The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the 2013 pension law on Friday, ruling it unconstitutional. Justice Karmeierdelivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Chief Justice Garman and Justices Freeman, Thomas, Kilbride, Burke, and Theis concurred in the judgment and opinion, which can be found at http://illinoiscourts.gov/Opinions/SupremeCourt/2015/118585.pdf
Practice News
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May 8, 2015 |
Practice News
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May 8, 2015 |
Practice News
The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) requests proposals from attorneys/law firms to act as hearing officer for the Board of Trustees in administrative hearings. IMRF anticipates that the contracts to be awarded will be for a two (2) year period, with a possible one (1) year extension, at IMRF’s option.
In order to be considered for selection, proposals must be received via e-mail in Adobe Acrobat or Word format no later than June 15, 2015, 4:30pm CST.
Find out more and download the full RFP at www.imrf.org/en/about-imrf/procurement/bid-schedule
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May 6, 2015 |
Practice News
Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court administered the attorney’s oath to 600 new attorneys on Thursday, May 7 at five separate locations across the state.
The largest group, 403, were admitted in the First Judicial District during three ceremonies at the James R. Thompson Center Assembly Hall, 100 W. Randolph St. in Chicago. The ceremonies were held at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Justice Anne M. Burke presided over the 9 a.m. ceremony in the First District. Guests of the morning ceremony included Thomas A. Clancy, of the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar; Celestia L. Mays, president of the Cook County Bar Association; and Anita DeCarlo, president of the Justinian Society who moved for admission of the class.
Justice Charles Freeman and Appellate Justice Cynthia Cobbs presided over the 11:30 a.m. ceremony. Guests of the second First District ceremony included: Sheila B. Kennedy, of the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar; Illinois State Bar Association President Richard D. Felice; and John Litchfield, president of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association.
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May 6, 2015 |
Practice News
The United States Attorney for the Central District of Illinois is currently seeking qualified applicants for a position as Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Criminal Division for our Rock Island, IL location, which is one of four branch offices in the district. AUSAs in the Criminal Division supervise the investigation of and prosecute federal offenses involving among other things, financial fraud, hate crimes, identity theft, economic crimes, firearms trafficking, counterfeiting, program fraud, immigration violations, drug trafficking, violent crimes, domestic terrorism, bank robbery, human trafficking, child exploitation, transportation of stolen goods, and public corruption.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 1 year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
United States citizenship is required.
Preferred Qualifications: Applicants must demonstrate analytical ability, good judgment, and excellent communication and courtroom skills. Applicants must demonstrate superior oral and writing skills as well as strong research and interpersonal skills. Applicants should be proficient in the use of a computer. Applicants must exhibit the ability to work in a supportive and highly professional manner with other attorneys, professional support staff, client agency representatives, law enforcement officers / investigators, opposing counsel, and court staff.
You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
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May 6, 2015 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. Our firm is a six attorney personal injury plaintiff located in Kansas City. We have been in practice for 20 years and the firm has been very successful. However, in the last few years the cases are getting larger, more complex, and really putting a drain on our cash flow. We are always into our credit Line. Your thoughts would be appreciated.
A. Cash flow has always been a challenge for contingency fee practices. However, times are getting harder. Insurance companies are refusing to settle personal injury cases, stretching out timelines for paying out cases they do settle, paying less, and becoming even harder to deal with. Other contingency fee practices are also facing similar challenges and everyone is finding it harder to find adequate lines of credit. Many firms that were once 100% contingency fee practices are looking for ways to improve cash flow implementing different fee arrangements or by adding non-contingency fee practice areas.
I suggest that you evaluate ways that you might re-balance your case portfolio to say 60% contingency/time-bill mix. You might consider:
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May 5, 2015 |
Practice News
Attorney Trent Bush demonstrates how to capture any part of your screen using the snipping tool in Microsoft Windows. Capture parts of documents to include in your briefs, and even share an error message with your IT staff through email.
3 comments (Most recent September 1, 2016) -
May 1, 2015 |
Practice News
The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), the administrative agency that regulates licensed Illinois lawyers, has filed its year 2014 Annual Report with the Supreme Court of Illinois. The report was released to the public this morning when a copy was posted on the ARDC website: www.iardc.org.
A summary of the annual report entitled Highlights from the 2014 Annual Report is available below.- Lawyer Population
The names of 92,756 lawyers appeared on the Master Roll of Attorneys as of October 31, 2014. That number does not include 1,902 attorneys who took their oath of office in late 2014. The overall lawyer population in Illinois saw a modest increase of 1.8% over 2013. The percentage of attorneys reporting a principal address outside Illinois increased 7.4% from the year before. The number of female lawyers has slowly but steadily risen over the last 20 years. Female lawyers are 38% of Illinois lawyers in 2014, a 1% increase over the prior year. Ten years ago, women lawyers made up 32% of the legal profession in 2004 and only 25% of Illinois lawyers in 1994. There are 371 Illinois lawyers who serve on active military duty.
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April 30, 2015 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers IMDMA Rewrite (Senate Bill 57), The Parentage Act (House Bill 1531), The Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (Senate Bill 45), The Security Deposit Interest Act (House Bill 1319), Mortgage Foreclosure (Senate Bill 735), Condominium Property Act (House Bill 2641), Common Interest Community Association Act (House Bill 2642), Condominium Property Act (House Bill 2643) and Condominium Property Act (House Bill 2644). More information on each bill is available below the video.
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April 30, 2015 |
Practice News
A number of real estate bills are pending before Illinois' General Assembly, and while some are noncontroversial, others have raised concerns among ISBA section council members. Several House bills would amend the Illinois Condominium Act, and the Senate bills would alter foreclosure law and, in some cases, could affect the rights of mechanics lien claimants. Find out more in the May Illinois Bar Journal.
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April 29, 2015 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner of a 14 attorney firm in Los Angeles. We are primarily a transactional practice and we are considering looking for a litigation firm to merge with our firm. I would appreciate your thoughts on locating merger candidates.
A. For larger firms that have a talent or book of business void or solo practitioner and sole owners’ merger is often an appropriate strategy and approach. It all comes down to the finding the right firm, the right culture, and the right fit. The search process can take time as we.Here are some suggestions to help get the search process started: