Practice News

Recent amendments to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act create a formula for calculating spousal maintenance that factors in the spouses' incomes and the length of their marriage. The amendments also affect child support because an increase in maintenance now corresponds to an -- often dramatic -- child-support decrease.

The new maintenance formula is triggered only if a judge first determines that maintenance is appropriate, and only if the combined gross income of the parties is less than $250,000 and no multiple family situation exists.

But though the formula was supposed to make outcomes more consistent, the statutory language creates its own puzzles. Questions about how to calculate gross income, the implications of deviating from the guidelines, and other factors are probably headed for the reviewing courts. Find out more in the September Illinois Bar Journal.

Discover how cloud storage and document assembly can help you and your staff run your office more efficiently and profitably with this half-day seminar on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Practitioners with all levels of practice experience who attend this seminar will gain a better understanding of: the current state of cloud storage for electronic documents; the differences between do-it-yourself cloud storage (such as Dropbox) and document management systems (such as NetDocuments); how to use various document assembly programs to produce documents more efficiently by automating repetitive tasks; what “going paperless” really means and how you can get started; the State’s ethics opinions surrounding the management and storage of electronic data and the professional responsibility requirements for practitioners who use this technology; and much more!

The program is presented by the ISBA Standing Committee on Legal Technology and qualifies for 4.0 hours MCLE credit, including 4.0 hours Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval).

Click here for more information and to register.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. I am the managing partner of a 14 attorney estate planning firm in Lexington, Kentucky. We took a hard hit in 2008 during the recession and have just been recovering over the last couple of years. Business is up, but profits are still flat. We have not raised our hourly billing rates for several years for fear that we will not be competitive and will lose out on business. However, we believe that we must increase our billing rates and are concerned. What are your thoughts?

A. I would bet you are leaving money on the table and you should in fact increase your billing rates. I often find law firms are more concerned about their rates than their clients are. You must remain competitive for the value package (including your experience, expertise, and reputation) that you are delivering. This does not mean being the cheapest estate planning firm in town. Some of my most successful estate planning firms are those charging the highest fees.

Here are a few thoughts:

Asked and Answered

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

Q. We are a six partner litigation firm in Des Moines, Iowa. This year we hired two associates and they are our first. We have not provided them with the best mentoring or guidance - it has sort of baptism by fire. I would appreciate your thoughts on what we should be doing concerning performance management.