By Peter LaSorsa
I often have attorneys ask what type of printer they should purchase. Many seem to think they need a color printer. The first question I always ask is how many color prints will you actually print per month. Go back and look at the last three months and give an honest assessment. Color printers cost more and the ink costs more so if you really don’t need a color printer, why purchase one? As an alternative to a color printer I suggest purchasing a black and white and sending your color printing needs to Kinko’s. You can upload the file online and pick the printing up at your leisure.
Even if you printed in color in the last three months, did you really have to? Very few items have to be printed in color. In fact, if you are printing pictures, Kinko’s does a better job than your printer will and the paper stock they utilize will be better.
In the long run, purchasing a black and white four-in-one printer/copier/fax/scanner will save money and do a good job. I utilize a Brother DCP 7020 and it sells for around $100. The replacement cartridges are fairly cost effective and the machine is a workhorse. It has never let me down and for a solo does a great job. If you have multiple attorneys it may be less expensive to purchase each attorney their own four-in-one black and white printer.
Practice News
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May 27, 2010 |
Practice News
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May 26, 2010 |
Practice News
As Peoria lawyer Mike Lied reminds us in the latest ISBA Federal Civil Practice newsletter, the Supreme Court in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly ruled "that a complaint which provides only 'fair notice' of a claim is insufficient. In addition to providing notice, the complaint must state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." So, is notice pleading dead in federal court, as many have feared (or hoped, depending on their perspective)? Mike looks at three seventh circuit cases where the court was asked to dismiss the underlying claim under the new pleading standard. And it's clear that Twombly is having an impact. Read his article.
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May 26, 2010 |
Practice News
Once again, the issue of immigration reform has been thrust to the forefront of American politics. Currently, much of the news is focused on the controversial legislation recently enacted by the Arizona legislature requiring police to stop any person they deem “reasonably suspicious” and demand proof legal residence. There has been no shortage of news coverage (and news parodies) regarding the problems of determining who is “reasonably suspicious”, and the questionable constitutionality of the law.
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May 26, 2010 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. We are a 12 attorney firm located in the midwest. We are concerned about the impact that the economy is having on our practice and the current business environment. Our business is down and we are unsure what we should be doing financially to evaluate and improve performance - and survive. A. Management of cash flow is critical. Here are our suggestions of how to examine where you are based upon receipts and your pipeline of future collections: Monthly Billings Are you budgeting your fee billings? Are your billing and collections on track? Are your individual attorneys and other producers meeting their revenue goals? Why not? Collections and Receipts Are your collections in alignment with your cash requirements for firm expenses, client advances, loan repayments and attorney draws? Remember - the total expenses listed on the income statement does not represent all of your cash requirements. Balance sheet accounts such as partner draws, client advances, purchase of assets (equipment), and payments on loans also involve uses of cash and must be taken into consideration. Typically, there is a lag of three months between the time you incur expenses and do work for a client and receive payment. Be aware of potential cash deficits. Costs How are your actual expenses/costs tracking against your budget? Are you within your budget? If not - why? Investigate reasons. If over budget, should you cut costs or is there a way to increase revenue? Sometimes you have to spend money in order to make money. Which costs should be cut - and which should not? Be careful cutting marketing/client development investments. Accounts Receivable Are they increasing or decreasing? What percent are they of your annual billings? Fifteen percent is high - five percent is within the range of acceptability. Uncollected accounts can sink the firm - stay on top of them with an effective management system. Deal with collection problems early - formulate a client acceptance/credit policy - get retainers up front - reject problem clients from the onset.
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May 25, 2010 |
Practice News
Let's say your high-income client moves to a no-income-tax state. But he still has a house in the Land of Lincoln. And a spouse in the house, just to up the ante. Is he a nonresident of Illinois for income tax purposes? Can anybody say "it depends"? David P. Dorner discusses the important factors to consider in the latest ISBA Tax Trends newsletter.
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May 24, 2010 |
Practice News
Important changes are on the horizon for the Illinois Power of Attorney Act, a statute that touches the lives of many (most?) clients and their lawyers. The good news -- assuming the governor signs HB 6477, its effective date is July 1, 2011, giving lawyers, banks and others plenty of time to adjust. According to Mary Cascino in the latest ISBA Trusts and Estates newsletter, "Some of the revisions make the statutory forms more user-friendly, such as revising the Notice to the principal, while other revisions, such as the Notice to Agent in the Property Power of Attorney, are intended to visibly inform the agent about his or her duties under the Act." Read her brief, helpful summary.
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May 24, 2010 |
Practice News
CRIMINAL
People v. Givens
By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender Last month, the Supreme Court decided Givens, concluding that it was error for the appellate court to, sua sponte, decide an issue not argued or briefed by the parties in the appellate court. In so holding, the Court simply vacated the decision of the appellate court and affirmed the circuit court. Defendant sought rehearing, arguing that the Supreme Court should remand the case back to the appellate court for consideration of a chain-of-custody issue which the parties had briefed and argued, but the appellate court had not reached because the appellate court considered the "sua sponte issue" to be dispositive of the outcome on appeal. The Supreme Court modified the relief and remanded the case to the appellate court to consider the chain-of-custody issue. Case summary Supreme Court opinion 107322 -
May 24, 2010 |
Practice News
The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts announced today that the Ninth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Raymond A. Cavanaugh as an associate judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit. Mr. Cavanaugh received his undergraduate degree in 1986 from Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa, and his Juris Doctor in 1990 from John Marshall Law, Chicago. Mr. Cavanaugh is currently affiliated with the Henderson County State’s Attorney’s Office in Oquawka.
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May 20, 2010 |
Practice News
FAMILY
Baumgartner v. Baumgartner
By Celia G. Gamrath, Partner, Schiller DuCanto & Fleck LLP In Baumgartner v. Baumgartner, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the incarceration of a 20-year-old child is not a self-emancipating event that automatically terminates a parent's obligation to contribute to a child's postsecondary education expenses. Though Baumgartner decides only the question of incarceration, the Court's decision affects a broader range of cases in which a child marries or enters the armed forces. For parents, here's the rub: Self-emancipation for support purposes automatically occurs when a child reaches the age of majority; however, it does not necessarily occur if a child is convicted of a felony and incarcerated, gets married or joins the military. Under these scenarios, the Circuit Court must consider all relevant facts and decide whether the colossal event has the effect of emancipating the child and constitutes an abandonment of any pursuit of a higher education. A "lengthy incarceration is simply one of many situations in which a minor may be found to be emancipated." Case summary Supreme Court opinion 109047CIVIL
Founders Ins. Co v. Munoz
By Michael T. Reagan, Herbolsheimer Lannon Henson Duncan and Reagan PC Founders Ins. Co v. -
May 20, 2010 |
Practice News
By Shamla Naidoo You’ve heard about the issues with metadata—lawyers can inadvertently share privileged information, even with opposing counsel. You may also have reviewed the ethics rules on how to react when opposing counsel accidentally sends us a document containing metadata. Wouldn’t it be better to avoid sending the metadata in the first place? Lawyers review the content of legal documents before sharing them. However, metadata is part of the content of the electronic document - but it is not obvious, not on the face of the document - and may be easily overlooked. Careful review of metadata reduces the ethics burden created for other lawyers; increases client confidence in how sensitive matters are handled; and demonstrates competence to operate in the electronic age. There are expensive tools and services to help you manage your metadata; however, you can simply use the available features of your existing word processing software to do this for free. I use Office 2007 so the metadata management discussed here is limited to Word 2007 before converting them to PDF. First, you should clear any existing metadata from new documents since these may include default information. If you use templates or reuse documents, the name of the author of the template or source document may be embedded within your work product. To clear this information, click on the Office button (in the top-left corner of the Word window), select “Prepare”, select “Inspect Document”, and press the “Inspect” button. In the next screen, Word will display all locations where metadata was detected, including document properties, headers, footers, watermarks, etc.