Practice News

By Peter LaSorsa Most lawyers have a presence on the Internet in the form of a website. Of course a website is a form of advertising and therefore the rules regarding advertising must be followed. I did a recent random survey of websites in the Chicago area (checking out the competition) and found an interesting trend. On the front page of many websites there is a form that the user can fill out and send to the law firm. Most have a place for name, address, phone number, email and a brief synopsis of what the issue is. At the bottom of the form by the submit button there is a box that the user checks agreeing to the terms and conditions as defined by the law firm. There is usually a hyperlink on the words terms and conditions, which allows the user to view the actual terms and conditions prior to checking the box. On my website instead of terms and conditions I utilize the word disclaimer. The same action takes place, as the word disclaimer is a hyperlink that takes the user to a page or two of information regarding the disclaimer. I actually chose the word disclaimer instead of terms and conditions for the following reason. The language of most legal websites starts with something to the affect that by visiting the website or sending in a form with your name and address the action does not imply or infer a legal agreement or contract of any kind with the firm. In my opinion the problem with utilizing words like “terms and conditions” are that those words are inherent with agreements and contracts. I mean terms and conditions to what? To an agreement or contract that you are then denying has been formed?

Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride of the Illinois Supreme Court and Chief Judge Michael Brandt of the 10th Judicial Circuit announced Tuesday a new mediation program to help ease the financial and emotional burden of homeowners, lenders and taxpayers caused by residential mortgage foreclosures in Peoria County. Chief Justice Kilbride said he is hopeful that the foreclosure mediation program will help keep some families in their homes and help prevent vacant and abandoned houses that drive down property values and destabilize neighborhoods. The Illinois Supreme Court approved the program which is modeled after one which began last June in Will County. Both programs operate with no expense to taxpayers and are sustained by an increase in filing fees paid by lenders seeking to foreclose. "This is an important step forward for those who have suffered the effects of our nation's economic crisis in Peoria," said Chief Justice Kilbride. "The Supreme Court has a keen interest in programs that have the strong promise of achieving timely and lasting resolutions to tough problems." The program in Peoria County not only mirrors the one in Will County, but comes after another mortgage foreclosure initiative was announced last week by the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court. On the recommendation of Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis, the Court appointed a special 14-person committee to study ways to ease the burdens of homeowners and to ensure fairness throughout foreclosure proceedings. It is anticipated that the Committee will propose procedures that can be implemented throughout the state. The Committee will examine the program in Will County and Peoria County as well as the one operating in Cook County, which is partially funded through county funds.

United States Bankruptcy Judge Manuel Barbosa of the Northern District of Illinois has applied to be reappointed by the United States Court of Appeals to a new 14-year term when his current term expires on March 23, 2012.  A United States Bankruptcy Judge is a judicial officer of the United States District Court who exercises the authority of the district court with respect to any action, suit, or proceeding under Chapter 6 of Title 28 of the United States Code.  28 U.S.C. § 151.  Comments are invited from the public and the bar as to whether Judge Barbosa should be reappointed.  Those comments should be in writing and sent by June 17, 2011 to:

• Collins T. Fitzpatrick
• Circuit Executive
• 219 S. Dearborn
• Room 2780
• Chicago, IL 60604

By Peter LaSorsa I have been asked a few times by attorneys, clients and just friends who know I handle technology issues the same question — how long should my password be?  The answer is... it depends on whether you want a guaranteed secure password or one that is probably secure.  At one time, if you had a six-to-eight string of numbers and letters, your password was considered secure. However with the increase in computer processing and the advances in cryptic code-breaking software the new six-to-eight is 12. Why 12? Well, recently researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology focused on the issue of password security and they determined that with current technology it would take the bad guys 17,134 years to break a password of 12 characters. Bad news if you are planning on living for 18,000 years but good news for the rest of us. In case you are wondering, an 11-character password can be broken in 180 years. And you can imagine how drastically it decreases from there. I know, 180 years is plenty so why the overkill. Technology is increasing at a rapid pace and although the numbers I am giving are true today, they will come down severely in the next few years. So the idea is to build in room for new technology and advances by the bad guys. The researchers believe the best password is an entire sentence, preferably one that includes numbers or symbols. Why an entire sentence? I know many people have been taught that words are weak for passwords but here is the logic. A sentence is both long and complex, and also easy to remember.