The Illinois Supreme Court announced on Friday new rules aimed at mitigating abuses and uncertainty in mortgage foreclosures, and helping those who face the loss of their homes by imposing several require-ments on mediation programs and lenders seeking to foreclose.These include the identification of resources for government-certified counseling, for free legal represen-tation to eligible homeowners, interpretive services and sworn assurances that all loan modification efforts have been made by the lender.The three, stand-alone Supreme Court rules reflect the Court's concern over well-publicized deceptive practices at the national and local level and the significant impact the continuing flow of residential mortgage foreclosures is having on Illinois citizens and communities.The rules are a direct outgrowth of public hearings and 21 months of work by the Special Supreme Court Committee on Mortgage Foreclosures, whose formation was recommended by Justice Mary Jane Theis.
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February 22, 2013 |
Practice News
2 comments (Most recent February 26, 2013)
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February 22, 2013 |
Events
The Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section and the Illinois State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division invite you to an evening of mixing and networking with Chicago’s legal professionals. Local and specialty bar associations in the Chicagoland area have been invited to join the festivities.Tuesday, March 55:30-7:30 p.m.Haymarket Pub & Brewery, 737 W. Randolph, ChicagoComplimentary appetizers and two drinks for the first 200 attendees. We hope to see you there!All are welcome. RSVP to yls@chicagobar.org.Co-Sponsors Include:Black Women Lawyers AssociationDecalogue Society of LawyersFederal Bar AssociationKorean American Bar AssociationMuslim Bar Association of ChicagoPuerto Rican Bar Association
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February 21, 2013 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Civil litigation and settlements (Senate Bill 1912), Required liability coverage for drivers (Senate Bill 1898), Motion to dismiss or quash (Senate Bill 1500), Consumer Reciprocal Attorney’s Fees Act (Senate Bill 1901) and UM arbitration (Senate Bill 1636). More information on the bill is available below the video.
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February 21, 2013
Like it or not, do-it-yourself law sites are proliferating. An Illinois lawyer thinks fellow practitioners should respond by using technology more efficiently and by serving and billing clients in new ways -- by riding the DIY wave instead of getting swamped. Read all about it in the March Illinois Bar Journal.
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February 21, 2013 |
Practice News
Michael J. Tardy, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced Wednesday that the circuit judges of the 20th Judicial Circuit voted to select Joseph D. Christ and Christopher T. Kolker as associate judges of the 20th Judicial Circuit. As no candidate received a majority of votes to fill the third vacancy, a runoff is necessary.Mr. Christ received his undergraduate degrees in 1986 from Illinois State University in Normal and his Juris Doctor in 1993 from the Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. Mr. Christ is currently affiliated with the St. Clair County State's Attorney's Office in Belleville.Mr. Kolker received his undergraduate degree in 1989 from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona and his Juris Doctor in 1998 from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Mr. Kolker is currently engaged in practice with the Kolker Law Offices, P.C., in Belleville.
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February 21, 2013 |
Practice News
Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. I am the founder and owner of a law firm in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. I have three other attorneys and 4 staff members. We represent primarily business and civic organizations. Our fee revenues are around $735,000 per year and I take home $175,000 to $200,000 from the practice. I am looking to sell the practice to either the associates in the firm or another law firm. Do you have any idea what my firm might be worth?
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February 21, 2013 |
CLE
Starting your own practice? Then don’t miss this seminar in Chicago on February 28th to get the basic information you need on a wide variety of topics – from representing friends and family in simple traffic law cases, to understanding the financial aspects of starting your own law firm and using technology to market your new practice! As a new attorney attending this half-day seminar, you will better understand: the financial issues and concerns with starting your own practice, including lines of credit and budgeting the bills; how to settle on a business entity preference; client retainer and referral agreements; how to handle basic estate plans, and knowing which cases should be referred to someone else; basic traffic law issues, including moving citations, red light tickets, and cell phone violations; how to set up an IOLTA account; the risk management and malpractice issues new lawyers often face; and how to ethically market your new legal practice.The seminar is presented by the ISBA Young Lawyers Division and qualifies for 4.25 hours MCLE credit, including 2.5 hours approved Professional Responsibility MCLE credit.Click here for more information and to register.
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February 20, 2013 |
Practice News
All Illinois judges running for retention, as well as candidates for Illinois judicial offices who are running in the March 18 primary election, have been rated by Illinois State Bar Association evaluations committees, or in a poll of lawyers conducted by the ISBA. Results were made available today at www.isba.org/YouBeTheJudge.In Cook County, an ISBA Judicial Evaluations committee used the results of a questionnaire, background investigations, and in-person interviews to rate candidates for all judicial offices. Candidates for the Appellate and Supreme Court outside Cook County were also evaluated using this process.In counties outside Cook, the ISBA conducted an advisory poll of members in the circuit or district from which a candidate seeks election or retention. Licensed lawyers who are not members of the ISBA may request a ballot. The poll reflects the opinion of those lawyers who choose to respond, and not the opinion of the ISBA.
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February 18, 2013
ISBA President John Thies introduces Pete Schaefer, an ISBA member and the President and CEO of the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Schaefer discusses how the Lawyers Feeding Illinois program will help food banks fight hunger. Join the competition at lawyersfeedingil.org
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February 15, 2013
In its January meeting, the ISBA Board of Governors approved the following three ethics opinions addressing probate fees, conflicts of interest in representing partnerships, and UPL, respectively.Opinion No. 13-01: Fees and Expenses; Court ObligationsIt is not ethically permissible for a lawyer for a representative of a decedent's estate to enter into a fee agreement, or to collect a fee, for an amount in excess of the amount of fees allowed by a probate court as reasonable.Opinion No. 13-02: Arbitration and Mediation; Conflict of Interest; and Multiple RepresentationA lawyer ordinarily represents a partnership as an entity for conflicts of interest purposes. Where a lawyer has represented a partnership and all individual partners in various matters in a common representation, and one partner subsequently files an arbitration matter against another partner, whether the lawyer may represent the defending partner with informed consent will depend on the circumstances. Similarly, whether the lawyer can continue to represent the partnership or any of the partners in other matters with informed consent will depend on the circumstances.Opinion No. 13-03: Arbitration and Mediation; and Unauthorized Practice of LawA nonlawyer’s representation of parties to a FINRA arbitration generally constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.Visit the ISBA ethics page for full-text opinions dating back to 1980.