By Peter LaSorsa
In a recent survey more young people are utilizing text messages than email as a form of communication. In fact, both Google and Facebook are investing heavily in the text message application space. The difference between SMS (a text message) and email is not just the weight and friction of the user interface and cognitive load of having a subject line. The main difference is in social and mental framing of that medium of communication.
Sending a text message to someone’s Gmail or Yahoo mail does not make it an email. Most young people (read this as your clients for the next 30 years) believe email to be too slow and formal and prefer to text. As an attorney, a decision has to be made as to whether to fully engage in the world of text messages and if so, how will you preserve the client communication?
There are times when a text message makes sense, your client is running late, do to a late train, the train is crowded and a phone call probably will sound garbled—instead a quick text (stuck on train is 15 min late k for appt?). Whether we like it or not that is the way the 20 something generation thinks and communicates. I quick text response of (fine) and the issue is solved. The advantage to this type of communication is that you may be out of the office and rushing back for the appointment and now you can relax knowing you will have extra time.
I know many will argue an email will accomplish the same task but only if both parties have smart phones with email capability. Additionally, if you are just getting out of court you may have 10 or 20 emails in your inbox and by the time you get to them, it is too late to take advantage of your extra 15 minutes.
Practice News
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December 8, 2010 |
Practice News
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December 7, 2010 |
Practice News
Time was when Illinois nursing homes were not allowed to include provisions in their contracts with residents under which the resident waived his or her right to a jury trial. So said the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. Well, it doesn't say that anymore. The Illinois Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year in Carter v. SSC Odin Operating Co. voided the anti-waiver provision of the Act. The court found that "the Federal Arbitration Act ('FAA') preempts Illinois state law restrictions on arbitration agreements and they are enforceable, as long as they do not run afoul of the state’s laws that apply to any contract," writes Edward Clancy in the latest issue of ISBA's Health Care Law newsletter. Read his analysis.
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December 7, 2010 |
Practice News
Purpose of Redeploy Illinois: The purpose of Redeploy Illinois [(P.A. 93-0641) December 2003] is to create financial incentives to keep youth in the local community rather than commit them to the Department of Juvenile Justice. According to the current statute, each site is required to reduce juvenile commitments of non-violent offenders to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) by 25% in one year. The program excludes murder and Class X forcible felonies. On April 7, 2009, Governor Quinn signed in to law Senate Bill 1013 (P.A. 95-1050) which will enable counties with fewer than an average of 10 commitments over the previous 3 years to access a pool of funding to enter in to an agreement to provide services to juveniles to avoid commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice. Redeploy Illinois Sites: The original four Redeploy sites include: Second Judicial District (includes 12 counties in Southern Illinois: Crawford, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jefferson, Lawrence, Richland, Wabash, Wayne, and White), Macon County, Peoria County, and St.
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December 6, 2010 |
Practice News
The Senate and House have created special committees to review and recommend changes in Illinois' Workers' Compensation system before the 96th General Assembly adjourns on Jan. 12, 2011. The next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 8, at the Thompson Center in Chicago at 10:00 in Room 16-503. The Senate has posted some of the written testimony received by some of the groups that have appeared, which may be found here. The business community's recommendations include the following: (1) Require causation that the accident was the prevailing factor in causing the medical condition or disability. (2) Change the rules on wage-loss differential awards. (3) Change the medical fee schedule. (4) Allow employers to choose the treating physician. (5) Require use of the AMA guidelines for ratings of disability.
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December 3, 2010 |
Practice News
Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today major changes in the Circuit Court that include the appointment of new Presiding Judges and Supervising Judges in almost half of the court's divisions and districts and the creation of a new division dedicated to elder law matters, the Elder Law and Miscellaneous Remedies Division. "I want to be clear that these changes I am undertaking in the court system are designed to ensure that the Circuit Court of Cook County remains on its current trajectory as a model court for the nation," Chief Judge Evans said. In addition to the 10 appointments announced today, Chief Judge Evans said he expects to announce additional adjustments at the court's executive management level in the near future. He also indicated that reviews of the structure and operations within the court's divisions and districts are forthcoming. In addition to the creation of the new division dedicated solely to elder probate matters, he said, "Further significant changes to the court are to be expected." The Circuit Court is made up of six geographical districts and 10 divisions: Law, Chancery, County, Domestic Relations, Domestic Violence, Juvenile Justice, Child Protection, Probate, Criminal, and Elder Law and Miscellaneous Remedies.
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December 2, 2010 |
Practice News
CRIMINAL
People v. Becker
By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender Defendant, on trial for sexual offenses against his then 3-year-old daughter, sought to introduce the testimony of an expert witness concerning the credibility of hearsay statements made by the daughter. The trial court barred the expert testimony, and a divided appellate court reversed. -
December 1, 2010 |
Practice News
Senate Bill 1716 recognizes civil unions in Illinois and just passed both chambers of the General Assembly. It will be sent to Governor Quinn, who has indicated that he will sign it into law. Here's how the senators voted (32-24-1)
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December 1, 2010 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am the managing partner of a 14 attorney law firm located in Nashville, Tenn. We have 8 equity partners. The firm represents business and other institutional clients and handles transactional work as well as litigation. Each partner over the years has accumulated "partnership interest" percentages and these interests are used totally to determine annual compensation as well as ownership in the firm. The only numbers that matter in our firm are billable hours -- not dollars -- and billable hour reports are all that we have ever looked at when reviewing associate performance or partner contribution. We are now beginning to question the wisdom of this approach -- should be considering more than hours? A. Billable hours alone is a poor indicator of associate or partner performance and you should include more measures/metrics in the analysis. More and more law firms today realize that partner contribution and value goes beyond and involves much more than “billable hours” and their compensation systems incorporate other factors into the analysis. Billable hours is just one metric in the overall equation. Many law firms focus on various measures of revenue dollars - fees billed, fees collected, etc. The next question is what kind of fee dollars - working attorney, responsible (managing) attorney, or originating attorney. Fees collected by working attorney seems to be the primary focus of smaller law firms. Origination (attorney that brought in the client) attorney fees collected is often part of the mix as well. Very seldom do we see responsible attorney fees collected considered.
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November 30, 2010 |
Practice News
In an initiative spearheaded by former Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald, Illinois belatedly joined the vast majority of states by codifying its rules of evidence. The code takes effect January 1 and brings a few changes along with the new organizational scheme. Helen Gunnarsson reports in the December IBJ. Oh, and don't forget to order your pocket-size edition of the Rules.
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November 30, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that Matthew G. Bertani received a majority of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit and has been appointed to the office of associate judge. Mr. Bertani received his undergraduate degree in 1983 from Drake University and his Juris Doctor in 1988 from the University of Arizona. Mr. Bertani is currently affiliated with Sabuco, Beck, Hansen, Schrock & Bertani in Joliet, Illinois.