Illinois' tax amnesty program begins October 1, allowing errant taxpayers (make that taxnonpayers) to pony up while avoiding interest and penalties they'd otherwise be liable for. Unlike the most recent amnesty program, participation in this one doesn't "preclude a taxpayer from claiming a refund for an overpayment of tax on an issue unrelated to the issues for which the taxpayer claimed amnesty," write David J. Kupiec and Natalie M. Martin in the most recent issue of ISBA's Tax Trends. Read more.
Practice News
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September 9, 2010 |
Practice News
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September 9, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that C. Kate Moreland is appointed Circuit Judge of Cook County, at Large, to the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Victoria A. Stewart. This appointment is effective September 20, 2010, and terminates on December 3, 2012.
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September 9, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Kane County State’s Attorney John A. Barsanti as a Circuit Court Judge in the 16th Judicial Circuit to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Michael J. Colwell. The appointment is effective December 1, 2010 and terminates December 3, 2012. Mr. Barsanti, elected as state’s attorney in 2004 and re-elected in 2008, has a total of 27 years as a prosecutor dating to 1979, two years after law school, when he first joined the office. Mr. Barsanti received his Bachelor of Science degree from Carroll College and his juris doctorate from Kent College of Law in Chicago in 1977. He worked for two years in the Illinois Department of Labor before joining the state’s attorneys office. He also worked for the Illinois Appellate Prosecutor’s Office from 2000 to 2004. Mr. Barsanti is a member of the Capital Litigation Bar -- qualified to try death penalty cases --and was appointed to the Capital Litigation Screening Committee by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts. He is a member of the Kane County Bar Association, and has been a criminal law instructor at Waubonsee Community College and has served as a faculty member at training seminars for the State Appellate Prosecutor’s Office. He was born and raised in Cicero, and has been a resident of Kane County since 1972. He is married, and the couple has four children.
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September 9, 2010 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC For the past two weeks I have been discussing the characteristics of successful law firms and introduced the following basic building blocks that successful firms typically have in place:
- Partner Relations
- Leadership
- Firm Management
- Partner Compensation
- Planning
- Client Service
- Marketing
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September 1, 2010 |
Practice News
By Shamla Naidoo Two weeks ago I wrote about the Houston lawyer’s client whose personal information was dumped in a parking lot. Most states have Breach Notification Statutes that compel companies to notify consumers of such “breach” incidents. Many states apply breach notification obligations where there is inappropriate disclosure of computerized personal information. This makes sense given how easy it is to expose large volumes of data that are stored, generated or shared by computer systems. In Illinois, 815 ILCS 530, commonly known as the Personal Information Protection Act, governs the obligations for such incidents that affect an Illinois resident. The statute defines a data collector and the definition includes privately and publicly held corporations, and……”any other entity that, for any purpose, handles, collects, disseminates, or otherwise deals with nonpublic personal information”. By definition, this statute governs all law offices and even those of us who practice as private individuals are covered because we handle information of our clients that are non-public and personal. Attorneys are data collectors in Illinois! So, you are covered by this statute but what does that mean for your practice? In short, when you are responsible (directly or indirectly) for the inappropriate exposure of your client’s personal information, you must notify them or you will be in violation of 815 ILCS 530 as an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
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September 1, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed Stephen P. McGlynn as Circuit Judge at large in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit. Mr. McGlynn, who had served before by appointment on the Fifth District Appellate Court, will fill the Circuit vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Michael O’ Malley. The appointment will take effect September 17 and will terminate December 3, 2012. Supreme Court Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier recommended Mr. McGlynn’s appointment after an application process which included review by a specially selected screening committee and interviews by Justice Karmeier of three finalists. Nineteen persons applied for the position, one withdrew and the remaining applicants were screened by the six-person committee who presented Justice Karmeier with the names of the three finalists. “I want to thank the Supreme Court and Justice Karmeier for the confidence they have placed in me, and the bipartisan selection committee that did its job in evaluating a number of very good people who applied,” said Mr. McGlynn. “I really enjoyed my prior tenure on the bench, and I’m very honored because I know that a judge can do a lot of good things, and it’s a marvelous way to serve my community.”
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September 1, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court announced Wednesday that Sangamon County State’s Attorney John P. Schmidt has been appointed a circuit judge at-large in the Seventh Judicial Circuit. Mr. Schmidt was appointed to fill the Circuit Court vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Thomas Appleton to the Fourth District Appellate Court. The appointment is effective October 1, 2010 and will expire December 3, 2012. Justice Rita B. Garman recommended the appointment of Mr. Schmidt after a review process by a special citizen screening committee. The committee unanimously recommended Mr. Schmidt’s appointment to Justice Garman to fill the vacancy. Mr. Schmidt graduated from Western Illinois University in 1987 with a B.S. degree in History. He received his juris doctor degree from University of Tulsa in 1990. Before his appointment to the bench, Mr. Schmidt served as special assistant U.S. attorney from 1990-1992; he was responsible for prosecution of federal law violations, advising federal law enforcement agencies and preparing briefs for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. From 1992-1995, he served as Sangamon County assistant state’s attorney. While there, he prosecuted various types of traffic, misdemeanor and felony cases. Subsequently, Mr. Schmidt served as first assistant state’s attorney for four years until his appointment as Sangamon County State’s Attorney in 1999. He has since won election to that position three times, most recently in 2008. Mr. Schmidt has served as member of the board of directors, treasurer and president of the Mental Health Centers of Central Illinois and as chairman of the Sangamon Child Advocacy Center. A resident of Springfield, Mr. Schmidt is married with one child.
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September 1, 2010 |
Practice News
Thanks to new legislation effective January 1, 2011, spouses will no longer need to choose between the protection against creditors provided by tenancy by the entirety and the estate-planning advantages of a revocable inter vivos trust, Helen Gunnarsson reports in the September Illinois Bar Journal.
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September 1, 2010 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Last week I discussed the characteristics of successful law firms and introduced the basic building blocks that successful firms typically have in place. These are:
- Partner Relations
- Leadership
- Firm Management
- Partner Compensation
- Planning
- Client Service
- Marketing
- Last week we focused on partner relations as a core foundational building block.
- Developing people
- Being able to influence others
- Encouraging teamwork
- Empowering people
- Using multiple options thinking
- Taking intelligent risks
- Being passionate about work
- Having a strong clear vision.
- Leadership skills will need to be included in compensation systems.
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August 31, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday appointed Associate Judge Michael N. Cook to fill the Circuit Court vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Annette A. Eckert, resident Circuit Judge of St. Clair County in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit. The appointment, made upon the recommendation of Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier, is effective October 1, 2010. Judge Cook has served as an associate judge since 2007. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he served as an associate with the Belleville law firm of Cook, Ysursa, Bartholomew, Brauer & Shevlin; he was also an assistant public defender for St. Clair County. Judge Cook graduated in 1999 with a juris doctor degree from the University of Tulsa. While there, he served on the Board of Advocates and in the Elder Law Legal Clinic. He graduated in 1994 with a bachelor of science degree in anthropology from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. His is a member of the St. Clair County Bar Association and currently serves as its first vice-president. In addition, Judge Cook also serves as chairman of the paralegal scholarship program at Southwestern Illinois College. Judge Cook is the only candidate seeking to succeed Judge Eckert, and will be unopposed on the November ballot.