Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am a partner in a 20-attorney firm in San Francisco. We have five partners. Two of the five partners are founders and the other three were made partners five years ago. From day one our compensation system has been an eat-what-you-kill compensation system based on a formula with two factors - working attorney collections and client origination. While the system worked OK for the founders, it is not working for the present firm. The newer partners are unhappy with the system and believe that it does not consider other factors that a partner contributes to the firm. Some of the partners are hoarding work, refuse to serve on committees, and don't want to do anything but bill. A couple of my partners suggested that we move to a totally subjective system. I would appreciate your thoughts.
ISBA members, sign up to receive The Bar News' biweekly e-newsletter by emailing emailpreferences@isba.org
-
July 20, 2016 |
Practice News
-
July 20, 2016 |
Practice News
Chief Judge Kathryn E. Creswell announced that the Circuit Judges are accepting applications to fill a vacancy for the Office of Associate Judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois, DuPage County. This vacancy is a result of the appointment of Associate Judge Karen M. Wilson to Circuit Judge. Any attorney, who is a United States citizen, is licensed to practice law in the state of Illinois, and is a resident of the 18th Judicial Circuit may apply by electronically filing a signed application form with the Director of the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts. The instructions for submitting an application electronically are available on the Supreme Court’s website: www.illinoiscourts.gov.
-
July 19, 2016 |
Practice News
Chief Justice Rita B. Garman of the Supreme Court of Illinois has begun an application process for an At-Large Circuit Court vacancy in the Sixth Judicial Circuit. The vacancy will be created by the retirement of Judge Harry E. Clem on September 15, 2016. Judge Clem has been a judge since 1979.
-
July 19, 2016 |
Member Services
SIX FLAGS AMUSEMENT PARKS Save up to 45% on tickets! These offers are provided to you by Illinois State Bar Association. Celebrate summer with amazing offers nationwide! There's so much to enjoy - look for great deals on hotels, shows, events, tours and attractions nationwide! Planning a long weekend getaway with the family or friends? Check out offers from Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando, Six Flags and more. Don't forget, TicketsatWork members have access to great Local Deals, discounted movie tickets, rental cars and much, much more! Want to sign up? It's free and easy: 1. Visit www.ticketsatwork.com 2. Use your company code: ISBA 3. Read and follow the easy steps on our site, and once registered you can access all tickets, events, hotels and more online for free.
-
July 18, 2016 |
Practice News
Chief Circuit Judge Kathryn E. Creswell is pleased to announce that following a July 14, 2016 meeting of the Circuit Judges of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court, two finalists for the Office of Associate Judge have been selected and certified to the Illinois Supreme Court. The finalists are seeking to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Associate Judge Jane Hird Mitton. From these names, the Circuit Judges will select one appointee by secret ballot.
-
July 15, 2016 |
CLE
Complimentary Training and CLE Credit for ISBA Members Only With unlimited free access to a comprehensive 50-state and federal case law database, this is one benefit ISBA members should learn how to use! Check out these upcoming August Fastcase Training webinars:
-
July 14, 2016 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed the Hon. Karen M. Wilson, associate judge of the 18th Circuit, to Circuit Judge of the 18th Circuit, at Large. This vacancy was created by the retirement of the Hon. Blanche Hill Fawell. It is effective July 13, 2016 and terminates on Dec. 3, 2018.
-
July 14, 2016 |
Practice News
Illinois Attorney Kathryn Shores reviews what you should know about required periodic filings in guardianship estates.
-
July 14, 2016 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Open Meetings Act Public Act 99-515, FOIA House Bill 4715, Counties Code House Bill 4603, Creates the Local Government Travel Expense Control Act House Bill 4379 and Statewide Relocation Towing Licensure Commission Senate Bill 2261. More information on each bill is available below the video. Open Meetings Act. Public Act 99-515 (Ives, R-Wheaton; Connelly, R-Naperville) requires public bodies to give access to verbatim recordings and minutes of closed meetings to officials filling vacancies of elected officials in public bodies. Access is to be granted in the public body’s main office or official storage location in the presence of a records secretary, an administrative official of the public body, or any elected official of the public body. These records may not be recorded or removed from official storage unless the pubic body votes otherwise or so ordered by the courts. Effective June 20, 2016.
-
July 14, 2016
One juvenile-justice bill passed by the General Assembly this session would require child-friendly Miranda warnings, while another reduces the length of mandatory minimum probation. SB 2370, which passed the Senate on a unanimous roll call, expands protections for children who are in police custody. HB 6291 is designed to bring Illinois law in line with other states by reducing mandatory minimum probation lengths. It also treats low-level drug offenses as a public health issue, not a criminal one. Both bills received support from the Juvenile Justice Initiative (JJI), which was founded in 2000 as a collaboration between the Woods Fund of Chicago and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Its mission is to reduce reliance on incarceration, enhance fairness, and develop community-based resources throughout the state. Find out more in the July Illinois Bar Journal.