MCLEAN COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION
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MCBA Newsletter                                                         ​                                            july 13, 2020 


2020
July Events
7/14/20 (Tues.)
​Annual Bar Meeting

7/17/20 (Fri.)
"Breakfast with the Bar" at Scout's


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


7/24/20 (Fri.)
"Breakfast with the Bar" at Scout's
​
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
11/03/20 (Tues.)
Law & Justice Center Closed
​2020 General Election Day
​

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
12/25 (Fri.)
Law & Justice Center Closed

2021
​January Events

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

for the most current 11th circuit judicial updates


MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Well, it is that time to pass the baton onto George Wood, who I know will do a wonderful job in leading our Bar Association into the next year!
 
It was a great privilege and honor to serve as your President over this past year plus. To say that it was a fun, interesting and trying journey would be an understatement. Last June, I received the reins from Judge Lawrence at a time when I had a heavy heart with the very recent passing of my Mother. We started my tenure off with a bang, however, with great CLEs, social events and an overwhelming amount of volunteers from the MCBA for Bruegala resulting in a wonderful windfall for Prairie State Legal Services. And, then in the interests of trying new things after our mainstay holiday season speaker, Justice Knecht retired from this gig, we closed out 2019 with holiday trivia and gifts for our winners. We had a great turnout of carolers at the McLean County Nursing Home so I think we will be asked back! Lastly, with the hard work of our Social chairs, the holiday Happy Hour was a huge success.
 
We enter into 2020 with high hopes and aspirations for our CLEs and Bar function. Our Law Day committee was hard at work to bring something new, an evening gala with a great theme: 100th anniversary of the Suffrage Movement. Then, the blasted five letter word surfaces and things came to a screeching halt. Not to be deterred, however, we regroup and tweak our monthly meetings to provide CLEs via Zoom. A big thanks to the CLE committee and our presenters for stepping up when we needed it the most. Now, on the cusp of our Annual meeting, albeit a month later than usual, we are treading new waters once again. A Zoom Annual meeting with some of our usual important matters of business, such as the Memorial Resolutions and presentation of the Young Lawyer of the Year award, pushed to a later date down the road. On a side note, Congratulations to Emily Petri as our Young Lawyer of the Year award recipient !
 
Despite all of these strange and difficult times, particularly over the last four months, this has been a wonderful and exciting journey. We bid farewell to Judge Lawrence from the BOG with great thanks for his years of service to the MCBA. We welcome Peter Brandt and Jenna Finegan.
 
I wanted to express my gratitude for all of the committees and their work over this past year and to all of our members for your support and attendance at and work for our monthly luncheons, charitable efforts and social events. I continue to encourage all of our members, young and seasoned alike, to become involved in our Bar, join a committee, volunteer for Prairie State and Mock Trials, etc. The work can be time-consuming and trying at times, but well worth it.
 
Thank you all once again. I was truly honored to sit at the helm of the McLean County Bar Association ! Continue to Be Well and Be Safe..
Hope to see you all in person very soon!
 ave a great week
 ​​​Joe Foley


court news



July 9th, 2020
 
To:  The McLean County Bar Association
 
I hope all of you had a nice and relaxing 4th of July even though Covid-19 may have altered your plans.  I am pleased to report that things are moving along in all 11th Circuit Courthouses as we continue to work through case backlogs, while prioritizing cases to move forward as safely and expeditiously as possible. 
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The Courts continue to operate under Administrative Order 2020-19.  With the pandemic evolving daily, we are in a “holding pattern” right now in terms of court operations.  While more in-person hearings are taking place, we must still be vigilant to not risk people’s health and welfare by reverting to pre-pandemic in-person hearing levels too fast.  Fortunately, many Judges, Attorneys and litigants have responded positively to more remote hearings in a variety of case-types.  Preliminarily, it seems in the civil dockets that we are seeing fewer pro se litigants fail to appear as they embrace the remote hearing technology, while at the same time not costing the litigants time off work and/or arranging childcare to attend some hearings.

While we could not have predicted remote hearings to this magnitude four months ago, I can’t predict what the future of remote hearings will look like other than I think they are here to stay.  We look forward to further guidance from the Illinois Supreme Court as it continues to study the long-term implementation of remote hearings throughout the State.

We look forward to further ramping up court operations as soon as is possible and thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

Stay safe.
 
With regards,
Chief Judge Mark A. Fellheimer
 
Should you have any questions or concerns on court operations, please contact the Trial Court Administrator, William Scanlon at (309) 888-5266.

logan county
court news

amendment to the logan county 2020 jury calendar

annual meeting
Tuesday - july 14, ​2020
noon via zoom

Members, please join us at our annual meeting via zoom. Important business will include a summary of committee reports, a vote on open Board positions and the transition for the 2020-2021 term. Registration closes at 11:00 am today. 

collections
TUESDAY - JULY 21, ​2020
NOON VIA ZOOM

Up to Two Hours General CLE - APPROVED

​Please join the McLean County Bar Association in welcoming Judge David Butler (Ret.). This two-hour program will focus on various aspects of pursuing or defending a collection action.  The first hour of the program will address filing a collection suit and obtaining a judgment.  Common procedural issues will be explored as well as some specific causes of action such as credit card debt, medical bills and services, promissory notes, and home repairs.  This course will provide a brief survey some statutes that relate to collections actions
​
The second hour of the CLE program will concentrate on collection of judgments.  Specific collection mechanisms will be examined such as wage deductions, non-wage garnishment, Citations To Discover Assets, Installment Payment Orders, and revival of judgments.  ​
CLE Registration

June 25, 2020
 
To our Real Estate Partners:
 
As Illinois proceeds into Phase 4 of Restore Illinois this week, we wanted to take this opportunity to provide a reminder to the Realtor community of our procedures with closings. All five local title companies agree that it remains in the best interest of all involved to keep closings limited to those individuals that are required to sign documents and their legal representatives. We will continue to be available for Realtors to drop off items for closings, but request that Realtors do not attend closings until notice has been given that we are welcoming additional guests.

Arrangements have been made with each office for the delivery of commission checks, either via overnight delivery, hand delivery by the title company, or a designated representative from the brokerage who comes and picks them up. If you have questions regarding a specific transaction, please contact the title company directly.

We thank you for your continued cooperation.
 
Warmest regards,
 
Patrick O'Rourke         Amy Yoder           Tom Hundman         Cindy Bandeko             Sandi Bays
Alliance Land Title      Chicago Title        Frontier Title            Illinois Title Group       The Title Center
309-664-2224               309-828-5097        309-664-8833           309-664-8580                309-661-8230

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS
UPDATED

11th circuit order to come
Please note that the 11th Circuit Order will clarify the holiday schedule. The 2020 Holiday Schedule to include November 3, 2020 as "2020 General Election Day" as a court holiday has to be adopted by the individual circuits. The will be an Order to come for the 11th Circuit schedule to come at a later time. 

lawyers on the move

Nargis A. Khokhar practices downtown as Of Counsel for Robert T. Varney & Associates. 

​Ms. Khokhar's GAL/ Family law practice operates from another address. 
Please use the following address and number for all future correspondence and communication. Thank you!
Nargis Khokhar
2101 Hackberry Road
Bloomington, IL 61704
(309) 696-0542


​Announcing
the IBF
COVID-19
​Lawyers Care
Relief Fund

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Helping lawyers and their families through uncertain times

Helping attorneys through the toughest times of their lives has been at the core of what we at the Illinois Bar Foundation (IBF) have done since 1951. Today, we recognize that the COVID-19 crisis has presented all of us with a new set of unforeseen, unpredictable challenges. With limited court access and futures uncertain for many, the IBF has established the COVID-19 Lawyers Care Relief Fund as an extension of our existing Warren Lupel Lawyers Care Fund. This initiative will enable us to further our reach to even more attorneys in need throughout the state and will specifically provide financial aid to attorneys struggling to make ends meet as a result of this crisis. This special relief fund has been made possible by a generous cy pres award directed to the IBF by our friends at Edelson PC.

The IBF COVID-19 Lawyers Care Relief Fund will provide one-time, non-renewable lump sum payments of $2,000 to attorneys facing financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Attorneys must be based in Illinois and in good standing with the ARDC to be eligible for a grant. Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis through July 15. Please be assured that all information provided in the application process, as well as the identity of all applicants and recipients, will remain confidential.

Almost 70 years of providing aid to attorneys in crisis has proven time and time again how generous our profession is, and how committed attorneys from all walks of life and all parts of the state are to helping our own. If you know a colleague who is struggling, please share our application and let them know the IBF and our supporters are here for them. If you are in a position to contribute and looking for a way to help those less fortunate, please consider making a donation of any amount to the IBF COVID-19 Lawyers Care Relief Fund.
To Support or Download an Application - Click HERE

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LAP VIRTUAL OFFERS NEW CLE CONTENT


​Fear No Evil:
COVID19 Driven Anxiety

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Click on the LAP logo to find the home page.
​

LAP Virtual CLE’s are offered to support Illinois’ legal community year-round. In response to the COVID19 pandemic, LAP releases new CLE content Fear No Evil: COVID19 Driven Anxiety, one (1) Mental Health/Substance Abuse, Professional Responsibility credit delivered by LAP Deputy Director, Tony Pacione, LCSW, CSADC.
​
Description: Not too many things in our lives motivate us to change our behavior like fear. Fear when associated with great uncertainty, often elicits strong emotions and anxious thoughts that we can easily conflate, or confuse with facts. This presentation explains how fear, uncertainty, and anxiety all too often lead to a continual feedback loop that creates more fear and anxiety during the current pandemic. Two evidenced based practices to manage uncertainty and fear, while reducing anxiety are presented. Up to six (6) CLE credits can be earned, access to all of LAP Virtual CLE’s available 24/7 at this LINK.

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Information about a Virtual Pro Bono Opportunity to Help Those in Need
Illinois Free Legal Answers is a virtual legal clinic where low-income Illinoisans can submit a question online to ask a lawyer for help with a civil legal issue. Volunteer lawyers then log onto the site at their convenience and answer questions waiting in the queue that they feel comfortable addressing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this is a great way to help those in need from the comfort and safety of your home. 
​

A project of the American Bar Association, Free Legal Answers was created as a national platform to increase access to advice and information about non-criminal legal matters for those who cannot afford legal assistance. It is now active in 42 jurisdictions within the United States, including Illinois, with the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) as the statewide administrator. Most clients’ questions tend to be in one of the big three civil legal aid categories—family, housing and consumer law. However, since the pandemic and resulting shutdown, now people are also asking about employment and benefits issues. PILI provides the necessary support, including an online resource page with training videos and sample questions and answers. The ABA provides malpractice coverage for volunteer lawyers. You can learn more by clicking on the Free Legal Answers Logo below or visit the site to register at this LINK.
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covid-19
guidance for employees & staff

Please click on the above logo to view the IDPH website.
As you are probably already familiar with the personal safety guidance, there is also a need for an awareness of employee and staff of businesses. Please see this LINK for more information.

tuesday - july 21, 2020
'collections'

[up to 2 hours general cle credit approved]

Obtaining and Collecting Judgments in Debt Collection Actions:
Representing both Plaintiffs and Defendants
Registration will open July

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Click on the Logo above for the home page.


​Help The Immigration Project help others become Citizens!


McLean County Immigrant Resource Guide
LINK
​
View the May Newsletter HERE

mark your calendar

2020

​July 14 - Annual Meeting
​July 21 - CLE - Collections 
​September - Law Day Gala - an evening event -  more information to come
October 21-22 - The Guardian Ad Litem Event - more information to come
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.
Please RSVP ​ by replying to Erica Fleming erica.fleming@pnc.com and include a list the names of the colleagues who will be attending. If you have questions please call Erica at 309.655.5312

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


compeer financial

seeks
information
Posted July 13 - End August 31

in-house attorney


MACON COUNTY PUBLIC DEFENDER

seeks
information
Posted July 6 - End August 31

complex Litigation counsel


macon county public defender

seeks
information
Posted: June 23 - End July 13

assistant public defender



​cox & fulk llc

seeks
information
Posted: June 29 - End July 20

legal assistant or 
​paralegal


bar committee activities

2020
​BOG Meeting - July 7 noon
Law Day Committee Meeting - July 17 noon
​CLE Committee Meeting - July 28 noon
​GAL Committee Meeting - July 29 noon
​BOG Meeting - August 11 noon


save the dates
​2020

july  14 -  annual meeting 
july 21 - cle luncheon or virtual meeting - 'collections'
​SEPTEMBER 25 - 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 - ​resuming Friday, July 8!
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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