Basic Skills for the Illinois Newly Admitted Attorney

The Basic Skills for the Illinois Newly Admitted Attorney program helps bridge the gap between education and real world application.  

Every session is curated to provide engaging content featuring examples and scenarios applicable to daily life for law practitioners including e- discovery, mediation, alternate fee arrangements and legal malpractice. 

Session 1: "Leveling the Playing Field: Elimination of Bias in the Legal Profession" - Wendy Patrick (60 Minutes)

This program covers the applicable laws and standards regarding bias and discrimination, including the different types of protected classes and their specific application within the legal profession. It enhances the viewer’s ability to recognize signs of both overt and subtle bias in the legal workplace while providing strategies for eliminating bias and discrimination within the law firm, courtroom, and when dealing with clients.

San Diego County Deputy District Attorney, Wendy Patrick, illuminates how sensitivity to both overt and subtle signs of bias and discrimination is paramount.  Ms. Patrick reveals tools to staying aware of your law firm's practices and educating employees. Additionally, she analyzes options when faced with bias and discrimination dilemmas and the ethical rules and standards that specifically address these situations. 

Session 2: "Alternative Fee Arrangements that Don't Run Afoul of the Ethical Rules" - Rania Sedhom, Melissa Mayhew (61 Minutes)

Time and time again, law firms choose traditional billing models to exchange their knowledge for compensation. But, as the economic climate changes and technology advances, there will be diminishing tolerance for increasing hourly rates or even blended rates that attempt to lower the overall costs of service. In some instances, attorneys may simply not want to change because the traditional, hourly billing model has worked for them and they perceive that it will continue to do so despite changing tides. In other instances, attorneys may hesitate to alter from the traditional model in fear that doing so may cause them to break an ethical rule.

Join attorneys Rania Sedhom and Melissa Mayhew of Sedhom & Mayhew, PLLC (A Bespoke Law FirmTM) as they illustrate the benefits of alternative fee arrangements (AFAs), ethical considerations in creating AFAs, and highlights from some successful alternative client relationships. The presentation explores the ever-increasing popularity of a still under-utilized approach to the practice of law. Learn how to create an AFA without running afoul of the ABA’s ethical rules.  Distinctions or parallels (as applicable) from New York and California are also explored.

Session 3: "Maximizing Your Potential for Success at Mediation" - John DiBlasi (60 Minutes)

Mediation has become one of the most valuable tools an attorney can use to settle a dispute. In this presentation, National Law Journal’s #1 mediator of 2014, Hon. John DiBlasi, discusses the effective tools to maximize profit within meditation. The presentation begins with skills to prepare for mediation.  From there, Justice DiBlasi offers techniques for having a valuable joint session along with settlement agreements. He concludes the presentation with an in-depth conversation on how to maintain negotiations post-mediation.

Justice DiBlasi is a former Justice of the New York State Supreme Court and is exclusively affiliated with National Arbitration and Mediation.

Session 4: "Electronic Discovery: Avoiding Disaster (Part 1)" - Cynthia Augello (60 Minutes)

Cynthia A. Augello introduces participants to the ever-evolving field of e-discovery. This program provides a foundation for attorneys litigating in today’s world by providing an overview of the seminal line of e-discovery cases known as Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC, which essentially created today’s current standards for an attorney and his or her clients’ e-discovery obligations, the importance of following the e-discovery rules, and the potential consequences of not following these rules.

Session 5: "Legal Malpractice Claims: A Comprehensive Roadmap" - Andrew Bluestone - (121 Minutes)

This course will discuss the elements of legal malpractice in tort, legal malpractice in contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and violation of Judiciary Law § 487.

Beyond the mere elements of each of these causes of action, and defenses to them, this course will discuss the concepts of standing, the statute of limitations, tolling of the statute through continuous representation, tolling of the statute through equitable estoppel, proofs of the causes of action, how damages are calculated, the questions of collectability, the applicability of res judicata and collateral estoppel.

Additionally, the program will discuss the use of experts (who may be an expert, scope of the expert’s testimony) and legal malpractice trial, including the scope of openings, the necessary witnesses to make out a prima facie case, scope of cross-examination of defendant, of defendant’s expert, and the applicable Pattern Jury Instructions.