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At this time, I am looking for volunteers to serve as proctors. We cannot run this conference without volunteers and we need your help. Proctors are responsible for introducing the speaker, reading some brief announcements, passing out handouts and evaluation forms, overseeing the sign-in/sign-out process, distributing CLE certificates, and thanking the speaker. It is very simple to do, but so very important. If you would like to proctor any of the seminars that you are attending, please indicate here.

Join us for Opening Remarks and Quick Announcements and to recognize our Sponsors and Exhibitors, as well as Board Members, Committees and Chairpersons, in the 8th Floor Auditorium.

Join us as Bill Anaya, a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Task Force on Unauthorized Practice of Law, discusses the practice of law in Illinois, what services may be provided only by lawyers, and those services that can be provided by non-lawyers. The Task Force on Unauthorized Practice of Law seeks out, identifies, and remedies injuries to the public and to the integrity of the profession caused by the unauthorized practice of law, in addition to assisting in educating attorneys, judges, and the public regarding unauthorized practice of law issues.

William Anaya, Attorney, Greensfelder

Even though it has only been in existence for roughly 30 years, the limited liability company – the “LLC” has steadily risen to become the most popular statutory business entity in the United States. Compared to the laws governing its rival the corporation (in existence for over 100 years), the laws governing the LLC are still in their infancy. Moreover, important changes have occurred just in the past decade. Join CT’s experts to examine the evolution of LLC statutory and case law. Stay up to date on this important business entity type and prepare for the unique issues that can arise when selecting it.

Tamara Kling, Esq., Government Relations & Regional Attorney, CT Corporation

This session will address a wide range of issues surrounding jury selection and the juror decision making process inherent in 21st Century juries. Topics will include: what and how jurors want to see and hear evidence in a case, juror bias and predispositions, jury decision making framework, juror learning styles and information retention, damages determinations, and issues incumbent with the verdict form.

Lee Diamondstein, Esq., Vice President of Strategic Accounts, Magna Legal Services

Most court filings today require legal professionals to navigate PDFs with ease and proficiency. This training focuses on how to use the legal-specific features in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to make collaborating with your legal team and preparing PDFs for court filings easier. Legal professionals will learn how to:

• Conduct text recognition for court filings
• Edit and organize PDF pages
• Compare PDFs for changes
• Comment and collaborate on PDFs
• Bates Stamp PDFs
• Redact Sensitive Information and Metadata in PDFs
• Combine PDFs into Binders or Portfolios

Julianne Nachtrab, National Training Manager, Barkley Court Reporters

Come learn what you can do as a paralegal assisting in the civil discovery process. We will discuss preparation and service of subpoenas, finding people, interviewing clients and witnesses, worrying about requests to admit, drafting interrogatories and requests to produce, responding to interrogatories and requests to produce and more. This session will touch on discovery before administrative agencies as well as state and federal courts. This session is for beginners as well as experienced paralegals.

Caren Mansfield, CLA, Baker, Baker & Krajewski LLC

In response to growing concerns of identity theft, in 2008, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPO”). The BIPO restricts businesses’ collection, storage, and disclosure of personal biometric information. Biometric data includes retina and iris scans, fingerprints, voiceprints, handprints, and face geometry. Are financial institutions or other organizations using biometrics as a way of identifying parties to a transaction, and what obligations come along with using the technology in that way? Employers, especially larger employers, should be mindful of BIPO and consider internal audits to uncover any potential areas of noncompliance.

Laura Balson, Partner, Golan Christie Taglia LLP

Tips, tricks, and best practices for paralegals who need to make PowerPoints for courtroom presentations, mediations, or other talks. This session will be taught in the Computer Lab and will be a hands-on PowerPoint how-to session, and we will go through not only the nuts and bolts of PowerPoint, but we'll also cover overall workflow, collaborating with other team members, and other time-saving techniques.

Michael Ko, Groundwork Trial Consulting

The presentation will give a brief update on current sexual harassment laws and trends and will then focus on how to conduct thorough and effective investigations with a focus on sexual harassment complaints and eliminating such complaints from the workplace

Joe Yastrow, President, Laner Muchin, Ltd.

Writing is communicating. Judges can decide a case entirely on that which is presented to them in written form and without a spoken word. It's an inevitable truth: the outcome of a client’s case can hinge entirely and only upon the effectiveness of the attorney’s final written product. If longevity in your career as a paralegal is important to you, knowing how to write effectively is critical. Learn how to be a more effective legal writer and avoid some of the pitfalls that will undeniably befall the unprepared.

Nicholas G. Kourvetaris, Esq.

This seminar has been cancelled

Litigation paralegals play an important role in helping to prepare discovery requests. However, when it comes to production formats there are still disputes regarding whether loose electronic documents (e.g. Word documents, Excel spreadsheets) should be produced in “native” format or as TIFF or PDF files. While Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 says that responding parties do not need to produce documents in their native format, some requesting parties argue that anything but native is not “reasonably useable.” This session will explain the law regarding format of production, the meaning of producing a document in a form in that is reasonably usable, and how to push back when opposing counsel does not produce in the format you requested.

Ryan Tilot, Associate, eDiscovery & Information Governance, Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Over the past year we have seen significant changes to the area of immigration law. These changes include the Travel Ban, elimination/changes to DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), elimination of TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for many countries, changes in the adjudication of business visas, sweeping changes being proposed to the family-based immigration system, and many more. This presentation will cover some of these changes, why they matter, and how you can get involved in this meaningful area of law.

Fiona McEntee, Managing Attorney, McEntee Law Group

This class will advance your skills in legal research using Westlaw. The students will solve real-life legal research problems interactively in class. The point is to demonstrate the variety of ways to conduct Westlaw research, including both basic and advanced search techniques. The learner will leave the class with a better understanding of how to approach a research task and with the capability to better utilize the full functionality of Westlaw. Tips and tricks offered will include using the best general resources for the novice and the most effective search methods to weed out irrelevant content.

Judge Margaret Mullen, Resolute Systems LLC