No time-management system magically, and overnight, turns you into a lean, mean, efficiency machine. But becoming more productive also doesn’t require mastering every page of a two-inch-thick time-management manual. Instead, try acquiring a single new skill and developing it over time, says Affinity Consulting partner Paul Unger in the Illinois Bar Journal’s March cover story, “Manage Your Time, or It Will Manage You.” In the article, Unger, who will be the featured speaker at the ISBA Solo & Small Firm Practice Institute on March 15 in Springfield, where he will present on time management, declutters the topic and also recommends his favorite best practices and methods.
Illinois Bar Journal
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February 25, 2019 |
Practice News
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February 19, 2019 |
Practice News
Blockchain may dramatically reduce the cost of processing mortgage applications and provide for transparent, secure transactions and efficient recordkeeping. But the strengths and limitations of blockchain should be better understood before replacing a title system that has been in place for more than 140 years in Illinois, argues Paul Peterson in his February 2019 article, “Problems Blockchain Doesn’t Solve,” for the Illinois Bar Journal. Peterson, vice president and senior underwriter for the Fidelity Family of Title Insurers, vice-chair of ISBA's Construction Law Section Council, and a member of ISBA's Real Estate Law Section Council, outlines record-validating problems that blockchain technology has yet to crack.
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February 11, 2019 |
Practice News
To limit the number of frivolous malpractice claims and thus lower insurance costs, Illinois and 27 other states require attorneys to consult a health-care professional before filing a medical-malpractice suit. But for those bringing a medical-malpractice case, such prelitigation requirements can present a daunting, complex maze. In February’s Illinois Bar Journal, Christopher Michels explores the required steps for bringing a healing-arts malpractice claim in Illinois in his article, “The Malpractice Maze: Bringing a Healing-Arts Malpractice Suit and the Requirements of Section 2-622.”
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February 4, 2019 |
Practice News
Research suggests we tap only a small fraction of our brain’s cognitive powers. Same with our computers and the internet. If only we could exploit more of the immense computing power of our laptops and smartphones. But who has the time to explore all the features buried deep in our manuals and menus? The February Illinois Bar Journal’s cover story gets you started by providing easy-to-use tips for getting more out of the technology at your fingertips. The story, “18 Quick and Easy Tech Tips for 2019,” also is a sneak preview of a larger set of tips provided by Affinity Consulting partner Barron Henley’s one-hour ISBA CLE webinar available in ISBA's Free On-Demand CLE catalog.
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January 29, 2019 |
Practice News
February’s Illinois Bar Journal includes the winning article of 2019’s Lincoln Award Legal Writing Contest. The article, “General and Boilerplate Objections: Curbing Routine Abuse of the Discovery Process” by Gregory R. Jones, an associate at Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C., in Edwardsville, examines distasteful discovery tactics that can directly conflict with the spirit of discovery and the concept of “full disclosure.”
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January 24, 2019 |
ISBA News
Gregory R. Jones, an associate at Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C., from Edwardsville, is winner of first place and $2,000 in the ISBA’s 2019 Lincoln Award Legal Writing Contest. His article, “General and Boilerplate Objections: Curbing Routine Abuse of the Discovery Process,” appears in the February issue of the Illinois Bar Journal.
Second place winner is Daniel C. Katzman, a partner at Katzman & Sugden, LLC, in Belleville. His article is “Can You Record Me Now? Tapping into the Illinois Eavesdropping Act and its Effect on Attorneys, Employers, and Individuals.” Daniel won $1,000.
Third place and $500 goes to Chicagoan Jake Crabbs, for “Responding to Affirmative Defenses.”
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January 18, 2019 |
Practice News
Ensuring you get paid for your efforts on behalf of your client requires more than getting retained, performing legal services, and sending a bill. When a client disputes a fee or simply refuses to pay, how do you put yourself in the best position to obtain payment? It starts with your initial retention and lasts beyond your representation. In his January Illinois Bar Journal article, “What You Might Have Forgotten About Billing Clients,” David M. Neff revisits essential steps for billing clients and offers guidance from retention to collection.
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January 14, 2019 |
Practice News
In his January 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “A New Day for LLCs in Illinois,” Matthew Misichko, an associate in the corporate department at Barnes & Thornburg, discusses new strategic opportunities for clients who are forming businesses in Illinois thanks to recent amendments to the Illinois Limited Liability Company Act. Significant amendments to the Illinois Limited Liability Company Act took effect on July 1, 2017, and brought the Act into conformity with the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act already followed by most states. With the changes come new recommendations for reviewing a current LLC operating agreement or drafting a new one. For starters, LLCs now have appointment power, bringing LLCs into alignment with corporations, which have had such authority for a long time. Also, LLC managers can now be designated rather than elected.
1 comment (Most recent January 17, 2019) -
January 7, 2019 |
Practice News
Finding an agreed-upon methodology to calculate child support can become litigious when a supporting spouse’s income is variable. But basing support calculations on gross income and percentages of income is a good start. In his January 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Taming the Guessing Game: Child Support and Variable Income,” Bryan D. Sullivan explores the benefits of using predetermined percentages of gross income for additional child-support orders under the income shares model and provides practical advice for legal practitioners when drafting such orders. Sullivan’s article also includes links to extensive tables that show how various child-support calculations discussed in his article play out.
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December 17, 2018 |
Practice News
A state’s legal standard for determining fault is a key factor in determining whether to file a motion to apply foreign law or a motion to dismiss under the doctrine of forum non conveniens. In December’s Illinois Bar Journal, Cameron Turner and Sean Phillips examine such choices regarding asbestos cases in Illinois. Illinois is a well-known epicenter of asbestos litigation, having earned a reputation for allowing cases unconnected to the state to proceed through its system. Onlookers and clients, particularly those new to asbestos litigation and unaware of its broader scope, often express disbelief and frustration at the legitimacy of such a system. Such reactions are fair, and related questions certainly are valid. Illinois does, after all, have statutes in place that allow for the transfer of cases to appropriate forums when any particular forum is improper or inconvenient. It also seems logical, on its face, to lessen the impact of sometimes-harsh Illinois law by looking to the law of a state with a stronger connection to the case when that state's law is more favorable. This rings true even if a defendant chooses to forgo pursuing a forum non conveniens argument.