Media Mentions
2008
Steven F. Pflaum was quoted in the October 17 issue of The National Law Journal in an article regarding the Illinois Appellate Court for the First Judicial District's decision denying the Chicago Bar Association's request that Illinois change a referendum ballot on whether the state should hold a convention to revise its constitution. The association had asked that the state be required to revise the ballot prior to the November 4 election. Mr. Pflaum noted that winning the legal battle after the election could still nullify the vote and result in a revote. "We're not going to bang our heads against the wall in terms of trying to get this done before the election," Mr. Pflaum said.
2007
Steven F. Pflaum has been chosen by The Alliance for Sensible Airspace Planning (ASAP) to represent ASAP in a lawsuit challenging the redesign by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of airspace in the New York-New Jersey-Philadelphia metropolitan area. ASAP contends that the airspace redesign will adversely affect the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of residents while doing little to address air traffic control delays. Judy Neville, the chairperson of ASAP stated that of the four firms selected to make a pitch to represent the alliance "it was a unanimous decision to select [McDermott]. They're one of the top three aviation law firms in the country." This engagement has been covered by numerous news outlets including, The Wilton Villager, AirGuide Magazine, The Stamford Advocate and The Westport News.
2003
Steven Pflaum was quoted in the June 2 issue of The National Law Journal regarding the pending Chicago Bar Association proposal to adopt mandatory continuing legal education in Illinois. Mr. Pflaum, who drafted the proposal in his capacity as CBA general counsel, said that the proposal, if adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court, would give Illinois the most flexible MCLE program in the United States.
Steven Pflaum was quoted in the May 26 issue of the National Law Journal regarding the pending Chicago Bar Association proposal to adopt mandatory continuing legal education in Illinois. As general counsel of the 22,000 member CBA, Mr. Pflaum was a primary drafter of the proposal and testified in its support at a recent public hearing conducted by the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee.
Steve Pflaum, noted as general counsel for the Chicago Bar Association, was interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered on January 10. Mr. Pflaum questioned the SEC's then-proposed rule that requires a lawyer to report, in the first instance to the issuer, if the attorney becomes aware of "information that would lead an attorney reasonably to believe that a material violation has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur. It's an amorphous standard that would put a lawyer in a very difficult position [and] subject him or her to second-guessing" as to whether or not they should have reasonably believed a violation would occur. The final regulations adopted by the SEC on January 23 replaced the "amophorous" subjective standard with an objective one.
