David F. Rolewick, senior partner of the law firm of Rolewick & Gutzke, P.C., in Wheaton, has recently been appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to serve as the Chairperson of the Review Board of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Court.
Mr. Rolewick has been a member of the Review Board for three years, and prior thereto he served as a hearing panel member for the ARDC. David's brother, Carl Rolewick, served as the first Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission for the Illinois Supreme Court.
Practice News
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December 10, 2009 |
Practice News
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December 10, 2009 |
Practice News
Chicago-area real estate lawyers take note: Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract 5.0 is coming, and it makes important changes to the so-called "common contract" (i.e., version 4.0 of the multi-board contract) that many realtors in the region use. In the new ISBA Real Property newsletter, Joe Fortunato points out some of the most important differences between the new contract and its predecessor, discusses the implications of those changes and offers tips about how to react. Read his article.
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December 10, 2009 |
Events | Practice News
The Illinois Judges Association will present "Ten Things Lawyers and Judges Need To Know About Military and Veterans' Laws" at the ISBA/IJA Joint Meeting on Friday, Dec. 11. This program will take place from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in Chicago Ballroom 10 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, 301 E. North Water Street. Participating in this program will be Joseph Butler and Brian Clauss, Co-Executive Directors of the John Marshall Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic; John Costello, Illinois Attorney General's Office and Colonel Richard Fox, Illinois Army National Guard.
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December 9, 2009 |
Practice News
In the latest ISBA Family Law newsletter, Angela Peters offers the second of two installments on an increasingly important and contentious issue in divorce -- custody of the pet(s). (The first installment appeared in November.) Lots of good advice like this: "Pet support is best negotiated in an out of court settlement, since courts will view pets as property on the issue of ordering support." Read the rest.
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December 9, 2009 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. Our firm has been getting by for 18 months since start-up. We are starting to get some repeat business and I think we are on our way. However, my partner looked at the numbers for 2008 and realized that she made about a third more money last year, both in terms of actual dollars for her work and in terms of origination. Our actual hours were roughly even, but there might have been some slighter disparity. Now we are having that first talk about changing from the straight 50-50 split to the perhaps the other extreme of "each woman for herself" (after jointly paying basic expenses). What are your suggestions? A. I have reviewed your comments. In small firms the best systems are those that are simple, easy to understand and easy to implement. Often two partners start out on a 50%-50% arrangement and the arrangement eventually has to be changed when and if their situations change that has a major impact upon their overall contributions to the firm. (Notice I used the word contributions - not necessarily - fees collected). However, until level of contributions change - I have often seen 50% arrangements work well in small firms that are looking to build a Firm - rather than simply their own practice and earn as much money as they can for themselves. When level of contributions change - in a healthy partner culture - the partners will be able to talk to each other and sit down and discuss an alternative arrangement that makes sense for them. I encourage firms to look beyond single-year timeframes - typically 3-5 year cycles. Sometimes in healthy firm cultures one partner may need to carry the other partner for awhile.
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December 8, 2009 |
Practice News
E-mail a case
You asked for it and Fastcase delivered. In response to popular demand by our users, we recently rolled out our e-mail feature which allows you to e-mail a case to yourself or to your colleagues or clients. Just follow these simple steps: 1. When you are browsing a case, simply click on the Email Beta! link towards the upper right hand side of the page. 2. This will bring you to the E-mail Document Window. Here you can enter in the recipient's e-mail address. The e-mail address you used to register with Fastcase will always be filled-in by default, but you can click in the Send E-mail To: box and change the e-mail address to anything you like. 3. Click on the Send Email button. That's it! The case you selected will be delivered shortly. The e-mail is will be addressed from support@fastcase.com and the case text will be in the body of the e-mail. Tip: To ensure that Fastcase e-mails are not caught by your junk e-mail or spam filters, add support@fastcase.com to your list of trusted senders.Live Chat
At Fastcase, our mission is to help you work smarter, not harder. Our live customer support is an important part of this mission and Live Chat is one of the best ways to take advantage of this service. It works just like an instant-messaging program and allows you to get personalized help while multi-tasking at the same time. -
December 7, 2009 |
Practice News
Check it out. Steve Baker, legislative liaison with the Cook County Public Defender's office, does his usual yeoman's work in summarizing -- and, in many cases, analyzing and commenting on -- the criminal, traffic and juvenile law Senate bills from the 96th General Assembly in the latest ISBA Criminal Justice newsletter.
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December 7, 2009 |
Practice News
Ogle County State's Attorney John B. "Ben" Roe is being honored by the MacArthur Foundation-supported Models for Change juvenile justice systems reform initiative as a Champion for Change in juvenile justice reform for his determination to improve the lives of court-involved kids, their families, and communities. Roe will be recognized at the 4th annual Models for Change national conference in Washington, D.C., this week for his leadership of the Ogle County Juvenile Justice Council, which has forged a strong local partnership dedicated to community safety and positive youth outcomes. Models for Change is the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's $140 million national initiative to reform juvenile justice across the country. Sixteen states are now involved - four working on a range of state and local reforms, and 12 as part of three action networks focusing on disproportionate minority contact, mental health, and juvenile indigent defense. "Ben Roe has transcended the traditional role of the prosecutor in dealing with juvenile crime," said Shay Bilchik, Director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University Public Policy Institute. "He understands that the prosecutor has a responsibility to serve as more than just the gatekeeper to the juvenile court system, determining which juveniles should be charged with crimes or diverted from the system." "He has promoted the notion, both through his words and actions, that a prosecutor must serve as a community leader working both to prevent and respond appropriately to juvenile offending," Bilchik continued. "In this regard, he has become an instrumental partner in the MfC initiative, conveying the message to other prosecutors of the importance of supporting this work and the principles embodied therein." Roe, who is serving his second term as state's attorney of Ogle County in northwestern Illinois, was instrumental in the creation of an agreement that ensures juvenile offenders undergo a professional assessment in the early stage of their contact with the justice system. Information received from the assessment of each juvenile helps determine whether the youth could benefit from a variety of services, including mental health therapy, treatment for drug addictions and family counseling. As Chair of the Ogle County Juvenile Justice Council, Roe was key to reaching an unprecedented agreement with the judiciary, probation department and public defenders. Signed earlier this year, the agreement stipulates that information gained from the early assessment will not be shared with Ogle County prosecutors - a condition that allows the county to provide counseling without violating any of a juvenile's rights and encourages the juveniles to talk frankly without fear of self-incrimination. The counseling is conducted by a state-licensed therapist on the staff of the Ogle County Probation Department, and the therapist must adhere to the privacy protections of the Illinois Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act.
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December 4, 2009 |
Practice News
From CNNMoney.com: "A permanent estate tax extension OK'd by the House may not pass muster in the Senate. But it is expected that lawmakers will keep the estate tax for good." Read the article.
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December 3, 2009 |
Practice News
In the latest ISBA Elder Law newsletter, Peoria lawyer Susan Dawson-Tibbits describes two laws important to elder law practitioners, both of which take effect Jan. 1. The Banking Convenience Account for Depositors Act creates the "convenience account," which allows a designee to make deposits into an account without being a joint owner of it. That way, an elderly parent can permit his son or daughter to pay bills and the like without giving the child a bigger stake in the account than the parent intended. Another new statute, the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act, fills a gap in the law. "Obtaining a guardianship over a disabled adult sometimes involves complex jurisdictional issues, as a disabled person may have connections with more than one state, own property in a state other than the state of residence, or may wish to reside in a different state after a guardianship has been imposed," Tibbits writes. Current law doesn't address those jurisdictional issues; the new Act does. Find out more about both laws.