Asked and Answered
By John Olmstead
Q. I am a solo attorney in private practice. I have been practicing for two years. The bulk of my practice is in the wills, trusts and estates area. I occasionally handle real estate transactions as well. I work from a home in office and meet clients in their homes at night. I have given thought about moving to an office outside the home, but even if I did I think I would still end up meeting clients in their homes at night. My clients seem to really appreciate this and as a result I have yet to walk away from a potential client's home without a signed retainer agreement. What are your thoughts on home offices?
A. Sounds like working from home has worked well for your practice and it has caused you to deliver personal attention to your clients which is so necessary in your practice area.
I opened my consulting practice 25 years ago and had the overhead of an office and staff from day one. So much has changed since then. Now I have both - a small office in St. Louis and home offices that the rest of us work from remotely - less staff - and less space. We have downsized our office dramatically over the years and now primarily use it for client meetings/presentations when needed. Our infrastructure - phone systems, files, copiers, file servers, and people are primarily housed out of remote home offices. More and more of our work is being delivered remotely/virtually using GoToMeeting and other such tools.
Take a hard look at your purpose and cost for the office and then go from there. Also, consider that sometimes we have to spend money to make money. Does the increased visibility that the office may give you generate more revenue than its cost?
Practice News
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November 11, 2009 |
Practice News
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November 10, 2009 |
ISBA News | Practice News
[caption id="attachment_5578" align="alignright" width="144" caption="April Troemper"][/caption] Cynthia Cobbs, Director of Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced today that April Troemper received a majority of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the Seventh Judicial Circuit and is declared appointed to the office of associate judge. Ms. Troemper, a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Board of Governors, received her undergraduate degree in 1995 from Eastern Illinois University and her Juris Doctor in 1998 from Southern Illinois University. Ms. Troemper is currently affiliated with the law firm Sorling, Northrup, Hanna, Cullen & Cochran in Springfield.
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November 10, 2009 |
Practice News
The November Illinois Bar Journal should have landed in your mailbox already. If you haven't seen the cover story by Helen Gunnarsson, it's a plain-language primer on the SOS process, including some of the unwritten rules about how to help your client not only get the best possible outcome at a hearing but also confront his or her alcohol problem. Check it out.
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November 9, 2009 |
Practice News
In an opinion bound to disappoint victims of childhood abuse, the Illinois Supreme Court has held that the legislature cannot amend a statute of limitations so as to revive causes of action that had already become time-barred by a prior version of the statute. The opinion is Doe A. v Diocese of Dallas, 2009 WL 3063427 (Ill Sup Ct). Read about it in the November Illinois Bar Journal.
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November 9, 2009 |
Practice News
You may already know that Fastcase automatically tracks your last 10 searches. But have you ever wished that you could access even older searches? How about naming your searches and organizing them in folders by topic? You can easily accomplish all of these tasks using your web browser. 1. While on the Results screen, press Control + D. (Mac users, use Apple + D instead). This will cause a small window to appear on your screen.
- In IE: "Add a Favorite."
- In Firefox: "Page Bookmarked."
- In Chrome: "Bookmark."
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November 6, 2009 |
Practice News
You must always follow court rules for citation of authority, but consider this idea: To increase readability, place your citations in footnotes instead of in the text of your brief or memorandum. Do not use footnotes for any other purpose. Why make your reader jump over nonsubstantive interruptions? (Bryan A. Garner is the moving force behind this idea. Count me in on that crusade.) I know that this is not how the Illinois appellate courts write their opinions, and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 341(a) states that “Footnotes are discouraged, but, if used, may be single-spaced.” But I think that this Rule is addressing substantive (“talking”) footnotes as opposed to citation to authority. Which of these two identical opinions are more readable? The first puts citations in text and the second in footnotes. We hold that review of a grant of a directed verdict is de novo. City of Mattoon v. Mentzer, 282 Ill. App. 3d 628, 633, 668 N.E.2d 601 (1996). While we recognize that there is authority to the contrary in Illinois (Boatmen's Bank v. Dowell, 208 Ill. App. 3d 994, 1001, 567 N.E.2d 739 (1991); Johnson v. National Supermarkets, Inc., 257 Ill. App. 3d 1011, 1015, 630 N.E.2d 934 (1994); Cohan v. Garretson, 282 Ill. App. 3d 248, 256, 667 N.E.2d 1325 (1996); NWI International, Inc. v. Edgewood Bank, 291 Ill. App. 3d 247, 261, 684 N.E.2d 401 (1997)), we nevertheless find that de novo review is proper because the standard of review on appeal should be the same as that applied by the trial court, which, as City of Mattoon states: "fits the definition of de novo: '[a]new; afresh; a second time.'" (Emphasis in original). City of Mattoon, 282 Ill. App. 3d at 633.
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November 5, 2009 |
Events | Practice News
More than 2,300 new attorneys were admitted to practice on Thursday, Nov. 5, with Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court presiding and administering the attorney's oath at five locations statewide. The largest group, 1,869, was admitted in the First Judicial District during ceremonies at the McCormick Place West Skyline Ballroom. Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald presided over the ceremony, with Justices Charles E. Freeman and Anne M. Burke participating. Justice Robert R. Thomas presided over the Second Judicial District ceremony at 10 a.m. in Elgin. Justice Thomas L. Kilbride presided over the Third Judicial District ceremony at 11:15 a.m. in Moline. Justice Rita B. Garman presided over the Fourth Judicial District ceremony at 10 a.m. in Springfield. Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier presided over the Fifth Judicial District ceremony at 2 p.m. in Carbondale. The new admittees bring the total number of licensed attorneys in Illinois to approximately 86,000. Click here to view photo galleries from each event.
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November 4, 2009 |
Practice News
The digest for new ISBA Advisory Opinion on Professional Conduct 10-02 reads as follows: "A lawyer may not enter into a referral arrangement with a real estate company that would require the lawyer to use the real estate company's affiliated title insurer for the lawyer's clients as a condition of receiving referrals from the real estate company. Other Illinois and federal law governing the lawyer's conduct may also apply to the proposed arrangement." Read the full opinion.
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November 4, 2009 |
Practice News
Juveniles running into trouble with the law in Ogle County are finding law enforcement and probation officers coming to their assistance. Members of the Ogle County Juvenile Justice Council announced Tuesday that they have signed an agreement that ensures juvenile offenders will undergo a professional assessment at an early stage of their contact with the justice system, which will offer the youth a chance to get needed services as quickly as possible. "The new procedure benefits the entire community, not just those juveniles with behavioral problems," said Ogle County State's Attorney John B. "Ben" Roe. "By identifying issues that contribute to delinquent acts and intervening early, we have a better chance of changing young lives for the better, and at far less cost than if the behaviors don't change, more crimes are committed and the young people are sent away to expensive prisons. It saves young lives and enhances public safety." 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. Because information gained from the assessment is not shared with prosecutors, county probation officials can help counsel juveniles without violating any of their rights, and the juveniles can talk frankly without fear of self-incrimination. "As a juvenile justice system in Ogle County, we are committed to working together for the best interest of the delinquent minor, while ensuring community safety and promoting personal responsibility for one's actions," said Associate Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Kauffmann, who is assigned to the juvenile court. "This is what the statute requires of us and is also the best future crime prevention measure. "Assessing service needs and providing those services at the earliest possible entry point will ensure the best possible outcome for both the minor child and our community," she continued. "These services will assist the minor child in addressing the reasons for their delinquent behavior, while helping them to understand the necessity of taking responsibility for their actions. We are working toward behavior change, so that the delinquent behavior will not be repeated and the victim can be made whole." Ogle County is one of five Models for Change demonstration sites in Illinois.
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November 4, 2009 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered Q. We recently completed an informal client survey and were surprised at some of the feedback. Our scores were lower than anticipated. Clients believe that our services took longer than expected and fees were also higher than expected. We work as diligently as we can for our clients and I don't see how we can improve turnaround or reduce legal fees. Suggestions? A. Based upon client surveys that we do for law firms we find that one of the biggest problems is that the attorneys are doing a poor job of managing client expectations. The key is to under promise and over deliver. I suspect that upon the initial client meeting you are under estimating the timeline and low balling the fee range. Increase the promise - timeline and fee range and then shoot to deliver under that range. This will do wonders for improving the client relationship. By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Click here to learn more about John