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Susan Lewers resigns from Illinois Bar Foundation

The Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Bar Foundation announce the resignation of IBF Executive Director Susan Lewers. After nine years at the helm of the Foundation, Susan hopes her departure will allow her to spend more time with her growing family.

The Illinois Bar Foundation has grown substantially since Susan began with the Foundation in 2001. With a new Strategic Plan adopted in 2009, the Foundation has its sights on significant growth in the immediate future.

Susan can be contacted at smlewers@gmail.com.

“School Discipline” and “Tax Time and Beyond” to air on Illinois Law

Nancy Z. Hablutzel will discuss tax-related issues with William M. Gasa on "Tax Time and Beyond."

Stephen G. Katz and Deborah E. Decker will appear with moderator Nancy Z. Hablutzel (front) on "School Discipline."

School Discipline and Tax Time and Beyond, half-hour programs presented by the Illinois State Bar Association, will air on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago in March and April.

School Discipline will air on on Tuesdays, March 23 and April 6 at 10 p.m. Appearing on the show, moderated by Chicago lawyer Nancy Z. Hablutzel, are Stephen G. Katz, visiting associate director of Labor & Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and attorney Deborah E. Decker, of Tabet DiVito & Rothstein, LLC, in Chicago.

Tax Time and Beyond will air on on Tuesdays, March 30 and April 13 at 10 p.m. Chicago lawyer Nancy Z. Hablutzel will discuss tax-related issues with William M. Gasa, an Enrolled Agent who is a member of the ISBA Federal Taxation Section Council.

“Illinois Law” is a cable production of the ISBA.

ISBA grants available for affiliate bar activities

The Illinois State Bar Association Standing Committee on Bar Services and Activities is pleased to announce the Affiliated Bar Association grant program. The grant program provides up to $750 to an affiliated bar association to plan activities which promote your bar association, the ISBA and the legal profession.

To qualify for the grant, the following requirements must be met:

The activities to be funded by the grant must impact the general public and not solely the legal profession. Requests for monies to be used for food or other refreshments will not be granted. Additionally, judicial appreciation nights, bar association social events, bar association retreats, or other programs that are closed to the public and attended only by members of the legal profession will not be funded.
The ISBA must be recognized as a sponsor along with your affiliated bar association in any publicity and other printed materials.
You must submit a report regarding the completed activity within 30 days of the event/activity. Copies of all publicity and other printed materials must be submitted with the report.

To participate in this year’s grant program, please complete an application in its entirety and return to: Janet Sosin, ISBA, Bar Services Department, 20 S. Clark St. Suite 900, Chicago, IL 60603. There is no deadline, but applications should be received well in advance of the planned activities. Please note the grant guidelines are enclosed.

If you have any questions, please contact Janet M. Sosin, Director of Bar Services, 312-726-8775, 800-678-4009 or jsosin@isba.org.

Candidates line up for ISBA elections

Eight of the 25 seats on the ISBA Board of Governors and 127 seats in the 201-member Assembly are up for election this spring. Paula Hudson Holderman was the sole candidate for 3rd vice president and is therefore elected. Members in areas where there are contested races will receive ballots in early April with results to be announced May 11.

Ballot positions are listed next to the candidate’s name in contested elections.

For Third Vice-President – 1 to be elected

Paula Hudson Holderman, Chicago

For Board of Governors – Cook County – 3 to be elected

Kimberly J. Anderson, Chicago 6
Karen McNulty Enright, Chicago 4
Gregg A. Garofalo, Chicago 3
Russell W. Hartigan, Chicago 2
Stephen M. Komie, Chicago 1
Mark E. Wojcik, Chicago 5

For Board of Governors – Area 2 (Circuits 17, 19 & 22) – 1 to be elected

Bernard Wysocki, Waukegan

For Board of Governors – Area 5 (Circuits 5, 6 & 11) – 1 to be elected

Steve Pacey, Paxton

For Board of Governors – Under 37 – Downstate – 1 to be elected

Jamie L. Bas, Swansea 1
Tara H. Ori, Waukegan 2

For Board of Governors – Under 37 – Cook – 1 to be elected

Gina Arquilla DeBoni, Chicago

IBF announces $1,000 grant for award winners

The Illinois Bar Foundation is pleased to announce a $1,000 grant to be presented in honor of each John C. McAndrews Pro Bono Service Award recipient. As part of its efforts to encourage and acknowledge pro bono legal work, the Illinois Bar Foundation is partnering with the Illinois State Bar Association to enhance the recognition provided by the prestigious John C. McAndrews Award. The Illinois Bar Foundation will award the grants in honor of the John C. McAndrews Award recipients to the Illinois not-for-profit legal aid organizations through which the awardees provide pro bono legal services.

The ISBA John C. McAndrews Pro Bono Service Award, named in memory of Rock Island attorney John McAndrews, is awarded to honor extraordinary commitments to providing or expanding the availability of free legal services to low-income Illinois residents. The John C. McAndrews Award is bestowed upon individual lawyers, law firms and corporate law departments, and bar associations committed to providing or expanding pro bono services.

The Illinois Bar Foundation is dedicated to both promoting and recognizing pro bono legal work as part of its mission to ensure meaningful access to justice, especially for those with limited means.

Nominations for the John C. McAndrews Pro Bono Service Award must be received by March 15, 2010. Nomination forms and criteria are available at: www.isba.org/awards/mcandrews.

ISBA President John O’Brien explains how to avoid foreclosure on radio show

ISBA President John O’Brien was a special guest on Dick Kay’s popular WCPT-AM (“Progressive Talk”) radio show on February 13 to discuss foreclosures. John explained how to avoid foreclosure and the steps involved in a foreclosure. His key message was: “Hire a lawyer first.”

To hear the 50-minute interview in its entirety, click here.

Illinois Lawyer Finder makes over 600 referrals for January – adds new categories

The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. Several new categories have been recently added, including:

Condominium law (under real estate)
Eminent domain (add under real estate)
Harassment (under civil/general)
HIPAA (under health care)
Mechanics Liens (add under collections)
Mortgage foreclosures (add under real estate)
Products liability (add under personal injury)
Real Estate Tax assessments (under real estate)

And:

Juvenile as a stand alone listing including subcategories:

Juvenile/Criminal
Juvenile/Civil
Juvenile/Delinquency appeals

Military as a stand alone listing including subcategories:

Military/Family law
Military/Other civil issues
Military/Criminal issues

If you are currently a member of the Illinois Lawyer Finder Service and would like to add any of these categories to your profile on the referral service, contact Mary Kinsley at mkinsley@isba.org.

Illinois Lawyer Finder phone service made over 8,000 referrals in 2009. View a statistical breakdown here.

If you are not a member of the Illinois Lawyer Finder Service, join here.

Equip for Equality - Presentation of Grant Check 005

In 2009, the Illinois Bar Foundation awarded $304,965 in grants through this program, including $20,000 to Equip for Equality for its statewide Special Education Legal Clinic.

The Illinois Bar Foundation is pleased to announce the availability of grant funds for 2010. Approved as part of IBF’s new strategic plan, the new guidelines narrow and focus the kinds of programs eligible for grants from IBF this year. The 2010 Grant Application and Grant Guidelines may be found on the Illinois Bar Foundation’s website. Applications are due to the Illinois Bar Foundation by 5 p.m. on March 31, 2010.

The Illinois Bar Foundation Grants program seeks to support organizations whose work provides meaningful access to the justice system, especially for those with limited means. The Foundation awards grants only to 501(c)(3) organizations serving the State of Illinois whose work fits within three of the Foundation’s organizational objectives:

Enhancing the availability of legal aid to those with limited means;
Encouraging pro-bono legal work; and
Educating Illinois residents regarding their rights and responsibilities under the law.

Local bar associations may also be eligible for specific project support.

The IBF grant guidelines report a preference for projects with a statewide or regional impact, and will consider local projects with significant local support. More detailed information including comprehensive instructions about completing an application, the grant review timeline, criteria for evaluating the grant, are contained with the Grant Guidelines.

For more information about the Illinois Bar Foundation’s Grants program guidelines, application or procedures, please call (312) 726-6072 or email IBFGrants@isba.org.

The Illinois Bar Foundation is the charitable affiliate of the Illinois State Bar Association.

Holderman to head ISBA in three years

Paula Holderman

Paula Hudson Holderman has been elected 3rd Vice President of ISBA. Holderman, Chief Attorney Development Officer at Winston & Strawn LLP in Chicago, will serve a year in each of the three vice presidential posts before taking office as president in 2013. She will be sworn in as 3rd vice president at the ISBA Annual Meeting in June. At that time, Mark Hassakis of Mt. Vernon will be sworn in as president, John Locallo of Chicago will become president-elect, and John Thies of Urbana will be 2nd vice president.

Holderman has been an active member of the ISBA for more than 25 years since then-president Richard Thies appointed her to the Criminal Justice Section Council in 1984 while she was serving as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Champaign County trying murder and other felony cases. She also served as zoning counsel to the Champaign County Board. She is proud to have been the first woman to serve as president of the Champaign County Bar Association. Later, she was elected to the ISBA Assembly from the 6th Judicial Circuit.

After relocating to the Chicago area in 1989, she had a suburban solo practice focusing on real estate and school zoning matters for four years before she began teaching at the John Marshall Law School. She taught trial advocacy and supervised the school’s clinical programs until 1999. At that time, Holderman was hired by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to professionalize the hiring and training processes for its 900 attorneys. In 2002, she joined Winston & Strawn LLP as its director of professional development and was recently named global Chief Attorney Development Officer for the firm.

Paula is married to James Holderman, Chief Judge of the Federal District of Illinois, and they have four grown children and one granddaughter.

ISBA President John O’Brien presents “The Papers of Abraham Lincoln” to libraries throughout the state

ISBA Presiden John O'Brien (right) presents "The Papers of Abraham Lincoln" to Lincoln Library Director Nancy Huntley as Lincoln re-creator Randy Duncan looks on.

ISBA President John O'Brien (right) presents "The Papers of Abraham Lincoln" to Lincoln Library Director Nancy Huntley as Lincoln re-creator Randy Duncan looks on at the ISBA's Illinois Bar Center in Springfield.

ISBA President John O’Brien presented a complete, four-volume set of hardcover books, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, to the public libraries in Belleville, Edwardsville and Springfield on Friday and in Danville, Decatur and Bloomington on Tuesday.

The ISBA, in partnership with its charitable affiliate the Illinois Bar Foundation, purchased sets for all 102 Illinois counties as a contribution to the Illinois Bicentennial celebration of Lincoln’s birth on Feb. 12, 2009.

“Public libraries throughout the state will now have this important set of books that include details of his 50 most prominent cases,” O’Brien said. “It is a lasting tribute to the most revered lawyer in the history of our state and nation.”

The Papers, a long-term project dedicated to identifying, imaging and publishing all documents written by or to Abraham Lincoln during his lifetime (1809-1865), is considered the most comprehensive collection of texts during his life. With the inclusion of correspondence, richer annotation and closer attention to details, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln offers a fresh, new look at the words and works of one of America’s most admired citizens and opens new vistas on a critical period of the nation’s history.

Click here to view a photo gallery from these events.

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