MCLEAN COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION
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MCBA Newsletter                                                     updated                            april 13, 2020 



2020
April Events
4/14/20 (Tues.) - Virtual
BOG Meeting
​
4/17/20 (Fri.) - Cancelled
"Breakfast with the Bar" at Scouts


​4/21/20 (Tues.) - ZOOM
CLE Luncheon

4/24/20 (Fri.) - Virtual
Family Law Bar Update/Check in Meeting

4/28/20 (Tues.)
CLE Committee Meeting

May Events
5/1/20 (Fri.)
"Breakfast with the Bar" at Scouts

5/8/20 (Fri.)
"Breakfast with the Bar" at Scouts

5/13/20 (Wed.)
​
GAL Committee Meeting
​

5/15/20 (Fri.)
"Breakfast with the Bar" at Scouts

5/22/20 (Fri.)
"Breakfast with the Bar" at Scouts

5/25/20 (Mon.)
Law & Justice Center Closed

5/26/20 (Tues.)

​CLE Committee Meeting
​
5/29/20 (Fri.)
"Breakfast with the Bar" at Scouts

​June Events
6/16/20 (Tues.)
​Annual Bar Meeting

July Events
7/3/20 (Fri.)
Law & Justice Center Closed

7/21/20 (Tues.)
​CLE Luncheon-Collections
​

August Events
8/18/20 (Tues.)
​CLE Luncheon

September Events
9/7/20 (Mon.)
Law & Justice Center Closed

9/15/20 (Tues.)
​CLE Luncheon

9/25/20 (Fri.)
Law Day Celebration Gala

October Events
10/12/20 (Mon.)
Law & Justice Center Closed

10/20/20 (Tues.)

​CLE Luncheon

10/21 & 22 (Tues. & Wed.)
​GAL Conference


November Events
11/11/20 (Mon.)
Law & Justice Center Closed

11/17/20 (Tues.)

​CLE Luncheon

11/26 & 11/27/20 (Thurs. & Fri.)
Law & Justice Center Closed


December Events
12/24 & 25 (Thurs. & Fri.)
Law & Justice Center Closed

2021
​January Events

1/1/21 (Fri.)
Law & Justice Center Closed

Letter to MCBA membership from Cheif Judge Fellheimer
RE covid-19 planning
​04-15-20
COVID-19 updates for the 11th circuit

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Easter weekend. As we take a moment to look forward I hope that you are joining me in continuing the effort to keep some semblance of normalcy during this unusual time.

I hope you are enjoying the new MCBA Facebook page! If you are interested in being a part of this community, please submit your request to the private page. We are keeping this private to ensure that only genuine MCBA members are allowed access.  

Even though I have participated in several MCBA committee meetings via Zoom conferencing, I remain optimistic for in-person meetings soon. The CLE committee is working diligently to bring you monthly CLE opportunities via Zoom. They plan on offering Tuesday, April 21st CLE via Zoom. Please see the registration LINK below. And if the current restrictions remain in place heading into the Summer, we will consider Retired Judge David Butler's presentation on Collections will be presented, via Zoom, on Tuesday, July 21st.

Obviously, we will keep you advised of the specifics of the Bar's Annual meeting, currently scheduled for June 16th, as we draw closer. I also remain hopeful for an early Summer social get-together.

Since all of the social cancellations, we thought it would be best to redirect our focus to support our healthcare providers at Advocate BroMenn and the OSF St. Joseph Medical Center. This week and next, the MCBA will be providing a number of boxed lunches/meals to each hospital. Simply put, we want to show our appreciation for the dangerous work being undertaken by these brave healthcare workers and to support our local eateries during these financially difficult times.
​
Finally, nominations remain open for The Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. The deadline is Thursday, April 30.  

Continue to Be well and Be safe. 
Best regards,
​​​Joe Foley


announcement

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I hope everyone is doing well during this challenging time. Prairie State Legal Services is fully staffed and accepting cases. Our physical office is closed. Our staff are working from home. Our staff’s contact information has not changed. Please contact Adrian at abarr@pslegal.org or (309) 433-0065 if you have any questions.     Adrian Barr

2020
MCBA YOUNG LAWYER OF THE YEAR
AWARD a
PPLICATION

DEADLINE - April 30th
The MCBA is now accepting nominations for its 2020 Young Lawyer of the Year Award. In order to be considered for the award, one must be (1) under the age of 36 or less than 10 years in practice, and (2) a member in good standing with the McLean County Bar Association. Evaluation criteria include employment history, individual achievements in the practice of law, service to the MCBA, and community/pro bono service.​
Nomination Form

past young lawyer award winners

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​adam w. ghrist
​
2016

YOUNG LAWYER AWARD WINNER


Adam W. Ghrist is an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), where he works in all areas related to general criminal prosecution. Upon joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in June of 2018, he was assigned to the Peoria Illinois Branch Office of the Central District of Illinois, where in 2018, CBS News ranked Peoria Illinois as the 18th deadliest city in the country. Immediately upon enter the US Attorney’s Office Adam was assigned to a multi-defendant racketeering and murder conspiracy involving a violent Peoria street gang. In December of 2019, after an eight-week trial of twelve defendants, the jury convicted all twelve defendants of engaging in a racketeering enterprise, as well as a number of shootings and murders between 2013 and 2018.
 
While Adam has handled matters including criminal appeals, white-collar crime, child exploitation, narcotics, fraud, as well as immigration, he has been designated by DOJ to focus on areas related to violent crime. He is the Peoria Coordinator for Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN), DOJ’s strategic approach to reducing gun violence through various crime reduction initiatives. Since becoming PSN Coordinator, Adam worked with the McLean County’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) to add a designee of the United States Attorney’s Office to the CJCC to better coordinate local and federal efforts to stop gun violence–he currently serves as that designee. Adam was also recently named the District Wide Coordinator for all Disruption and Early Engagement Programs. In this role, Adam is tasked with initiating programs designed to effectively and efficiently disrupt potential mass shootings and other rapidly mobilizing threats of targeted violence.
 
Prior to becoming a federal prosecutor, Adam was the First Assistant, McLean County State’s Attorney, where he managed operations for the Criminal Division of the office and supervised a staff of approximately 40 people. While serving as First Assistant in 2016, he received the McLean County Bar Association’s Young Lawyer of the Year Award. Prior to that, he spent time leading the office’s Child Exploitation Division, where in 2014, he received the Moxie Award from the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault for outstanding efforts in sexual assault prosecutions. He also spent four years prosecuting state narcotics related crimes and handling all money laundering and civil forfeiture matters; and in 2010, the Illinois’ M.E.G. Commanders and Task Force Association recognized him for “outstanding accomplishments in narcotics prosecution.” Adam continues to be a member of the McLean County Bar Association where he has been an active member of the Lawyers in the Classroom and served on the Underwood Professionalism Committee, where he helped draft the Bar Association’s Principles of Professionalism.
 
Adam graduated from Illinois State University in 2004, and in 2017 was inducted into the ISU Student Affairs Hall of Fame. He graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 2007 where he gave the commencement address as the John S. Rendlemen Award recipient, chosen by his classmates as the student most likely to make a difference in the practice of law.
 
Adam is married to his college sweetheart, Tracie. Together they have three young children. They are both actively involved at Eastview Christian Church, where they lead a bible study and have been marriage mentors. Adam also volunteer with Bloomington-Normal Cursillo and Home Sweet Home Mission. 

Community Supervised Non-Custodial Visitation Facilitator

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maureen schiller

Please be advised that Maureen Schiller, of Bloomington, IL, will be assuming the position of Community Supervised Non-Custodial Visitation Facilitator from retiring Marie McCurdy, LCSW, ICDUP. The Children’s Home & Aid Family Visitation Center will continue to schedule services for clients with Orders of Protection and who are not involved with the Child Welfare System. Maureen, a National Certified Guardian, has extensive experience in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in guardianship matters, as well as court processes and reporting requirements. As our community opens up, Maureen will begin scheduling through the Children’s Home and Aid Family Visitation Center but will also be accepting other cases where the Visitation Center is not involved.
For more information, she may be contacted at maureenschiller@gmail.com or (309)242-1437.

tuesday - april 21 - cle
via
​zoom

'WHO'S BIAS?
​THE TRUTH ABOUT IMPLICIT BIAS'

1 HOUR OF professional responsibility
diveristy & inclusion 
[APPROVed]

The Underwood Committee on Professionalism cordially invites you to attend a presentation on 'Who's Bias? The truth about implicit Bias'. This McLean County Bar Association sponsored event is presented in conjunction with the Public Initiative Law Interest [PILI]. The presentation will be lead by ​Latasha Barnes, JD who has worked to advance equity and inclusion in the delivery of legal services. She joins us from the Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.
​
​For those in the legal profession, understanding the ways implicit bias influences our choices and approaches towards legal issues can make a huge impact not only on ways we structure our practice but also how we build a legal system that provides justice and effective service to its citizens. Learn techniques and practical tips to interrupt biases and practice in a culturally sensitive manner, as well as promote inclusion within your law practice and in the legal profession.
Registration

rescheduled

tuesday - july 21, 2020
collections

Obtaining and Collecting Judgments in Debt Collection Actions:
Representing both Plaintiffs and Defendants

[up to 2 hours general cle credit approved]

Registration will open in June

​updated

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​Help The Immigration Project help others become Citizens!

McLean County Immigrant Resource Guide LINK
​
Over the last ten years, Immigration Project has helped over 500 Lawful Permanent Residents to naturalize-be sworn in as U.S. citizenship! We would love your assistance in conducting legal eligibility screenings and in completing appropriate USCIS forms. We will provide training. Spanish is not required, though helpful for about a quarter of the cases and if necessary we can provide interpreters.
 
In-house clinics are held on a Thursday or Friday, with legal screenings in the morning, followed by a different team of form-fillers. We really need help with the legal screenings 9am-1pm, but would also love help with form-filling if you wish.  (Our next Normal Citizenship Clinics is scheduled for May 15th, but subject to change due to COVID-19.)
 
We normally have quarterly, Saturday workshops in Monmouth, Springfield, Kankakee, and Normal.  Our Monmouth June 6th workshop is still on the schedule.  If interested in dedicating your Saturday and/or doing some direct representation on other types of cases, please contact Danielle DeWinter ddewinter@immigrationproject.org .

mark your calendar

2020

April 21 - CLE Luncheon ZOOM offering 
April 24 - Family Law Bar Update/Check in Meeting
​July 21 - CLE Luncheon - Collections
​September - Law Day Gala - an evening event -  more information to come
October 21-22 - The Guardian Ad Litem Event
November 13-15 - The ISU Invitational Mock Trial Tournament

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2020 BLOOMINGTON CANNON ESTATE PLANNING
TELECONFERENCE SERIES PROGRAM
​HOSTED BY PNC WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Time: 11:30 am     ​Location: Same
PNC Wealth Management
202 E. Washington St.
2nd Floor Conference Room
Bloomington, IL  61701
 1.5 hours of Continuing Legal Education Credit will be earned for attendance at each call.
A certificate of attendance will be given to each participant.

As part of PNC’s ongoing effort to protect the health of our employees, customers and business partners from the potential impacts of the Coronavirus, we will be canceling the April 2nd Cannon teleconference. We have been in contact with Cannon Financial Institute to see if there is a way to offer CLE credit, where you are able to access the program from your home or office. Should this current health climate stretch into May, we will work toward being able to do that. So stay tuned…..
 
 Jennifer Julius Administrative Assistant - jennifer.julius@pnc.com   (P) 309-655-5484
 PNC Wealth Management, 301 SW Adams, D2-Y701-03-3, Peoria, IL  61602

April 30
Developing and Keeping Business for Estate Planning and Trust Professionals

June 4
The Relationship Among Trust Beneficiaries and Trustees, the IRS and the Courts
 
July 9
Ethics-Based Obligations in Specific Client Engagements
​
August 6
Maximizing Flexibility With Powers of Appointment
 
September 3
Picking Up the Pieces:  Post-Divorce Planning
 
October 1
Moving the Needle With Your Clients’ Retirement Asset Planning
 
October 29
Contemporary Challenges in Trust Administration
 
December 3
Essential Asset
​Protection Planning

​January 7, 2021
Conflicts of Interest Issues Facing Estate Planning Professionals


CAREER OPPORTUNITIES



​growmark, inc

seeks
Information
Posted Mar 30 End Date Apr 27

non-attorney
legal collections & invoices assistant


STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANY

seeks
eDISCOVERY
Investment/Real estate
Posted: Mar 16 End Date April 20

2 cOUNSELors

ediscovery &
​investment/real estate finance


robert t. varney & associates

seek
Information
Posted: Mar 16 End Date Apr 13

full-time
​ATTORNEY


kraft, wood & kelly LLC

seeks
Information
Posted: Mar 16 End Date Apr 13

Associate Attorneys &
​paralegal


STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANY

seekls
information
Posted: Jan 20 End Date April 13


​counsel



bar committee activities

2020
​​​​Board of Governor's Committee Meeting - April 14 12:00 noon
CLE Committee Meeting - April 29 12:00 noon
GAL Committee Meeting - May 13 12:00 noon
Law Day Committee Meeting - May 20 12:00 noon


save the dates
​2020

may 9 - softball challenge - pending
​
SEPTEMBER 26 - LAW DAY GALA.. AN EVENING EVENT
october 21-22 -gal conference
november 13 - 15 - the isu invitational mock trial tournament


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MCBA Breakfast with the Bar - ​postponed until further notice
Remember to have “Breakfast with the Bar” every Friday morning between 8:00 am and 9:00 am. It’s a great way to meet and talk with your fellow attorneys in an informal setting. Stay for 10 minutes and have a cup of coffee or stay for an hour and have a full breakfast before court. Grab an associate, partner or friend and come.      See you Friday!


Executive Committee 
President                            
​Kathleen Kraft

2nd VP
Judge Pablo Eves

Secretary
Nargis Khokhar
1st VP
​Nathan B. Hinch

Immediate Past President
Julia Davis

Treasurer
Calli Farrell
Disclaimer:
The McLean County Bar Association (MCBA) presents the information on this web site as an information service to our members and other Internet users. While the information on this site is about legal issues, it is not legal advice. The information is not intended to create, and receipt of the information does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Those using this information should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel.
Board of Governors
John L. Pratt
Brendan Bukalski
Michael Butts
​Dean Davis


Administrative Assistant
Mary Sellmyer

​Find a Lawyer Disclaimer:
The intention of the MCBA"Find a Lawyer"search is only to refer members of the public requiring legal services to members of the MCBA who have indicated that they wish to receive referrals in a particular area of the law.

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  • MCBA Home
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  • Career Opportunities
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  • Product