The Judicial Council of the Seventh Circuit is seeking applicants for a bankruptcy judge position for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division headquartered in Rockford. An applicant must also be willing to travel to other courts in the circuit to handle cases as need arises. Interested applicants may obtain an application from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit website at www.ca7.uscourts.gov.Persons interested in applying for this position should send their applications to:
ISBA members, sign up to receive The Bar News' biweekly e-newsletter by emailing emailpreferences@isba.org
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January 5, 2012 |
Practice News
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January 5, 2012 |
Practice News
Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. Our firm, a 12 attorney firm in Detroit, needs to find a way to improve fee revenues and financial performance in 2012. We do not have a business or strategic plan, have never had a retreat, and we don't even have a budget. We believe that we must do something for 2012 and yet we are out of time since 2012 begins next week. Any suggestions?A. Generating adequate fee revenue is the primary challenge for most law firms and this is where I would start for 2012.I am a strong believer in the power of focused goals and objectives when integrated with a system of accountability. I have clients that have improved fee revenue by 20% (over a two-three year period) with existing headcount simply by establishing production goals for each attorney and paralegal in the firm - reporting, measuring and reporting goal v.s. performance monthly using simple reports, and follow-up with individuals behind on their goal attainment. Solo practitioners can use the same system and use a staff member, spouse, or coach to serve as an accountability partner. You might want to consider the following:1. Ask each attorney and paralegal to provide SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and on a timeline - i.e 2012) goals for fee generation, fee origination, billable hours, etc.2. Review and discuss these goals with each member and engineer an agreement (commitment). Insure that there is adequate stretch - but that the goals are attainable.
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January 5, 2012
Plaintiffs seeking pre-suit discovery to unmask the anonymous online posters who allegedly libeled them must first state facts that support a defamation claim, the first district held. Find out more in the January IBJ.
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January 3, 2012
Interested in running for an elected ISBA leadership position? Petitions are being accepted through the end of January.Visit the 2012 ISBA Elections page to download the Notice of ISBA Elections (it includes a list of available positions) and candidate packets and to access the online elections form to submit your biography and photo. Read all election material carefully for exact deadlines and procedures.Beginning this year, all biographies and photos must be submitted via the online form. You must be logged into the ISBA website to access this page.
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December 22, 2011 |
Practice News
Clients often seek an advantage in litigation by publicly discussing an ongoing case. In the January Illinois Bar Journal, Richard L. Miller explains the perils of doing so.1 comment (Most recent January 5, 2012)
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December 22, 2011 |
Practice News | ISBA News
Just in time for the IBJ's 100th birthday, the ISBA is making it available for download as a PDF to allow members to read the latest issue on their iPads. And because it's in PDF, you can also view it on other tablets, phones, or your computer and even print all or part of the issue.ISBA members, find out more and download the PDF. And don't forget that the IBJ full text back through November 1998 is fully searchable and free to all members.1 comment (Most recent December 27, 2011)
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December 21, 2011 |
Events | ISBA News
Eight bands have been selected to perform at the Illinois Bar Foundation’s 2nd Annual Lawyers Rock Legends at Buddy Guy’s Legends on Feb. 16, 2012. The voting was conducted on the IBF’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/illinoisbarfoundation.The bands (in alphabetical order) that will be playing live at Buddy Guy's Legends onFeb. 16 are:5-thirtyCAC AttackClark StereoHans & The HormonesJack SalamanderJoe BiscegliaOne More TimeThe Vazquez Blues BandMore information on the event is available at www.illinoisbarfoundation.org.
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December 21, 2011 |
Practice News
Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. I am the sole owner of a 12 attorney firm in downtown Chicago. With staff we have a total of 23 people in the firm. Managing people is my toughest challenge. I am having problems with people not following firm policy and doing what they should not be doing. It is driving me crazy. What should I do? I am interested in your thoughts?A. Tell them to stop. Seriously. As owner of your firm you can't beat around the bush and be sheepish concerning your expectations concerning desired performance and behavior in the office. Confront the performance or behavioral problem immediately. Manage such problems in real time. Don't wait for the annual performance review and don't treat serious problem as a "self-improvement" effort. Tell them how you feel about the performance or behavioral issue, the consequences for failure to resolve the issue, your timeline for resolving the issue, and the follow-up schedule that you will be using to follow-up and monitor the issue. If they must resolve the performance or behavioral issue in order to keep their job tell them so. They may need this level of confrontation to give them the strength to be able to deal with their issues.Being a wimp does not help you or them. Tell them like it is and conduct a heart-to-heart discussion. You will be glad you did.P.S. It gets easier with practice!Click here for our blog on HR ideasClick here for articles on other topics3 comments (Most recent December 22, 2011)
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December 19, 2011 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the assignment of Cook County Circuit Court Judge Stuart E. Palmer to the Illinois Appellate Court for the First Judicial District.In a related move, the Supreme Court also announced that Judge P. Scott Neville Jr., a Circuit Court judge who now sits by assignment on the Appellate Court, will be appointed to the vacancy created by the recent death of Appellate Justice Robert Cahill.Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis recommended that Judge Palmer be assigned to the Appellate Court, and implemented a judicial screening committee which favorably reviewed the qualifications of Judge Palmer.Judge Palmer sat in the felony trial courts of Cook County for almost 12 years, and now sits in the Chancery Division of Cook County Circuit Court.Judge Palmer was screened in 2009 by bar associations for a potential appointment to the Appellate Court and received high marks, including a "well qualified" rating from the Chicago Council of Lawyers and highly qualified ratings from several other bar groups, including the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association.When he ran for retention as a Circuit Court judge in 2006, he received the highest ratings from all evaluating bar associations, including a "Highly Qualified" rating from the Chicago Council of Lawyers.
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December 16, 2011 |
ISBA News
50 Year Anniversary SpeechBy Herbert H. Franks, ISBA Past President and Class of 1961Today we remember Pearl Harbor and the day of infamy. This is a day of infamy also for Gov. Blagojevich. He got 14 years.Ladies and Gentlemen, Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "the life of the law is not logic, it is experience." Holmes must have had our class of senior lawyers in mind when he made this quote, because if there is one thing the people in this class have, it is experience.I wonder how many people in this room expected to reach this day. I sure know I didn't.After being raised on a farm and slopping the hogs and milking the cows twice a day, almost everything you do in later life is easy.How different is the world today! When we were in law school, there might have been one or two women in our class. Now, women are the majority of law students.When we came out to try and make our mark and living, the electric typewriter was just gaining acceptance. A few years later came fax machines, and then in dizzying speed came computers, cell phones, iPads, laptops and the list goes on. How we had to change and learn to use these things, things that our grandchildren can do automatically.1 comment (Most recent January 11, 2012)