The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that retired Associate Judge Charles J. Gramlich has been recalled to duty in the 7th Judicial Circuit. This appointment was required by the recent death of Judge Lois Bell. This recall is effective Aug. 1, 2011, and terminates on Dec. 3, 2012.
Practice News
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August 1, 2011 |
Practice News
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July 28, 2011 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reports from Springfield on two family law bills recently signed into law: (PA 97-189)-Penalty for False reporting of child abuse or neglect enhanced to a Class 4 felony and (PA 97-186)-two changes affecting past-due child support.
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July 27, 2011 |
Practice News
You just don't get Twitter, you say? You're not alone. But many of your colleagues, including some who shared your skepticism, are using Twitter to reach out to fellow practitioners, communicate with the public, and make themselves better lawyers. Read all about it in the August Illinois Bar Journal.
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July 27, 2011 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the senior partner in a six attorney firm in Los Angeles. I am 68 years old and thought that it was about time I begin thinking about retirement and begin discussions with my other partners. We have no partnership agreement and no plans in place to effect the transition of partners. What are some of the methods being used by law firms effect the retirement of partners?
A. There are almost as many approaches as there are law firms - ranging from partners that just leave and give their practices to the others partners to various methods for buying out the departing partner's interest in the partnership. In the final analysis the optimal approach is what makes everyone happy and a solution that everyone can live with. Here are a few illustrations:
Fully Funded Retirement
- Partner gets capital account
- Share of current year earnings
- Benefits from the partner’s personal retirement plan
- No payment for share of WIP or AR
50 Percent Wind Down Option – Then Retirement Payments For Live
- Five year step-down plan in lieu of payoff
- Partner get capital accounts
- Share of accounts receivable
- No share of WIP
- Five year stepped pay down to 50%, then for life one-half of 5th year payout.
Pension For Live
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July 26, 2011 |
Practice News
Lawyers are increasingly receiving emails from alleged potential clients who supply legitimate looking but bogus checks and then develop reasons why some or all of the money has to be wire transferred to institutions or individuals who are usually in foreign countries. We expect these fraudulent activities to continue and we want to help our policyholders avoid these situations. While the checks are transmitted in a way that appears to be legitimate, they routinely turn out to be bogus.
The same scenario is common with each of these scams. The law firm receives what appears to be a cashier’s check drawn on a legitimate domestic or foreign bank from a prospective client for a legitimate sounding business purpose. The law firm deposits the check in their client trust account. Almost immediately, the firm is besieged by the prospective client with urgent requests to wire transfer some or all of the proceeds of the check to banks or other recipients usually in foreign countries for legitimate sounding emergency needs. The original check turns out to be bogus.
3 comments (Most recent July 28, 2011) -
July 26, 2011 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that David A. Brown, received a majority of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the Tenth Judicial Circuit and is declared to be appointed to the office of associate judge.
Mr. Davis received his undergraduate degree in 1986 from Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana and his Juris Doctor and M.S. in 1990 from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Mr. Brown is currently affiliated with Black, Black & Brown in Washington, Illinois.
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July 25, 2011 |
ISBA News | Practice News
"Understanding the Juvenile Justice Process" and "Alternatives to Juvenile Detention," two half-hour programs presented by Illinois Law, will air on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago in August. Understanding the Juvenile Justice Process will air at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, August 2 and 16, and Alternatives to Juvenile Detention will air at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, August 9 and 23.
Appearing on the shows are (from left) program moderator Samuel A. Kavathas, of Kavathas & Castanes in Chicago; Kaitrin E. Valencia, deputy chief, Cook County Juvenile Probation Department; Hon. James M. Radcliffe (Ret.) of Belleville; and ISBA Immediate Past President Mark D. Hassakis, of Hassakis & Hassakis, PC, in Mount Vernon.Illinois Law is a cable production of the Illinois State Bar Association. View these programs and past Illinois Law programs online at iln.isba.org/blog/illinois-law-video.
The 33,000-member ISBA, with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public. -
July 21, 2011 |
Practice News
ISBA’s Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reports from Springfield on new legislation, including County prisoners and childbirth (House Bill 1958), Residential mortgage originators (Public Act 97-143), Uniform Foreign Country Money Judgements Recognition Act, Adoption Act Registry, Health Care PoAs and Condominiums and associations.
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July 21, 2011 |
ISBA News | Practice News
Understanding the Juvenile Justice Process Alternatives to Juvenile Detention
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July 20, 2011 |
Practice News
It's a harsh truth, but truth nonetheless: when a foreclosure sale doesn't cover a borrower's debt, the lender can go after the borrower -- personally -- for the amount due on the property. And while courts might not like it, they can't ignore the lender's prerogative. So writes Stephen J. Butler in the latest ISBA Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy newsletter. Read his article, which discusses the legal standard for entering a deficiency judgment and "address[es] several of the common roadblocks thrown up by courts in denying such judgments [and]...the legal arguments that should be made to overcome these roadblocks."