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News
Prof. Kionka was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the Fifth District Roundtable Luncheon of the Appellate Lawyers Association held in Collinsville, Illinois on March 21, 2010. He was presented with a plaque which reads: "Appellate Lawyers Association Honors Edward J. Kionka, Professor Emeritus, Southern Illinois University School of Law, In Appreciation for Forty Years of Outstanding Appellate Advocacy Before the Illinois Appellate Courts and Illinois Supreme Court and the United States Courts of Appeals, and for his Service as President of the Appellate Lawyers Association and as Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Presented at the Fifth District Luncheon and Judicial Roundtable, May 21, 2010." The presenters included Presiding Justice Richard P. Goldenhersh of the Appellate Court of Illinois, Fifth District; Louis E. Costa, retired Clerk of the Appellate Court of Illinois, Fifth District; and William P. Hardy, an officer of the Appellate Lawyers Association. Both Costa and Hardy are former students of Prof. Kionka.
Prof. Kionka regularly attends one or both of the semi-annual meetings of the American
Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
These meetings include educational programs that help appellate lawyers sharpen their skills and update their knowledge. Most recently, he attended the spring meeting of the Academy in Phoenix, Arizona, April 8–10, 2010.
During
the 2003-04 academic year, Prof. Kionka was a visiting professor
of law at St. Louis University School of Law, where he taught Civil
Procedure I and II, Evidence, and a senior writing seminar, Appellate
Courts. During the 2004-05 academic year, Prof. Kionka visited at
Northern Illinois University College of Law in DeKalb, Illinois,
where he taught Torts I and II. During the 2005-06 academic year,
he taught Evidence and a seminar, Appellate Courts and the Appellate
Process, at Oklahoma City University School of Law. In August, 2006,
he returned to the Northern Illinois University law faculty, where he taught Civil Procedure and Conflict of Laws. During the fall semester, 2007, he taught Civil Procedure I at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco. During the spring semester, 2008, he taught Evidence at Chase College of Law (Northern Kentucky University). During the 2008–09 academic year, he taught Torts and Federal Courts at the University of Georgial Law School. He is currently teaching Torts, Evidence, and Federal Courts at Stetson University College of Law at Gulfport, Florida.
On
May 21, 2010, Prof. Kionka taught a class on “Brief Writing
and Oral Argument” to lawyers attending a training program sponsored by the Appellate Lawyers Association and the
Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation.
Prof.
Kionka’s article, “Through the Looking Glass: Humpty Dumpty
and Opinions That Aren’t,” is published in the Winter 2003-04 issue
of The Appellate Advocate, the newsletter of the American
Academy of Appellate Lawyers. The article deals with the problem
of unpublished appellate court decisions. His article, "Things To Do (Or Not) To Address the Medical Malpractice Insurance Problem," appears in a recent issue of the Northern Illinois University Law Review. The article was part of his presentation at a symposium on the medical malpractice insurance and litigation problem presented at Northern Illinois University in April, 2006.
Notes
Limitation
of Fields of Practice. Under the Rules of Professional Conduct
adopted by the Supreme Court of Illinois, a lawyer or law firm may
designate certain fields or areas of the law in which the lawyer or
firm concentrates or limits the practice of law. The Supreme Court
of Illinois does not recognize certifications of specialties in the
practice of law, nor does it recognize certifications of expertise
in any phase of the practice of law. None of the memberships,
awards, or recognitions mentioned herein should be understood as a
requirement for the practice of law in Illinois or as a
certification of special expertise recognized by the Illinois
Supreme Court. See Ill.
Sup. Court Rule of Professional Conduct 7.4.
Courthouse,
Illinois Appellate Court, Mt. Vernon. The magnificent historic
building shown on our home page, located at 14th and Main Streets
in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, is the courthouse of the Illinois Appellate
Court, Fifth District. Prof. Kionka has often represented clients
and argued cases in this court. The first unit of this building
was completed in 1857, when it served as the courthouse for the
Southern Division of the Illinois Supreme Court. We believe that
one case heard there was State of Illinois vs. Illinois Central
Railroad Co., reported in 27 Ill. 64 (1861), in which Abraham
Lincoln represented the railroad, and George B. McClellan, then
a vice-president of the railroad (and later one of Lincoln’s Civil
War generals) had been a witness at trial. The building is on the
register of historic buildings worthy of careful preservation in
the Library of Congress.
More information here.
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