Attorney Brian Fliflet discusses the tax considerations for same sex couples that decide to tie the knot.
Practice News
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August 31, 2016 |
Practice News
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August 31, 2016 |
Practice News
CARPLS Legal Hotline in Chicago seeks volunteer hotline attorneys to give advice to low-income clients in the areas of landlord/tenant, consumer debt, and family law. A three-part training course is provided for volunteers.
Training Part One*: September 14 at 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.; 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.; or 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at CARPLS, 17 N. State, Suite 1850, Chicago.
*Training Part Two and Three will occur the week of September 19.
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August 31, 2016 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. We are a 16-lawyer firm - eight partners and eight associates located in Memphis. We handle business transactional work and litigation for small to mid-size companies. However, for the past 40 years our mainstay has been small community banks. With recent bank mergers and new banking regulations, our banking business has dropped off significantly. We have reached a desperate stage and we must replace this business quickly or consider possible dissolution. We have talked with a possible lateral partner that has a $300,000 book of debtor bankruptcy business. Is adding a lateral partner a good strategy for us?
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August 30, 2016 |
Practice News
As of Friday, August 26, 2016, Rhonda Crawford is no longer employed as a law clerk/staff attorney assigned to the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Markham courthouse.
On August 17, 2016, Crawford was suspended without pay by Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans following allegations that she adjudicated two cases from the bench in a Markham courtroom while wearing a judicial robe. On August 26, 2016, Chief Judge Evans terminated her employment.
Rules governing judicial conduct, specifically Illinois Supreme Court Rule 63 (A) (6), prevent Chief Judge Evans from commenting further on the matter. The rule states: “A judge should abstain from public comment about a pending or impending proceeding in any court, and should require similar abstention on the part of court personnel subject to the judge’s direction and control.”
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August 25, 2016 |
Practice News
Illinois Attorney Robert Markoff discusses three little known, but extremely effective remedies that include pre-judgment, detinue, and distress for rent. Learn more about this subject through our Free CLE channel by viewing Bob's segment "Enforcements You Should Know About (But Probably Don't) and Selling a Debtor's Property" - part of the program "Complex Asset Recovery: Fraudulent Transfers, Offshore Assets & Charging Orders."
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August 25, 2016 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Access to a lawyer Public Act 99-882, Expungement Public Act 99-835, Juvenile probation. Public Act 99-879, Mechanics Lien Act Public Act 99-852, Condominium Property Act Public Act 99- 849, Guilty pleas Public Act 99-871 and Toxicology results Public Act 99-801.
More information on each bill is available below the video.
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August 24, 2016 |
Practice News
By Hon. Barbara Crowder, Judge, Third Judicial Circuit
When the Illinois Supreme Court Rule 756(f) was first amended to require lawyers to report any pro bono services intentionally provided and voluntary monetary donations to legal service providers, one would have thought it was a menacing Robert DeNiro asking for the information based upon the hue and cry raised by some attorneys. Lawyers were reminded that the primary goal was to address the unmet legal needs of those residents with limited income. Reporting pro bono hours is viewed as a way to increase the delivery of legal services provided directly to persons of limited means. Although the rule also asks about efforts that assist local communities and organizations along with time spent training others and any monetary contributions, the goal of the mandatory reporting requirement was proclaimed as a way to help lawyers remember to do pro bono directly. The comments suggest that those who are prohibited from providing direct services should donate money and their time to help train volunteer attorneys. Since the ARDC has issued the Annual Report of 2015, it seems an appropriate time to see how the lawyers of Illinois are doing.
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August 24, 2016 |
Practice News
Chief Judge Kathryn E. Creswell announced today that applications for the Office of Associate Judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois, DuPage County, have been received from those on the attached list.
The vacancy is the result of the appointment of Associate Judge Karen M. Wilson to Circuit Judge.
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August 24, 2016 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. We are a 12-lawyer firm in Austin, Texas. We have been approached by the owner of a three-attorney firm in an adjacent city who has a complimentary practice consisting of institutional business clients. He is looking to retire within the next 30 days and he would like us to acquire his clients. We have reviewed his practice and we would be willing to take over his clients but not his personnel or other fixed assets. He has no interest in a merger or a lengthy relationship with us. It could add $800,000 per year to our practice. We would appreciate your thoughts.
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August 19, 2016 |
Practice News
The Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) is dedicated to releasing innocent men and women imprisoned in Illinois for crimes they did not commit. In 2014, the IIP assisted in the passage of a law to allow post-conviction DNA and other forensic testing in guilty plea cases under 725 ILCS 5/116-3. The IIP has since received a grant from the United States Department of Justice for DNA testing in guilty plea cases in which the defendant may be innocent.
Because this change to 116-3 is so recent, many people incarcerated as a result of guilty pleas do not realize they can request this testing, nor do they know about our grant funding. So we are asking you, their attomeys, to think back on your criminal law careers, focusing on serious felony cases. Did you have a client who you thought was likely innocent, but took a plea for any number of reasons (avoiding a harsher sentence, a false confession, etc.)?
Please send us information on any serious felony case in which the client took a guilty plea and might be innocent. Even if you do not believe there is any potential DNA to test, we would still like to know about the case for future grant applications. Please feel free to contact Lauren Myerscough-Mueller via email at lmyersc2@uis.edu, or phone at (217) 206-6051. If you can only remember a name, please send that and we can figure out the rest. We appreciate your time and attention.