Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am a law firm administrator with a 27 attorney firm in the southwest. This is my first law firm experience. I have been in my position for 8 months and am frustrated. Could you share your thoughts:
A. During the past decade the roles of legal administrators have expanded dramatically. Today legal administrators can be found in firms with less than 10 attorneys. In larger firms, as well as many smaller firms, roles have shifted from day-to-day administration to firm wide leadership. A few large firm administrators are functioning as true CEOs. Large firm administrators are devoting more of their time and attention to strategic vs. administrative matters. Recent studies suggest that, in firms with more than 50 attorneys,there is an an uplifting of the role of principal administrators. Roles that have grown dramatically in recent years are strategic planning and practice management. Administrator’s roles in large law firms are no longer restricted to administrative matters.
Practice News
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November 18, 2010 |
Practice News
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November 17, 2010 |
Practice News
[caption id="attachment_16179" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Carolyn Smoot"][/caption] The Supreme Court of Illinois announced Wednesday that Carolyn B. Smoot, an attorney for 27 years, has been appointed a resident circuit judge in the First Judicial Circuit. Ms. Smoot was appointed to fill the Circuit Court seat which became vacant upon the November 1, 2010 retirement of Circuit Judge Ronald Eckiss. Her appointment is effective December 15, 2010 and will expire December 3, 2012, when the position will be filled by the winner of the 2012 General Election. "I am very honored and humbled by this appointment. I deeply appreciate the confidence that Justice Karmeier and the Illinois Supreme Court have placed in me. I look forward to serving the people as a circuit judge; becoming the first woman judge in Williamson County makes my appointment that much more special.”
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November 16, 2010 |
Practice News
Maybe not, but you can hear the respirator running, write Stan Kaminski and Bill Seitz in the latest issue of ISBA's Tax Trends newsletter. "Undoubtedly, the impact of the [Illinois Supreme Court's recent] Provena decision along with the passage of Health Care Insurance Reform has put Illinois’ property tax exemption for charitable hospitals on life support. Whether the Illinois legislature can or will help cure the problem is questionable." The authors parse Provena, consider the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and offer tips to help lawyers who represent nonprofit hospitals improve the odds that their clients will qualify for an exemption. Read their analysis.
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November 15, 2010 |
Practice News
[caption id="attachment_16082" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Jean M. Prendergast"][/caption] The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that Schuyler, Roche & Crisham shareholder Jean M. Prendergast has been appointed to the Cook County Circuit Court, effective Dec. 3. Prendergast is the President of the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association and has written about Illinois Supreme Court decisions for this blog. She is a 1994 graduate of the Loyola University Chicago School of Law and has clerked for Illinois Supreme Court Justices Mary Ann McMorrow and Mary Jane Theis (while as an Appellate Justice).
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November 15, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the filing of disciplinary orders involving a number of licensed lawyers. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law. More information on each case is available at the ARDC website.
DISBARRED
- John Lansing Isaac, Littleton, Colo.
- Gerald John Jansen, Santa Ana, Calif.
- Gary Lynn Kaplan, San Anselmo, Calif.
- Manso Kavvadias, Batavia
- Tom George Kontos, La Jolla, Calif.
- Paul Ira Nemoy, Chicago
- Michael Nicholas Skoubis, Chicago
- Sam Tuzzolino, Skokie
SUSPENDED
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November 15, 2010 |
Practice News
Newspapers throughout Illinois and the nation have been discussing the state's death penalty laws. The Illinois General Assembly is expected to take up the measure in its next session - which starts tomorrow. Here is a roundup of recent editorials and news articles on the issue:
- Our Opinion: It's time for state to abolish death penalty, Springfield State Journal-Register
- Our view: Accept no substitute, abolish death penalty in Illinois, Rockford Register Star
- Expose hits hard at death penalty system, New York Times
- New effort to eliminate death penalty in Illinois, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Group to push for death penalty ban, Decatur Herald & Review
- Bill to repeal Illinois' death penalty may come up for vote next week, Chicago Business
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November 15, 2010 |
Practice News
Senate Bill 3322 (Harmon, D-Oak Park; Lang, D-Chicago) creates the Non-Recourse Civil Litigation Funding Act to regulate entities that loan money to consumers in exchange for an assignment of an amount of the potential proceeds of the consumer’s legal action. Scheduled for hearing Tuesday afternoon in House Judiciary I.
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November 12, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that Thomas J. Dinn, III, received a majority of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the Second Judicial Circuit and is declared to be appointed to the office of associate judge. Mr. Dinn received his undergraduate degree in 1991 from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and his Juris Doctor in 1995 from Southern Illinois University. Mr. Dinn is currently affiliated with the Franklin County State’s Attorney’s Office in Benton.
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November 11, 2010 |
Practice News
In the latest ISBA Trusts and Estates newsletter, Jay S. Goldenberg offers a simple remedy for a nettlesome problem. Suppose that, as in Jay's case, your wife is your primary agent under your POA for health care, but you want your successor-agent daughters to be kept in the loop about your status and treatment. Under HIPAA, the hospital is authorized to release information only to your primary agent. How do you open the spigot? Here's what Jay did: "I added the following language to the statutory form just after Paragraph 5 (which lists successor agents). 'Without changing the order of succession as agent, I give permission to any health care provider to release any and all of my medical information to any successor agent named hereunder, regardless if acting.'" So far, it's done the trick, Jay reports.
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November 10, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that Julie K. Katz, received a majority of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit and is declared to be appointed to the office of associate judge. Ms. Katz received her undergraduate degree in 1981 from the University of Illinois in Urbana, and her Juris Doctor in 1984 from the University of Illinois. Ms. Katz is currently affiliated with Cannady & Katz, P.C., in Belleville.