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1. If your last name begins with the letters A through M, your deadline is June 30, 2008 at which time you will need 20 total accredited MCLE hours. If your last name begins with the letters N through Z, your 20 hour deadline is June 30, 2009. Of the 20 hour goal, a minimum of 4 of the total hours must be certified as complying with the "professional responsibility or ethics requirement".

2. If you were admitted to practice law after December 31, 2005, you must complete an approved "Basic Skills Course" totaling at least 15 hours of instruction within one year of your admission to practice law in Illinois.

3. If you attended any CLE classes between January 1, 2006 and June 30, 2006, contact your CLE provider to determine whether or not any of those hours will qualify. The MCLE Board has not yet approved anyone’s programs. If you received a DCBA Certificate of Attendance during that timeframe, it is anticipated that approval will be received; however, the MCLE Board has not yet approved anyone for retroactive accreditation.

4. The MCLE Board is not yet accepting applications for approval of "accredited CLE providers". However, as soon as applications are allowed, the DCBA will immediately apply and we give you our confident and reasonable assurance that the DCBA will be approved as an "accredited CLE provider". This status means that the DCBA has demonstrated that its CLE courses or activities have consistently met the standards required by the MCLE Board and that all future programs will have the presumption of accreditation. The DCBA’S brochures, flyers and registration materials will confirm our status as "accredited MCLE provider" and that our CLE program is presumptively approved by the MCLE Board.

5. In reviewing any CLE provider’s brochures or materials, look for the following: "This program has been approved by the Illinois MCLE Board for ______ hours of credit (and if applicable) ______ hours of professionalism, diversity issues, mental illness and addiction issues, civility, or legal ethics CLE credit."

6. The DCBA’S CLE programs will be live, local and reasonably priced. We are also exploring the possibility of live "pod casts" which if offered will comply with the MCLE rule requirement of "interactivity". The "interactivity as a key component" aspect requires the viewer or listener to ask questions of the course faculty "in person, via telephone, on-line or through a qualified commenter".

7. In addition to traditional CLE courses, the DCBA will provide opportunities to earn MCLE accredited hours at committee meetings. Our committees are gearing up to provide ½ hour or more substantive law content which will qualify for MCLE credit. Our goal is to provide you with multiple opportunities for DCBA committee involvement, MCLE credits and lunch at a cost near that of a "happy meal". If you are not already on one or more DCBA committees, please call Gloria at (630) 653-7779, fax Gloria at (630) 653-7870, e-mail Gloria at gnorton@dcba.org or use the "join a committee" form on any committee page of the website.

8. As the above title states, get into the MCLE game and be part of the DCBA team. If you are a panelist at a DCBA CLE program, you can earn up to 7 hours of MCLE credit for each hour of panelist time. The DCBA will issue appropriate certification to the MCLE Board documenting your involvement and Illinois MCLE credit hours earned. We need MCLE speakers to provide our members with their growing requirements. Step up to the podium and enhance your professional reputation, highlight your area of expertise with your peers and now gain MCLE accredited hours for your efforts. To do so, either contact your committee chair or "just call Gloria" as referenced above.

9. Another easy way to earn MCLE credit is to write an article for the DCBA Brief. An attorney earns credit for publishing an article based upon hours spent researching and writing the article. Up to ten hours can be achieved through a single publication during the initial two year reporting period. If you write an article, maintain contemporaneous records evidencing the number of hours spent on the publication. For further information, contact our DCBA Editor, Mazyar (Mazy) Hedayat, at (630) 378-2200 or by e-mail at mhedayat@mha-law.com.

10. For additional FAQ’S go to www.mcleboard.org.

On August 31, 2006, the DCBA’S first lady President, Linda Davenport, was installed as an Associate Judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit. Courtroom 2014 was packed. Presiding was Chief Judge Ann B. Jorgensen. In attendance were virtually all Circuit and Associate Judges of the 18th Judicial Circuit and Second District Appellate Court Justice Robert E. Byrne. Numerous guests and dignitaries were in attendance and the oath of office was administered by Honorable Bonnie M. Wheaton. After the invocation by Linda’s pastor and Pledge of Allegiance by Sheriff John Zaruba, I was honored to provide opening remarks on behalf of your DCBA. My remarks were followed by Maria Tolva Mack on behalf of the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers. Past DCBA President William J. Scott, Jr., Linda’s friend and divorce court "foe" provided the keynote address with his typical humor, professionalism and style. Linda was gracious, sincere and understandably emotional in the acceptance of her new calling. As always, her husband, Joe Fortunato and family were all present to provide Linda their support.

• Do I have any special goals as President since I am the first woman President? No, my law license says lawyer, not lady lawyer.

• When you give freely to your association or your profession, you get back tenfold.

• My husband who is one-quarter Irish reminded me that as President I was like a corpse at an Irish wake. You need me here to have the party, but I’m not expected to say very much.

• If the DCBA is a good ole’ boys club, then thank God for the good ole’ boys.

• As a child, my parents taught me to go out and get "mad". They didn’t mean angry or crazy. It was an acronym for "make a difference."

• Lawyers must take a stand and respond when our system of justice is attacked by unknowing or misinformed individuals.

• All we can do is try to make this place better than it was when we got here.

Glenn R. Gaffney is a partner in the law firm of Gaffney & Gaffney in Bloomingdale, concentrating his practice in Labor and Employment law. He received his Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana and received his J.D. from Southern Illinois University, College of Law.