Minnesota bankruptcy judge Robert J. Kressel was surprised by the stir he created when he distributed his “Order Preparation Guidelines” to local bankruptcy lawyers. Before he knew it, his legal-writing guidesheet was bouncing around the 'Net, inspiring mostly favorable comments from bloggers at the ABA Journal, Law.com, and other lofty berths.
The editors of ISBA's Bench and Bar newsletter asked the good judge to let them publish his common-sense guidelines, and he did. More interestingly, they asked him to comment and expand on them, and he did that, too. Read the article here.
By the way, nothing illustrates the challenge of legal writing better than these two sentences from the introduction to Judge Kressel's guidelines: "My goal in preparing orders, as it is for all of my legal writing, is to use regular grammatical English as much as possible. A secondary goal is to use actual statutory language as much as possible, rather than changing or paraphrasing it, which runs the risk of changing its meaning."
If only more actual statutory language were written in regular grammatical English.
Practice News
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March 15, 2010 |
Practice News
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March 14, 2010 |
Practice News
The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts announced Friday that the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Michael A. Wolfe as an associate judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit. Mr. Wolfe received his undergraduate degree in 1981 from Marquette University, and his Juris Doctor in 1984 from John Marshall in Chicago. Mr. Wolfe is currently affiliated with the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office in Wheaton.
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March 12, 2010 |
Practice News
That can be an important question, writes law student Brent Wilson in his article in the latest ISBA Commercial, Banking & Bankruptcy Law newsletter. "The means test of BAPCPA incorporates 'current monthly income' and uses it as an initial hoop that consumer debtors must jump through. If the debtor’s 'current monthly income' is too high according to the median wages of individuals in the debtor’s state, the debtor may not be granted access to Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief." And it's a question courts are struggling with, he writes. Two bankruptcy courts have said "no," unemployment benefits are not "currently monthly income," while two -- most recently the Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois -- have said "yes." Read his article.
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March 10, 2010 |
Practice News
[The following LawPulse item by Illinois Bar Journal contributing writer Helen Gunnarsson give you a taste of what's coming in the as-yet-unpublished April IBJ .] What information about you is on the Internet? Do you know what’s out there? Is everything about you that’s available to anyone with a computer and an Internet connection accurate? Is it consistent with how you want to present yourself?
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March 10, 2010 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am a partner in a 14 attorney firm. Our bookkeeper has been with us for 20 years. We have a time and billing system, a separate bookkeeping system, and a separate database for clients, and something else for trust accounting. The other partners and myself do not know the name of the software that we are using, don't know how to access the software, and we have to ask the bookkeeper for any financial information that we require. We feel like "hostages". She gets offended when we ask questions. When we do receive information we don't know how to read or interpret much of the information. How can we get control of our firm back? A. It is imperative that owners and partners in a law firm have access to financial information on a timely basis, understand the information, and use the information in a proactive way to manage the practice. We suggest:
- The owner, or an appointed partner(s) in larger firms, obtain a basic level of understanding in basic accounting/bookkeeping and law firm financial management.
- The owner, or an appointed partner(s) in larger firms, obtain detailed training on the accounting software system(s) along-side the bookkeeper when the system is implemented.
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March 8, 2010 |
Practice News
The recession has increased pressure on lawyers to consider alternatives to the billable hour, write Patrick T. Driscoll, Jr. and Patricia M. Fallon in the latest ISBA Federal Civil Practice newsletter. "A client expects to pay a fee that corresponds, at least somewhat, to the amount of time spent by the attorney," they say. "Unfortunately, one of the problems with the billable hours system is that it makes no distinction between the hour spent on trivial activities and the hour spent on substantive matters." Read more.
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March 8, 2010 |
Practice News
Gov. Quinn will announce his budget plan for fiscal year 2011 on Wednesday, March 10. For the first time in state history, the governor's office has launched a website to gather public comment on what to include in the budget. This is a chance to let the Gov. know the importance of civil legal aid in our communities. The Governor's office is tracking the issues so your voice will be heard. The Illinois Equal Justice Foundation's appropriation for civil legal aid was cut 50% this year - from $3.5 million to $1.75 million. Eight long-standing grantees were cut, no new programs were funded and the awarded grants were reduced 20%-79% compared to 2009. This means 37,000 fewer people will have their civil legal needs met at a time when legal aid is needed most. Click here to post your comment to the Governor's budget website
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March 5, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Arthur P. Wheatley as a Circuit Judge of Cook County, Seventh Subcircuit. This fills the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Amanda Toney. Wheatley's term runs through Dec. 3, 2012.
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March 3, 2010 |
Practice News
You might have heard that the new Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct allow so-called "limited scope legal representation," aka "unbundling" of legal services. Meaning what? Well, veteran lawyer John Phipps gives an example in the latest General Practice, Solo & Small Firm newsletter: "For example, a client might want to hire a lawyer to present their case or defend them in a small-claims case but limit the lawyer’s role to attend the hearing and either make a court presentation or advise a client as to how to represent himself or herself during the hearing." John explains further and describes what he regards as the benefits and possibilities of unbundling in his editor's column. (Note: John speaketh for himself -- the ISBA has yet to take a position on this issue.)
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March 3, 2010 |
Practice News
As you consider the importance of pro bono in your community, please remember that there are a number of other causes that need our awareness and help. For my family, February means National Marfan Syndrome Awareness Month.