A Brief Look at Supreme Court Decisions

As Bob Dylan so eloquently put it, The Times They Are A-Changin’. The Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear 60 cases during the 2022-2023 term. Long-set precedence was challenged in various cases with the decisions drastically impacting our nation. Cases relating to affirmative action, student loans, discrimination, abortion, guns, religion, and climate change - among others - made their way before the Republican-majority Court and many decisions were decided along partisan lines. However, as the recent decisions have shown, the unpredictability of the Court should not be underestimated. While many decisions followed partisan lines, the Justices united in their decisions regarding Groff v. DeJoy, Gonzalez v. Google LLC and Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh. Read More

Liana Podman

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Join us at the offices of U.S. Legal Support to meet the IPA Board of Directors and enjoy a little Pizza, Pop, Beer, Wine, and NETWORK with your fellow IPA members.  Space for this event is limited, so make sure you REGISTER EARLY!

Read More + Register

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New (and not so new) Member Lunch

This month's Featured Board Member Cathy Antolec, who will discuss the results of the IPA's Survey of Salaries and Benefits. Join us on the 4th Wednesday of each month in 2023 for a New Member Lunch.  While this event is called "New Member Lunch", it is open to ALL members! Read More + Register

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Board of Directors Vacancy

The IPA Board of Directors currently has an open position with a term expiring April 2024.  If you are a Regular Member of the IPA and are interested in serving on the board, please email IPA President Melissa Jurik.

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IPA's 2023 Survey of Salaries and Benefits

In Spring of 2023, the Illinois Paralegal Association conducted a survey of Illinois paralegals to learn information about the paralegal profession in Illinois. The results of that survey are now available and provide comprehensive and valuable information on issues such as the areas of law Illinois paralegals work in, the training they receive, the type of organizations they work in, the number of hours they work per week, their compensation and much more. Download the 2023 Survey of Salaries and Benefits (you will need to be logged in to download the results)

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Something to Think About

I came across an interesting idea when looking at some posts from a paralegal group on Facebook – subpoenaing smart device data. Depending on where you look, it is estimated that roughly 224 million people today wear smartwatches and we all know the kind of data they collect. I personally wear a Fitbit which tracks so much information including steps, sleep, heartrate and even my cycles that can be viewed on my cellphone with just a few swipes. I even have a friend whose physician recommended that she wear an Apple Watch to track her heart rate for a health issue she has and that info automatically goes to her doctor. Working in insurance defense, I never thought of asking about smartwatch data and it very well could be a great bit of data to have on a plaintiff who you may suspect is embellishing their injury.

Although the articles below are from 2019 and 2021, it may be something you want to talk to you attorneys about adding to your discovery standard demands.

Court Grants Defendants’ Motion to Compel Plaintiff’s Fitbit Data: eDiscovery Case Law
“Steps” for Discovery: Subpoenaing Wearable Technology Data

Melissa Jurik, IPA President

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Important Notices and Useful Information

Illinois Supreme Court Amends Rules 1.5 (Fees) and 1.15 (Safekeeping Property), Effective July 1st What You Don’t Know About The Paralegal Job Market Do you have any other updates to share with everyone? Send an email to IPA@ipaonline.org and we will add to our next issue of The Lookout.

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2023 Previous Issues of The Lookout

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