CBA Record November-December 2024

THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

N ewly-admitted attorneys in Illinois have specific Newly Admitted Attorney (NAA) Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) requirements that differ from the two-year reporting period requirements. Each new attorney must complete an accredited Basic Skills Course or enroll in a mentor ing program approved by the Illinois Commission on Profession alism by their completion deadline. Newly-admitted attorneys must also complete 15 additional hours of Illinois-approved CLE credit, including any amount of professional responsibil ity (PR) credit by their completion deadline. An accredited Basic Skills Course and an approved mentoring program can both be included in the total to reach the 15 required hours. The deadline to complete the NAA requirement is one year after the last day of month in which the attorney was admitted to the Illinois bar. The deadline to report compliance is 31-days after that comple tion deadline. The CBA will hold its annual “Basic Skills Course for Newly Admitted Attorneys” program on December 11, 2024. The course satisfies the Newly Admitted Attorney requirements, including six hours of professional responsibility credit, one hour of diversity and inclusion credit, and one hour of mental health and substance abuse credit. It also provides the new lawyer with a basic “toolkit” to navigate the initial challenges they will face when entering the profession. The free program will be hosted in-person at the CBA’s headquarters and online via webcast. The program will also be recorded and made available in the CBA’s on-demand webcast library. The YLS Chair Kenny Matuszewski will kick off the program with an overview of the YLS and describe how newly licensed attorneys can get involved in the CBA. Then, Karen Johnson, Director of the Illinois MCLE Board, will discuss MCLE require ments for attorneys in the State of Illinois. New lawyers will also learn about common ethics issues for new attorneys from Mary Andreoni, Ethics Education Counsel for the Attorney Registra tion and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illi nois (ARDC), and the basics of civility in the legal profession from a panel of YLS members, which will be moderated by Judge Nichole C. Patton of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The program will include introductory training on how to navigate your first court appearance with YLS Commercial Litiga tion Committee Chair, Christopher Mackey of O’Hagan Meyer, CBA Offers Course to Help New Lawyers Navigate Practicing Law By Jennifer Byrne, CBA CLE Director

and how to take and defend a deposition with Chair of the CBA’s Tort Litigation Committee, Elizabeth Kaveny of Kaveny and Kroll. Catherine Sanders Reach, Director of the Center for Prac tice Management for the North Carolina Bar Association, will share how attorneys can supplement traditional legal research by mining the web for information, and Chair of the Solo/Small Firm Committee Matthew Kerbis will showcase how generative artificial intelligence can be used to enhance legal work. Diversity and inclusion will be the focus of a presentation from Sandra Yamate, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession, who will explain how new law yers can recognize and overcome biases as they enter the legal profession. Co-Chairs of the Mindfulness and Well-Being Com mittee, Karen Munoz of Dolan Law and Gina Crumble of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, will provide strategies for new attorneys to maintain mental health and wellness. Finally, a representative from The Chicago Bar Foundation will highlight the importance of pro bono work with information about Illinois Supreme Court pro bono rules and opportunities for service. Newly-admitted lawyers can register for the free December 11 event at Learn.ChicagoBar.org (under live seminars). The on demand version will be available approximately 2 weeks after the live event.

32 November/December 2024