Practice News

The Illinois Supreme Court has adopted a new rule and amended another to address the use of restraints on a minor in delinquency proceedings arising under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

The new rule and rule changes take effect November 1, 2016.

New Supreme Court Rule 943 (Use of Restraints on a Minor in Delinquency Proceedings Arising Under the Juvenile Court Act) provides that instruments of restraint shall not be used on a minor during a court proceeding unless the court finds, after a hearing, that such restraints are necessary to prevent physical harm to the minor or another, the minor has a history of disruptive behavior that presents a risk of harm, or there is a well-founded belief that the minor presents a substantial flight risk. Amendments were also adopted to Rule 941 to state that the rules in Article IX apply to all juvenile delinquency proceedings filed under Article V of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

Asked and Answered

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I am the managing partner of an eighteen attorney firm in New Orleans. We have six equity founding partners, four non-equity partners, and eight associates. We represent institutional clients. Four of the six equity partners are in their sixties and two are in their late fifties. The six equity partners are concerned about the future of the firm as they approach retirement. If they retired today the firm would cease to exist - the non-equity partners would not be able to retain our existing clients and acquire new clients. We have not been successful at motivating our non-equity partners to develop and bring in new clients. We have harped on this for years and encouraged all attorneys to develop business. We implemented a component of our non-equity partner and associate compensation system to compensate them for new client origination. Unfortunately, we have not been able to motivate our non-equity partners and associates to develop new sources of business. Our non-equity partners and associates have a nine to five work ethic and an entitlement mentality. Would you share your thoughts?

Justice Thomas L. Kilbride and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Canton attorney Bruce C. Beal as a Resident Circuit Judge in Fulton County in the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Mr. Beal was appointed by the Court to fill the vacancy created by Judge William C. Davis, who retired on September 5, 2016. His appointment takes effect October 17, 2016, and will terminate on December 3, 2018, when the position is filled by the 2018 General Election.

A new program at Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) will not only eliminate barriers to accessing legal services, but also barriers for attorneys to do pro bono work. Legal Answers, launching this October and made possible through funding by the Illinois Bar Foundation, leverages pro bono attorneys and technology to deliver critical legal advice to people who cannot afford or access an attorney. The innovative website makes it easy for attorneys to volunteer and provide civil legal advice to those in need at any convenient time and place.