The ISBA Task Force on New Lawyers hosted a Speed Networking Event on May 1 at the Chicago Office. The event borrowed from the concepts of speed dating to facilitate short, focused conversations between law students and distinguished ISBA members. Over 40 law students attended the program, which featured 10 breakout sessions of 7.5 minutes each. Topics included interviewing tips, courtroom tips, benefits of ISBA membership and judicial clerkships."Many students, like myself, truly rely on those types of conversations and interactions with experienced attorneys to help find our place within the legal community," said Tim Meloy, a student at The John Marshall Law School. "I look forward to becoming more involved as The John Marshall Law School's ISBA student representative, then recruiting many classmates to do the same."The Task Force on New Lawyers, which was created by ISBA President Paula H. Holderman to identify and implement recommendations to attract and maintain new lawyer membership in the ISBA, is chaired by Marron Mahoney and Brian Monico.A photo gallery from the speed networking event is available at iln.isba.org/gallery/755/new-lawyers-speed-networking-event
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May 8, 2014 |
ISBA News
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May 8, 2014 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Marriage rewrite (House Bill 1452), Disabled adults (Senate Bill 1051), UM/UIM arbitration (House Bill 5575), Sale of distressed condominium units (Senate Bill 2664), Eavesdropping, Workers' Compensation Act (Senate Bill 3287) and Statutes of limitation (House Bill 5512). More information on each bill is available below.
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May 8, 2014 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Charles Henry Wittmond Burch to be a Resident Circuit Judge of Calhoun County. This appointment fills the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Richard D. Greenlief. It is effective July 7, 2014 and terminates on Dec. 1, 2014.
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May 7, 2014
Representing a litigant in only one issue or task in a lawsuit – aka "limited scope representation" or "unbundling" – is an important new, often lower-cost service lawyers can offer prospective clients. But it will only truly take hold if judges help make it work.Illinois appellate Justice Michael B. Hyman makes the case for unbundling to his fellow judges in the latest issue of ISBA's Bench and Bar newsletter. "Without a doubt, the ability to automatically withdraw from a limited scope appearance is the question of singular importance to lawyers who might offer limited scope services," Hyman writes. "Judges who want to see the litigants in their courtrooms benefit from limited assistance need to understand and respect the boundaries established by the rules and limited scope representation agreements." Read his article.
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May 7, 2014 |
Practice News
Q. I sometimes refer clients to another law firm. Can I be compensated by that firm for the referral?A. Rule 1.5(e) states that a division of fees between lawyers who are not in the same firm can only be made if the division of fees is in proportion to the work done by each lawyer, the client agrees in writing, and the fee is reasonable. If the primary service performed is the referral, the fee can only be divided if each lawyer assumes financial responsibility for the representation, the fee is reasonable, and the client consents in writing. See also ISBA Professional Conduct Advisory Opinion 90-18 and Donald W. Fohrman & Assocs, Ltd. V. Marc D. Alberts, P.C.,2014 IL App(1st) 123351 (Ill. App., 2014).ISBA members can browse past ISBA Ethics Opinions, access our Ethics Hotline, and other resources on the ISBA Ethics Page.Disclaimer. These questions are representative of calls received on the ISBA’s ethics hotline. The information provided below is meant as an educational tool to highlight potentially applicable Illinois RPC or other ethics resources that might help the lawyer answer the question posed. The information provided isn’t legal advice. Because every situation is different, often complex, and the law is constantly evolving, you shouldn’t rely upon this general information without conducting your own research.
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May 7, 2014 |
Practice News
Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. I am the managing partner of an 8 attorney firm in Carbondale, Illinois. Recently I was talking with the managing partner of a firm in the area and we were discussing overhead ratios and we seemed to have different definitions of overhead and I am wondering if we were trying to compare apples to oranges. Can you share your thoughts?A. I consider overhead to be the operating cost required to support the producers in the firm. This is a different statistic than expenses. Typically in a law firm overhead is all expenses except for attorney salaries (associate and partners) and benefits. Often overhead is used as various benchmark surveys. However, when determining net income or profit (the profit pool) expenses would include associate salaries and associate and partner benefits. In a professional corporation where officer salaries are expensed we typically add shareholder salaries back to the net income figure to determine the profit pool for benchmarking purposes.Click here for our blog on financial managementClick here for articles on other topics
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May 6, 2014
Here is the Tellers report for the 2014 ISBA election:CONTESTED RACES (winners in bold)For Third Vice-President – 1 to be elected Russell W. Hartigan 2,103 David B. Sosin 1,687For Board of Governors – Under Age 37 – Cook – 1 to be electedDennis Lynch 750Anna P. Krolikowska 8695 comments (Most recent May 13, 2014)
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May 6, 2014 |
CLE
Stay in touch with the recent statutory, regulatory, and case law changes concerning Illinois state and local taxes! State and local tax issues are regularly updated, and it is important that Illinois attorneys are aware of these changes. Join us in Chicago or via live webcaston May 22ndto get the information you need regarding advancements in statutory, regulatory and case law concerning Illinois state and local taxes with this informative half-day seminar. State and local tax attorneys – or any attorney with an interest in state tax practicing in law firms, industry or governmental agencies – with intermediate to advanced practice levels who attend this program will better understand: the Illinois Department of Revenue’s recent updates concerning policy, statutory and regulatory policy; the recent developments and changes in local and county taxing bodies, including rules/regulations and operations; how recent modifications and changes may affect property tax law; legislative developments in income, sales and other Illinois taxes; and a brief overview of recent Illinois tax court cases.The seminar is presented by the ISBA State and Local Tax Section and qualifies for 3.50 hours MCLE credit.Click here for more information and to register.
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May 5, 2014 |
ISBA News | Member Services
The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For the month of April 2014, ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:Here are the results for April 2014:
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The Young Lawyers Task Force hosted approximately 40 third-year law students for a speed networking event on Thursday, May 1 at the Chicago Office.