CBA Record Sept. 2016

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PRESIDENT’S PAGE
BY DANIEL M. KOTIN
Adapting for the Future While
Maintaining Our Traditions
The Chicago
Bar Association
OFFICERS
President
Daniel M. Kotin
Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, LLC
First Vice President
Hon. Thomas R. Mulroy
Circuit Court of Cook County
Second Vice President
Steven M. Elrod
Holland & Knight LLP
Secretary
Jesse H. Ruiz
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Treasurer
Maurice Grant
Grant Law LLC
Executive Director
Terrence M. Murphy
Assistant Executive Director
Elizabeth A. McMeen
BOARD OF
MANAGERS
Ashly I. Boesche
Alan R. Borlack
Hon. Maureen E. Connors
Mary K. Curry
Hon. Thomas M. Durkin
Hon. Timothy C. Evans
Hon. Shelvin Louise Marie Hall
Robert F. Harris
Patricia Brown Holmes
Matthew T. Jenkins
Michele M. Jochner
Kathryn Carso Liss
Pamela S. Menaker
Paul J. Ochmanek Jr.
Eileen M. O’Connor
Nigel F. Telman
Frank G. Tuzzolino
Andrew W. Vail
Allison L. Wood
8 SEPTEMBER 2016
Technology is advancing at an unprec-
edented rate. Even though the legal
system has been behind the curve
in adapting to technology, our profession
is now embracing this new reality, and we
must be prepared for more advances that
emerge virtually every month.
Twenty-five years ago, most written
legal communication was conducted via
U.S. Mail. Then, fax machines became the
norm. Now, more than anything, our legal
communication is done via e-mail.
Twenty-five years ago, legal research was
performed using law books in libraries.
Now, all research is on-line, and traditional
law libraries have virtually ceased to exist.
Twenty-five years ago, court filings were all
paper documents that were stamped by court
clerks, copied, and mailed to other parties.
Now, e-filing is required in many jurisdictions.
Despite what feels like a seismic shift in our
legal landscape, the reality is that these changes
are just the tip-of-the-iceberg, and many more
dramatic changes are on the horizon.
For example, in England, small civil
claims are already being adjudicated entirely
on-line. Plaintiffs submit their claims and
supporting evidence over the internet. Like-
wise, defendants answer claims and provide
conflicting evidence on-line. Ultimately, a
judge or magistrate decides the case based
upon these submissions and distributes his
or her judgment electronically. There is no
face-to-face interaction between the parties,
nor the judge.
Although our American right to a trial
by jury as well as due process protections
may make this English method impossible
in the United States, we must accept the
fact that our legal system 10 years from
now will look vastly different than it does
today. With that I mind, we now must
do what we can to stay in front of these
changes and be prepared for them when
they occur.
In our ongoing efforts to improve access
to justice in our community, we continue
to support the expansion of innovations
in our small claims courts. Too often,
Cook County residents cannot afford to
participate in our legal system because
court appearances require litigants to
miss work, lose pay, and potentially lose
their jobs. Judge Ken Wright, Presiding
Judge of the First Municipal District, has
implemented a “Flex Call,” which affords
citizens the opportunity to come to court
before work in the morning or after work
in the evenings and thereby participate in
the justice system without compromising
their livelihoods.
In a similar vein, we are exploring
and promoting the concept of opening a
branch courthouse in a big-box store in an
underprivileged Chicago neighborhood.
After all, if citizens can have their eyes
examined and purchase glasses at Costco,
why shouldn’t they be able to adjudicate
a legal dispute with their landlord at the
same location?