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  • February 10, 2010 | Practice News
    Best Practice: What to look for in an office manager/bookkeeper
    Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. We are a small four attorney firm and recently lost a secretary that had also been doing our billing and bookkeeping. Frankly, while we have been using a secretary for this function in the past – we believe we need to hire someone with more accounting skills than we have had in the past. What should we be looking for? A. Many law firms in the six attorney and under size have shared with us their frustration in staffing the billing and accounting function. Often their investment in computerized billing and accounting systems fails to yield desired results due to poor accounting and management skills. Many small law firms assume that legal secretaries also have requisite accounting and management skills. This author’s experience has been that often this is not the case. Training, skills, and work behaviors are often different. Bookkeepers/accountants and secretaries are different animals. Many small firms are better off creating an accounting/bookkeeping position and staffing the position with a qualified bookkeeper/accountant. For many firms under six attorneys that have fully automated the billing and accounting function and have distributed time entry, this is not a full-time position. In such instances many firms have either recruited a part-time bookkeeper/accountant solely for the accounting function or have created a combined position of office manager/bookkeeper. This justified a full-time position.
  • February 9, 2010 | Practice News
    York appointed as Public Defender for DuPage County
    Chief Circuit Judge Stephen J. Culliton has announced that the Court has appointed Jeffrey R. York to the position of Public Defender for DuPage County. Mr. York has been serving as the Interim Public Defender for DuPage County since November of 2009. He began his career with the DuPage County Public Defender's Office as an Assistant Public Defender in 1997 and was promoted to Public Defender in 2000. He became a Supervising Assistant Public Defender in 2006 and Deputy Public Defender in 2007. Mr. York is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law (1996) and was admitted to the practice of law in the same year. His professional memberships include the Illinois State Bar Association, the DuPage County Bar Association and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
  • February 9, 2010 | Practice News
    Gerts named associate judge in 21st Judicial Circuit
    The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts has announced that the 21st Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Ronald J. Gerts as an associate judge. Mr. Gerts received his undergraduate degree in 1968 from Brown University and his Juris Doctor in 1977 from John Marshall Law School. Mr. Gerts has been affiliated with the Kankakee County Public Defender's Office and his solo practice in Bourbonnais.
  • February 4, 2010 | Practice News
    Illinois Supreme Court decides caps violate separation of powers
    The Illinois Supreme Court ruled today that legislation requiring judges to reduce jury awards of noneconomic damages to victims of medical malpractice violates the separation of powers clause of the Illinois Constitution. In their amicus brief, the Chicago Bar Association and Illinois State Bar Association had urged the court to uphold its previous decisions in which the General Assembly attempted to reduce awards for noneconomic damages. ISBA President John O'Brien noted that this was the third time in the last 35 years that the Supreme Court of Illinois has considered and struck down legislative efforts to cap awards given by juries. "The Court has spoken on this issue in defense of our Constitution and the role of the judiciary and juries." ISBA brief on LeBron Illinois Supreme Court summary Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital
  • February 4, 2010 | Practice News
    Best Practice: Should we merge with another firm?
    Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. We are a small six attorney litigation firm. We have two partners and three associates. One of the partners wants to retire within the next five years. The other partner will continue to practice for another 10-15 years. We love practicing law and consider ourselves to be very good lawyers. However, we find firm management and administration to be a challenge and we are not skilled in this area nor do we want to be. We have a good book of business and clients. Recently, we began discussing the possibility of merging with another law firm. What are your thoughts about firms like ours merging with another law firm? A. Obviously, merger or acquisition of law firms is becoming more and more commonplace. Hildebrand reported 57 completed mergers/acquisitions in 2009 in firms with five or more attorneys). However, research indicates that 1/3 to 1/2 of all mergers fail to meet expectations due to cultural misalignment and personnel problems. Don't try to use a merger or acquisition as a life raft, for the wrong reasons and as your sole strategy. Successful mergers are based upon a sound integrated business strategy that creates synergy and a combined firm that produces greater client value than either firm can produced alone. Right reasons for merging might include:
    • 1. Improve the firm's competitive position
    • 2. Increase specialization - obtain additional expertise
    • 3. Expand into other geographic regions
    • 4. Add new practice areas
    • 5. Increase or decrease client base
    • 6. Improve and/or solidify client relationships
  • February 2, 2010 | Practice News
    Tuesday’s Cook County judicial primary results

    These are the results from 2010. Click here for March 2012 primary results.

    Illinois Lawyer Now has results for Tuesday's judicial primaries. Click the link below for the full list of Tuesday's races from Cook County with ISBA ratings for each candidate. All races are now accounted for.

  • February 2, 2010 | Practice News
    Tuesday’s Illinois judicial primary results for all circuits outside of Cook

    Here are the  results for Tuesday's judicial primaries for all circuits outside of Cook. Click the link below for the list of results from around the state with ISBA ratings for each candidate.

  • February 2, 2010 | Practice News
    Two cheers for the new Illinois Freedom of Information Act
    An important new law amends Illinois' Freedom of Information Act, Open Meetings Act, and the Attorney General Act, all with the goal of making public records more accessible. But will it work as intended? In the February Illinois Bar Journal, Alison K. Hayden summarizes -- and sometimes criticizes -- the key changes.
  • January 29, 2010 | Practice News
    Is your metadata showing?
    Lawyers can -- and sometimes must -- use technology to share and collaborate on documents. But it's essential to keep proposed versions straight and ensure that the documents' metadata, including comments and proposed changes, is viewed only as intended. Helen Gunnarsson interviews tech experts who describe how to do that in the February Illinois Bar Journal.
  • January 28, 2010 | Practice News
    Shouldn't you belong to ISBA's new Animal Law Section?
    Even if you aren't an animal lover, you can be sure that many of your clients are. When one comes to you asking, say, whether she can make sure her pets are cared for after she dies, wouldn't it be nice to have a ready answer? If you're an ISBA member you can join the new Animal Law section (indeed, any section) for less than it costs to park for a day in downtown Chicago. Members get the section newsletter and a discount on section-sponsored CLE. Join now. Not a member of ISBA? Take care of that, too.