Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association upcoming events

Solar Panels & ALTA 49/49, Fraud and Forgery Endorsements (Wed, October 14, 2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 13:15:00 GMT

An IRELA CLE Webinar

Solar Panels & ALTA 49/49.1, Fraud and Forgery Endorsements

Nathan Smith, Advocus National Title Insurance Company

MCLE approved for 1-hour General CLE credit

Registration is Free for IRELA Members

Non-Members ~ $50*

Nathan Smith has been examining title, underwriting, and handling claims for several national underwriters since 2015. He joined Advocus National Title Insurance Company in 2025 during their ongoing expansion. Before Advocus, Nathan worked as Claims Counsel at Stewart Title Guaranty Company where he administered claims and managed litigation. Prior to that, he served as Underwriting Counsel at Fidelity National Title.

At Advocus, Nathan's duties consist of commercial and residential underwriting, drafting bulletins and instructions, and assisting with legal operations and strategy. He lives in the northern Chicago suburbs with his wife.

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Stay Top of Mind: The 30-Minute Marketing Plan for Real Estate Attorneys (Wed, November 11, 2026)

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 14:15:00 GMT

An IRELA CLE Webinar

Stay Top of Mind: The 30-Minute Marketing Plan for Real Estate Attorneys

Sabrina Bier

MCLE approved for 1-hour General CLE credit

Registration is Free for IRELA Members

Non-Members ~ $50*

You don’t need to become a marketer, post on social media every day, or spend hours creating content to effectively grow your business. You simply need a strategy that keeps you visible, valuable, and top of mind with the people most likely to refer you.

In this practical course designed specifically for real estate attorneys, Sabrina Bier will break down how dedicating just 30 intentional minutes each week to marketing and relationship-building can help cultivate Realtor relationships, strengthen existing referral partnerships, and create new opportunities in 2027.

Attendees will learn how to build a stronger online presence so they can be found when someone searches for them, turn everyday legal knowledge and frequently asked questions into useful educational content, leverage email, newsletters, blogs and social media without becoming a full-time content creator, and maximize the value of networking events and sponsorships through strategic preparation and follow-up.

The course will also introduce the changing world of online search, including SEO, AEO/GEO and AI-powered search, and explain why establishing your expertise online is becoming increasingly important.

Most importantly, attendees will leave with a simple 30-minute weekly marketing framework focused on three things: relationships, visibility and follow-up.

Because you don’t need thousands of followers to grow a referral-based practice. You need the right people to know you, remember you, trust you, and think of you when the next opportunity arises.

SabrinaBier is the Director of Digital Media & Education at Proper Title, where she develops educational programs and marketing strategies designed to help Chicagoland real estate attorneys and professionals strengthen relationships, communicate their expertise, and grow their businesses.

A licensed Chicago Realtor® for more than 20 years,Sabrinabrings a unique understanding of the relationship between attorneys, Realtors®, title professionals, and consumers. She combines decades of real estate experience with a background in marketing, technology, and education to teach practical strategies professionals can realistically incorporate into their businesses.

Known for her approachable teaching style,Sabrinafocuses on making marketing feel less like self-promotion and more like relationship building: being useful, staying connected, and remaining top of mind with the people who can refer you.

Connect withSabrina: @sabrinabier on all social platforms

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Financeable or Not: What Every Real Estate Attorney Needs to Know Before the Next Condo Deal (Wed, November 18, 2026)

Wed, 18 Nov 2026 14:15:00 GMT

An IRELA CLE Webinar

Financeable or Not: What Every Real Estate Attorney Needs to Know Before the Next Condo Deal

Esther Philips

MCLE approved for 1-hour General CLE credit

Registration is Free for IRELA Members

Non-Members ~ $50*

Two condo financing shifts, one already in effect and one landing in January 2027, are quietly deciding which condo deals close smoothly and which stall or die at the closing table. Smaller associations now clear financing faster with less paperwork. Larger ones face a fuller review than before, and reserve funding requirements are climbing, funded on an ongoing basis, not just banked.

For attorneys, the real story isn't the guideline, it's the exposure. Miss it, and a client can be locked into a contract for a building that can't be financed or blindsided by a review timeline that blows past a contingency deadline. Catch it early, and you're the advisor who kept the deal, and the client, out of trouble.

This session gives Illinois real estate attorneys a fast, practical read on what changed, what it means for financeability and closing timelines, and how earlier collaboration with agents and lenders turns this from a surprise into a non-issue.

Esther Phillips is SVP, Regional Manager at Rate, leading loan officer and branch manager recruiting, business development, and realtor partnerships throughout Illinois.

She joins Rate with a career defined by range. At MidAmerica Bank, she scaled one of the company's largest and most profitable existing sales teams, directing over $1 billion in annual funded volume. At JPMorgan Chase, she built a referral-based sales organization from the ground up that ranked #4 regionally and #6 nationally for profitability. Most recently as SVP Managing Director of Key Mortgage Services, she took an underperforming affiliate lender and grew it 12x into a $1.2 billion top 5 purchase lender in the Chicagoland MSA, pushing average production per loan officer from $5 million to $16.5 million and partner satisfaction to a 90+ NPS.

Across three decades in mortgage banking,Estherhas recruited and developed teams that consistently outperform, including several of the top loan originators in the country, and has served two terms on the board of the Illinois Mortgage Bankers Association. She approaches every challenge the same way: with process, execution, and relationships that hold up under pressure.

The proud mom of two daughters, you'll findEstherat a college sporting event with her husband, Rich, or logging her steps with her rescue dog Badger.

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Civility: Difficult People and Conversations in the Workplace (Wed, December 09, 2026)

Wed, 09 Dec 2026 14:15:00 GMT

An IRELA CLE Webinar

Civility: Difficult People and Conversations in the Workplace

Diana, Uchiyama

MCLE approved for 1-hour General CLE credit

Registration is Free for IRELA Members

Non-Members ~ $50*

Difficult people are everywhere. However, when they exist in the workspace, in the courts, and the clients with whom we work, it can create major issues which influence personal health and wellness. The legal field can be a very stressful work setting and adding hostile persons to the work environment can make it feel impossible to cope. This program will support attorneys, judges and law students in understanding the psychological, physical, and emotional impact of dealing with difficult people at work. Additionally, providing helpful skill sets to manage and minimize the negative impact these people and conversations have on us will also be provided. This presentation will provide skills and behaviors which will help you feel more empowered and in control while working with difficult people or engaging in difficult conversations.

Participants in this program will learn the following:

Understand the impact working with difficult people and engaging in difficult conversations can have on those in the legal profession;
Understand that dealing with difficult people and situations can increase mental health problems and negative coping mechanisms;
Learn how to minimize behaviors which create more problems in dealing with difficult people and conversations;
Learn how to increase behaviors which place boundaries and limits on difficult people and difficult conversations and;
Learn skills to help manage difficult people and engage in difficult conversations more effectively.

Dr. Diana Uchiyama is the Executive Director of the Illinois Lawyers’ Assistance Program (LAP). Prior to joining LAP, she was the Administrator of Psychological Services for DuPage County and ran a licensed outpatient substance use treatment program, including a Mentally Ill Substance Abuse (MISA) program and Seeking Safety program for individuals with substance use problems, who were also trauma survivors. While at DuPage County she also ran a 26-week Domestic Batterer Intervention Program for a court mandated population of clients.

Dr. Uchiyama has also worked for the Kane County Diagnostic Center, as both a Staff Psychologist and Juvenile Drug Court Coordinator and has an extensive background doing court ordered evaluations including psychological, sanity, fitness, fitness to parent, and sex offender evaluations. She is a licensed sex offender evaluator in the State of Illinois. She has implemented numerous changes to court ordered programs both in Kane and DuPage County and is a SAMSHA certified trauma informed care trainer. Dr. Uchiyama also conducts therapy with adults and adolescents, is a Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor, and has an Advanced Mindfulness Training Certificate, teaching mindfulness skills to others in order to increase their wellbeing.

Prior to obtaining her master’s and doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Dr. Uchiyama was an Assistant Public Defender in Cook County working in various felony courtrooms at 26th and California in Chicago for over a decade. She obtained her law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law.

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