can now earn unlimited CLE credit with the new ISBA Unlimited Law Ed Passport – Live or the Unlimited Law Ed Passport – Online!
And the best part? As a passport holder, you aren’t just earning credit and meeting your credit reporting deadline. Rather, you’re making a conscious choice to learn as much – and from as many of Illinois’ leading lawyers – as possible.
Two Options – Unlimited Savings!
Unlimited Law Ed Passport – Live Sign up for the Unlimited Law Ed Passport – Live and start attending unlimited live, onsite CLE programs sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association for one low price of $449 per year! ISBA is the proud sponsor of nearly 100 live CLE on-site programs annually, meaning there’s plenty to choose from throughout the year.
Unlimited Law Ed Passport – Online The Unlimited Law Ed Passport – Online allows ISBA members to attend unlimited online streaming CLE programs for one low price of $499 per year! With over 160 online ISBA Law Ed programs to choose from, passport holders have the best opportunities to earn the most CLE credit in the widest variety of practice areas! And you can access the programming anytime, 24/7.
Visit our FAQs page for more information about the new ISBA Unlimited Law Ed Passports!
Posted on June 15th, 2010 by Christopher Bonjean |
Filed under CLE
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Left to right: Dan Wurl, Darrell Seigler, George Leynaud, Martin O'Hara, Robert Duncan, Dennis Berkbigler, Ron Kalish and ISBA President John O'Brien
ISBA President John O’Brien met with the speakers and organizers of the Tort Law Section’s “Back to Basics: Tort Law” on Friday at the ISBA’s Chicago office.
As the final curtain closed and the last attendee departed, the conference planning committee members and ISBA staff couldn’t help but smile. After all, with only a few minor stumbles, the conference could be considered nothing less than a huge success. After spending three enthusiastic days together learning new things, refreshing old knowledge, and earning an abundance of MCLE credit, attendees left the conference shroud in an aura of inspiration and rejuvenation—and all are ready to put their newfound information into practice upon their return to the firm.
The reasons for attending the conference varied from person to person—from earning MCLE credit at a great price to the centralized location to simply networking among fellow solo and small firm practitioners. While a few attendees didn’t need the credit (coming solely for the comradeship produced by a conference such as this) others, like Jessica Bednarz and Michele Raven — two May 2009 graduates from DePaul University College of Law — came simply for the knowledge gained from the seminars and the experiences learned from veteran attendees.
While neither Jessica nor Michele could officially earn credit for their participation at the conference, both women will be going into solo practice once they’re sworn in on Nov. 5 in Chicago and felt this conference was a great way to get their feet wet. Although they attended numerous seminars throughout the conference, Michele and Jessica both really enjoyed the Legal Technology programs. “I learned how to use FastCase, which is far easier to use than some of the competitor sites, and I love the fact that it’s a free ISBA member benefit,” Michele told us. Jessica copied those sentiments adding, “I really want to go as paperless as possible with my own practice, so the Legal Technology presentations were perfect for me.”
Although plans for next year’s 6th Annual Solo & Small Firm Conference are already being made, dates and venue have not yet been determined. In the meantime, this year’s event will soon be available electronically on our FastCLE store website for those who were unable to attend the conference this year. And for those of you who did attend? Thanks so much – we couldn’t have done it without you!
ISBA tent at Illinois State Fair photo gallery
Winnebago County Clambake photo gallery
ISBA Sunday Runners at Race Judicata photo gallery
More photos from the 2010 Annual Meeting
ISBA presents award, Lincoln Papers to Chief Justice Fitzgerald photo gallery
NWSBA 50th Anniversary and Installation Ceremony photo gallery
