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  • May 10, 2013 | Practice News
    Lake County Circuit Clerk rolls out online access to case info - a precursor to e-filing

    Clerk of the Circuit Court Keith S. Brin is proud to announce the Public Access System developed by his office has gone live today. They Public Access System can be accessed through the Clerk of the Circuit Court's Website www.lakecountyil.gov/CircuitClerk/Pages/default.aspx or directly at circuitclerk.lakecountyil.gov/publicAccess/jsp/common/index.jsf 

    Part-one of a two-part initiative developed by Brin who just marked his first hundred days in office, the Public Access System provides a secure way for individuals to obtain basic information on any court case in Lake County -- from checking on a future court date and amounts due, to parties involved in a case. The second of Brin's two-pronged initiative, Electronic Filing, will be launched for public use this fall.

    "It's not an 8:30 to 5:00 world anymore, we live in an age of technology and information." said Brin. "In the private sector companies implement technology to remove barriers and make doing business easier, less expensive and more efficient for the customer -- this is exactly what my office has done with the implementation of the Public Access System," the Circuit Clerk explained.

    2 comments (Most recent May 13, 2013)
  • May 9, 2013 | Events | Practice News
    Over 600 new attorneys admitted in Illinois

    More than 600 new attorneys were admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday with Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court presiding and administering the attorney’s oath at five separate locations.

    All of the candidates have passed the Illinois state bar examination, an ethics examination, and have been certified by the Committee on Character and Fitness.

    The largest group (467) was admitted in the First Judicial District at the Arie Crown Theatre. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman presided, with Justices Anne M. Burke and Mary Jane Theis participating.

    Appellate Court Justice Maureen E. Connors from the First Judicial District made the motion to admit the class.

    The 668 men and women certified as candidates were sworn in as Illinois attorneys at ceremonies in the five Supreme Court judicial districts.

    The other ceremonies included:

  • May 8, 2013 | Practice News
    Best Practice: Law firm growth and reduction in profits

    Asked and Answered

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

    Q. Our firm is a personal injury plaintiff firm in Topeka, KS. Until two years ago we had two attorneys (both partners) and two support staff members. In early 2012 we added an associate attorney, increased our marketing investment, moved our offices and took on additional space, added five additional support staff members, and implemented a case management system. We currently have 500 open cases - up from 200 cases 2+ years ago. Revenues are up - but the two partners are each taking home $40,000 less than they were before the expansion. Our home-grown office manager runs the office. What should we be doing differently?

    A. My first thought is that your revenues have not caught up with the overhead and the growth investments that you have made. (You should review your reports and verify this) Personal injury cases have a much longer revenue lag than does work that gets "time-billed" monthly. Some cases may be in progress for two years or so. So be patient, but don't be complacent.

  • May 7, 2013 | Practice News
    Over 600 new attorneys to be admitted on Thursday

    More than 600 new attorneys will be admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday, May 9 with Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court presiding and administering the attorney’s oath at five separate locations.

    All of the candidates have passed the Illinois state bar examination, an ethics examination, and have been certified by the Committee on Character and Fitness.

    The largest group, 467, will be admitted in the First Judicial District during ceremonies starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Arie Crown Theatre. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman will preside, with Justices Anne M. Burke and Mary Jane Theis participating.

    Appellate Court Justice Maureen E. Connors from the First Judicial District will make the motion to admit the class.

    The 668 men and women were certified as candidates and will be sworn in as Illinois attorneys Thursday at ceremonies in the five Supreme Court judicial districts.

    Here are the time and locations of Thursday’s ceremonies:

  • May 2, 2013 | Practice News | ISBA News
    2 Minutes with the President: John Thies discusses access to justice with IBF President Debra Walker

    ISBA President John E. Thies asks Illinois Bar Foundation President Hon. Debra Walker how IBF is addressing the issue of access to justice in Illinois. They also discuss the IBF Lawyers Care Fund - how lawyers help take care of their own.

  • May 2, 2013 | Practice News | Events
    Expungement Summit set for June 8 in Matteson - volunteers needed

    Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown will host an Expungement Summit will be held on Saturday, June 8 at the New Faith Baptist Church International, 25 S. Central, Matteson. This is a full service expungement summit serving both adults and juveniles.

    Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and doors close at 6 p.m. Call (312) 603-5200 for additional information or visit www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org.

    Volunteer attorneys will be on site to help with expungement and sealing applications. Attorneys interested in volunteering must attend an MCLE training course on May 15 or May 22 from 3-5:30 p.m. at the County Building, 69 W. Washingon, 17th floor. RSVP for the training to mrnoel@cookcountycourt.com

    Volunteer attorneys will receive 2.5 General MCLE credits.

  • May 1, 2013 | Practice News
    Best Practice: How much capital does a law firm need?

    Asked and Answered

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

    Q. Our firm is a relatively new firm. Several of us left a large firm in Dallas and started the firm last year. We have 17 attorneys - 10 of us are partners. When we started the firm we each put in a little cash and obtained a line of credit which we have used extensively and we are at our limit. Is this a good practice? Should the partners contribute more capital? How much? I would appreciate your ideas.

  • May 1, 2013 | Practice News
    ARDC releases Annual Report - investigations increased 3.9% in 2012

    The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), the administrative agency that regulates licensed Illinois lawyers, has filed its year 2012 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 Annual Report is available below. Click here for the full report.

  • April 30, 2013 | Practice News
    ISBA Statehouse Review for the week of April 29

    ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Collaborative law for family law cases (Senate Bill 31), Collection changes (Senate Bill 1044), Access to Justice Act (House Bill 3111), Supreme Court Special Purposes Fund (Senate Bill 1768) and Sentencing hearings (Senate Bill 1528). More information on each bill is available below the video.

    Collaborative law for family law cases. Senate Bill 31 (Noland, D-Elgin) codifies by statute the Uniform Law Commission’s proposed alternative dispute resolution for family law cases that is now being done by private agreement between litigants. It includes a variety of process requirements such as treatment of settlement communications as confidential, establishment of an evidentiary privilege for settlement discussions, lawyer disqualification if the process fails, and informal discovery procedures. Held in Senate Judiciary Committee.

  • April 25, 2013 | Practice News
    Quick take on Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore

    CIVIL

    Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore Drive Condominium Association

    By Michael T. Reagan, Law Offices of Michael T. Reagan, Ottawa

    Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore, while nominally about the circumstances in which a condominium unit owner can obtain the records of the condominium association, is fundamentally about whether the section of the Chicago Municipal Code dealing with that subject is a valid exercise of the City’s home rule power. The court also decided that the prevailing plaintiff unit owner, entitled to attorneys fees pursuant to the ordinance allowing recovery of "his reasonable attorney fees," is not limited to the fees actually charged by his attorney, but could recover greater fees at the reasonable market rate established by the evidence. The circuit and appellate courts were affirmed.

    The association defendants asserted that the Chicago ordinance conflicted with the Condominium Property Act and the General Not For Profit Corporation Act. The statutes require unit owners to state a proper purpose for obtaining association financial books, limit requests to ten years of records, and allow the association 30 days in which to gather the records. The ordinance does not require statement of a purpose, does not restrict the age of the documents, and requires production with three business days. The parties and the court all agreed that the ordinance conflicted with the statutes.