The recent copyright infringement trial between Google and Oracle brought a surprising series of posts by technical bloggers praising Judge Alsip, who presided over the trial, for showing such mastery of the technology. Glyn Moody posted on Tech Dirt, Should People Learn To Code? Yes – If They Are Judges Ruling On Cases Involving Software. Similarly, Jeff Neubauer concluded in the New Media and Technology Blog, Oracle v. Google Judge Writes the Book on Software Programming Copyright – For Now, Anyway. Closer to home, Judge Posner, in the Seventh Circuit Appellate Court won critical praise for his understanding of the dysfunctional copyright litigation system in the litigation between Apple and Motorola from technical blogs such as Mike Masnick’s article in Tech Dirt, Judge Posner Dumps Ridiculous Patent Fight Between Apple & Motorola As Contrary To The Public Interest. By contrast, the recent New York Court of Appeals decision in People v.
Practice News
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June 20, 2012 |
Practice News
1 comment (Most recent June 21, 2012)
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June 20, 2012 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. Our firm has recently gone through a series of partner defections - we were a 40 attorney firm - now we are 10. In our last partnership meeting we had some discussions about the possibility of dissolving the firm. If this comes to pass - do you have any tips or suggestions regarding winding down the firm?
A. Winding down a firm is like starting a firm but in reverse, harder, and has more steps. Sort of like building a house and then later tearing it down. You will have to deal with:
- Clients (notification, termination of representation, and disposition of case files)
- Retired partners
- Current partners
- Employees (associates and staff) - job placement, severance, etc.
Unlike other businesses - the major asset of a law firm are its clients, employees, and partners - many of which may have already defected or walked out the door. You may be left with only the liabilities.
One of your priorities will be to decide who will manage the winddown and who will manage internal and external communications. Then you will need to develop a project management plan and dissolution/winddown plan/checklist. Major priorities will include:
- Bank Loans
- Building Lease
- Retainer Obligations to Clients
- Equipment Leases
- Retirement and Other Payouts to Former Partners
Firm should consider if it will retain a caretaker or trustee to manage the winddown.
You should make sure that you review the ethical requirements with your state bar association concerning:
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June 15, 2012 |
Practice News | ISBA News
"Need an Adult Guardianship for Someone Close?" and "Seeking an Adult Guardianship: What's Next?" aired on the Illinois Law cable program in June and July. These programs were moderated by the Hon. Cheryl Cesario and featured Margaret Benson, Nancy Spain and Gregg Garofalo. "Seeking an Adult Guardianship: What's Next?" begins at 26:23 in the video.
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June 14, 2012 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers House Bill 5221 (Child-support enforcement), House Bill 4665 (Residential construction and radon), House Bill 5314 (Security deposit and email), Senate Bill 1691 (Business law cleanup) and HJRCA 49 (Constitutional amendment for pension increase). More information on each bill is available below the video.
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June 14, 2012 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. Three years ago our firm merged. The merger involved three solo attorneys and their staff merging into one firm. Now the firm consists of three partners and six staff members - a firm of nine people. While the firm is doing well financially and we are on a growth track we are having issues involving conflict among the partners and staff. In some ways we are still operating as three law firms. Staff are not working well together and they refer to old firm and new firm. They are resistant to change and they have created personal fiefdoms. We merged to create one firm - not three - but we fear that we are still functioning as three law firms. Do you have any suggestions?
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June 13, 2012 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court announced Wednesday the formation of a commission to remove barriers and increase the ease of interacting with courts by those persons who can’t afford lawyers to represent their interests and needs.
It will be known as the Illinois Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission and is made up of 11 persons, seven of whom are appointed by the Supreme Court. The Illinois Bar Foundation, the Chicago Bar Foundation the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois and the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation appoint one member each. Those groups are all active in raising and distributing funds to legal aid organizations.
Jeffrey D. Colman, a partner at the Chicago firm of Jenner & Block and long a champion of delivering legal services to those who cannot afford them, has been named chair of the Commission by Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride. The Chief Justice presented the proposal to his colleagues on the Court for approval.
“The idea for the Commission was brought to me at the initiative of the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice to build significant steps throughout the state to improve access to the justice system, particularly for the poor and the vulnerable residents of Illinois,” said Chief Justice Kilbride. “The Coalition for Equal Justice and several other groups have made important strides in ensuring equal access to the justice system, but the Supreme Court believes much more remains to be done.”
The Supreme Court charged the Commission on Access to Justice with promoting, facilitating and enhancing equal access to justice with an emphasis on access to the Illinois civil courts and administrative agencies for all people, particularly the poor and vulnerable.
2 comments (Most recent June 15, 2012) -
June 7, 2012 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers House Bill 6192 (Rewrite of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act), House Bill 6191 (Rewrite of the Parentage Act), Senate Bill 3823 (Sanctions for visitation violations), Senate Bill 2569 (Dissipation claims and child support), Senate Bill 3849 (Child support enforcement), House Bill 3960 (Calculation of child support) and Senate Bill 2488 (Cell phones in construction and school zones). More information on each bill is available below the video.
Please note that the General Assembly must send to the Governor passed legislation within 30 days from the date both chambers passed it. The Governor must sign, veto, or amendatorily veto a bill within 60 days of his receipt of it. The "drop date" is the 60-day deadline for each bill and is the date by which the Governor must take action.
If you're interested in what action he has taken on a specific bill or want to view the full text, visit the General Assembly's excellent website at http://www.ilga.gov.
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June 6, 2012 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. Our firm has 24 attorneys. We are managed by a management team consisting of a managing partner (25% of his time), a full-time office administrator, controller, and marketing director. I am currently serving as the managing partner. Recently we have been having conflict between various members of the management team. Our team meetings are stressful and I fear that our effectiveness is being compromised. Do you have any suggestions?
A. I suggest you start by identifying some of the causes. Poor communications are often the root cause of such problems. Interview each of your team members individually and probe. What do they think? Is communications a problem? Are roles, duties, and responsibilities clarified? Lack of clarity in these areas can lead to turf wars. You may want to design a team charter as well as job descriptions for each employee and clarify roles, duties, and responsibilities for each team member. Conduct short weekly team meetings to enhance communications. Use agendas. Take minutes of the meetings. Advise each team member of your expectations including all members working together as team members. Let them know that working together as a team is a performance factor that will be considered in performance evaluations and reviews. Conduct periodic performance reviews. Counsel and take action against problem team members.
Take stock of your performance as well. Are you micro managing the team or second guessing team members? Have you honed your leadership skills? If not - work on your management and leadership skills as well and consider coaching and leadership training if necessary. -
June 5, 2012 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday an increase in the annual registration fee for attorneys practicing in Illinois to fund an important goal — providing legal services in non-criminal cases to those below or near the poverty line.
The Supreme Court also announced that retired judges who wish to remain active on the state roll of attorneys will no longer be exempt from paying the attorney license registration fee.
Under amended Supreme Court rules, the annual registration fee will increase from $289 to $342 — an increase of 14½ cents per day. The entire $53 increase will be remitted to the Lawyers Trust Fund, which contributes to agencies in Illinois that provide legal services to the poor.
“Since its inception, the Lawyers Trust Fund has been integral in providing access to our system of justice to those who can least afford it,” said Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride. “It is a very important goal and even more so in these economic times. It demonstrates a clear commitment by the full Court to continue to encourage attorneys in Illinois to assume responsibility for those unable to afford legal services.”
Even with the increase in fees, Illinois will rank in the bottom half of the states and the District of Columbia in the amount it assesses in licensing fees and dues. Connecticut is the highest with a total fee of $675 annually; Indiana and Maryland are the lowest with an annual fee of $145.
The Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois (LTF) receives its revenue from two sources: a portion of the licensing fee and the interest on pooled funds that attorneys are required to hold for clients while matters are pending. Under the rules changes, the amount remitted to the LTF will increase from $42 to $95.
8 comments (Most recent July 9, 2012) -
June 5, 2012 |
Practice News
The legal community struggles to figure out how to best deal with social media evidence, such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Pinterest. Fortunately, bloggers have posted helpful articles, such as The Four Corners of Social Media and eDiscovery, How Hard is Authenticating Social Media?, The No Fly Zone of Producing An Entire Facebook Profile and Published cases involving social media evidence.For employment lawyers is Hot Off The Press - Today's New NLRB Social Media Guidance, from the Social Media Employment Law Blog.Tort and media lawyers will find How Should We Measure Damages for Defamation Over Social Media? from Citizen Media Law Projectthought provoking.