In the August Illinois Bar Journal, ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington summarizes legislation of special interest to lawyers passed by the General Assembly this session and sent to the governor. As of Thursday morning, we've updated the list to indicate which bills the governor has signed. We've also included the public act number and linked to the full text of the new laws. Find out which bills have been signed and read the full text.

Pursuant to action taken today by the Executive Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Judge Valarie E. Turner has been temporarily reassigned to duties other than judicial duties in the office of the Presiding Judge of the First Municipal District, Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. The assignment is effective until further notice. The decision to reassign Judge Turner followed a meeting of the Circuit Court of Cook County Executive Committee convened today by Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans to discuss allegations of improper conduct involving Judge Turner. The committee was informed that Judge Turner allegedly permitted attorney Rhonda Crawford, a law clerk with the Office of the Chief Judge and candidate for judicial election in November 2016, to adjudicate at least two cases from the bench while wearing a judicial robe in Judge Turner’s courtroom. Until today, Judge Turner had been assigned to the Sixth Municipal District Courthouse in Markham where she heard a variety of matters in rotation with other judges.   “The public’s confidence in the judiciary is the cornerstone of our system of justice, and I have taken the steps necessary to preserve that confidence,” said Chief Judge Evans. “Because the investigation is pending, I believe it is inappropriate to comment further at this time.” In addition, Crawford was suspended pending internal investigation without pay by the Office of the Chief Judge. Her current annual salary is $56,961, and she has been employed as a law clerk/staff attorney with the office since 2011.            

Attorney Brian Murphy discusses why you need a plaintiff's expert, where to find them, what to provide them, and how to prepare them.

Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am the owner of a seven attorney firm in New York City. I have a bookkeeper that handles the accounting function. I receive monthly financial reports - but I believe I need a better tool to stay on top of my firm. I feel that I am lost, I don't want to take time to access different software modules such as our billing system, accounts payable system, general ledger system, etc. to get the information that I need to effectively manage the firm. We use Timeslips for billing and QuickBooks for bookkeeping. I would appreciate your thoughts.