An Honor Roll of more than 140 lawyers in the 3rd Circuit (Madison and Bond counties) were honored at a Pro Bono Luncheon on October 22 in Edwardsville.From left: Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier served as guest speaker; Chief Judge of the 3rd Circuit, David Hylla, welcomed a roomful of attendees; Judge Barbara Crowder chairs the 3rd Circuit Pro Bono Committee, the first to be formed in the state, and is secretary of ISBA's Delivery of Legal Services Committee; and Lois Wood, executive director of Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, is chair of ISBA's Delivery of Legal Services Committee.
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October 24, 2013 |
Events
1 comment (Most recent October 24, 2013)
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October 24, 2013
In a ruling that emphasizes the importance of a "level playing field" in dissolution of marriage proceedings, the Illinois Supreme Court held that a wife could disgorge earned fees from her husband's divorce lawyer in order to pay her own legal expenses.Both spouses had virtually no access to money, but the husband's family loaned him $8,750 to pay legal fees related to the divorce. He paid the money to his lawyer as an advanced payment retainer that, pursuant to the prior supreme court decision in Dowling v. Chicago Options Associates, Inc., 226 Ill. 2d 277 (2007), was earned by the lawyer upon receipt.In the case of In re Marriage of Earlywine, 2013 IL 114779, a unanimous supreme court ruled that the public policy behind the "leveling of the playing field" provisions of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act require the husband's lawyer to give up about half of his earned fees despite the provisions stated in Dowling that allow for advanced payment retainers. Read more and find out what lawyers are saying about the decision in the November IBJ.1 comment (Most recent October 24, 2013)
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October 23, 2013 |
Practice News
Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. I am the sole owner of an estate planning firm in Evansville, Indiana. I have three associates that work for me and four staff members. I am 64 and wanting to get started on a succession program - either by forming a partnership with one or more of the associates or with another attorney or attorneys that I might bring into the firm via merger. I have always been on my own so I am a little cautious. I do want to work another eight years or so. What pitfalls should I be looking out for?
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October 23, 2013 |
CLE
Increasingly, drug cases are part of the criminal caseload throughout Illinois. As such, it is important for attorneys to educate themselves on the tools needed for handling these types of cases and to be prepared for the unique issues that drug cases often present. Join us in Springfield on November 14th or Chicago on November 22nd! Attorneys with basic to intermediate experience practicing in criminal courts throughout the state who attend this seminar will better understand: the recently passed legislation involving drug and criminal cases; the most common issues involving pre-trial motions in drug cases; search and seizure issues, including the use of dogs to find drugs in homes and vehicles; how to utilize the veteran’s courts to assist your clients; what to expect in drug and other specialty courts; and much more!The seminar is presented by the ISBA Criminal Justice Section and qualifies for 5.25 hours MCLE credit.Click here for more information on the Springfield program.Click here for more information on the Chicago program.
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The Illinois Bar Foundation held its 15h Annual Gala on Oct. 18. Manny Sanchez, of Sanchez Daniels & Hoffman, was honored with the Distinguished Award for Excellence.
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The Illinois Bar Foundation held its 15h Annual Gala on Oct. 18. Manny Sanchez, of Sanchez Daniels & Hoffman, was honored with the Distinguished Award for Excellence.
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October 21, 2013 |
Practice News
The Illinois State Bar Association, along with the ISBA Delivery of Legal Services Committee, is proud to participate in this year's National Celebrate Pro Bono Week from October 20 through October 26, 2013, and invites all ISBA members to get involved. National Celebrate Pro Bono Week aims to expand the delivery of pro bono legal services and increase access to justice. At a time when so many Illinois families are struggling, legal services can make a real difference in people's lives. I call on all ISBA members to get into the pro bono spirit and consider incorporating or increasing pro bono services in your practice. If you are able, please donate the time to accept a new pro bono client; or consider making a financial contribution to an Illinois legal aid provider in your area. I also encourage you to take advantage of our Pro Bono Bootcamp, a CLE program in Rockford, IL on Friday, October 25. This program is free to all attendees who commit to taking just one pro bono case. For more information, please visit: http://www.isba.org/cle/2013/10/25/probonobootcamp.
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October 18, 2013 |
Practice News
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Friday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the civil cases Skokie Castings, Inc. v. Illinois Insurance Guarnty Fund, Performance Marketing Association, Inc. v. Hamer, The Board of Education of Peoria School District No. 150 v. The Peoria Federation of Support Staff, Relf v. Shatayeva and Prazen v. Shoop.Skokie Castings, Inc. v. Illinois Insurance Guaranty FundBy Karen Kies DeGrand, Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLCThe Illinois Supreme Court finds no distinction between primary and excess workers’ compensation policies in applying the workers’ compensation exception to the statutory cap of the Illinois Guaranty Fund. The court ruled in favor of an employer obligated to pay lifetime benefits to a seriously injured employee, where the employer’s excess insurer became insolvent.
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October 18, 2013 |
Practice News | ISBA News
ISBA President Paula H. Holderman discusses the Future of the Courts and specifically the funding of the courts with retired Judge Patricia Golden. Judge Golden co-chaired the ISBA Special Committee on Fair and Impartial Courts last year and will be co-chairing the Future of the Courts Committee this year.
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October 18, 2013 |
Practice News
So how will the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) affect your estate planning clients as the rollout rolls along? Well, there is some bad news and some good news, write Steve Buttice and Darrell Dies in the latest ISBA Trusts & Estates newsletter.Or, put another way, there are some tax increases and tax reductions. That means it's time to look at Obamacare-driven estate planning opportunities if you haven't already done so, especially for high-earning clients. For example, a couple of new Medicare taxes kick in this year for high earners, one on earned income and one on investment income. As for earned income, there's not much your clients can do except "earn less," Buttice and Dies say. But for investment income, they write, "savvy estate planners might consider advising clients, in tandem with their investment advisors, to consider using Roth IRAs which do not give off taxable income, installment sales which spread out taxable income, contributions to charitable remainder trusts which act to defer taxable income or reduce net investment income with tax exempt bonds or consider the viability of using other insurance products to avoid the new tax." Read their article.