The Fall Semester of Fred Lane's ISBA Trial Technique Institute begins Sept. 4 at the ISBA's Chicago Regional Office. Listen to Fred discuss the class and find out more below the video.More information is available at www.isba.org/cle/trialRegister online at www.isba.org/cle/trial/registration

Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. Our law firm is located in San Antonio, Texas. We have a total of 18 attorneys which includes me and two other equity owners that founded the firm and contributed capital, three equity partners that were made partner that did not contribute any capital, two non-equity partners, and 10 associates. The original three partners control the firm and make all of the decisions with little involvement or input from the others. They are not provided with financial statements or reports. The original three partners bring in virtually all of the business. We are faced with some hard decisions concerning partnership admission - non-equity to equity, associates to non equity, etc. Our compensation cost for attorneys is eating away at our earnings for attorneys that are worker bees and don't bring in any business. Your thoughts?A. You may want to ask yourselves whether you want employees or partners. It sounds like the other three equity partners are not part of the inner circle and are not really functioning as part of the partnership. What are the criteria for becoming an equity partner? Is client development part of those criteria? Should they contribute capital? If they are not adding value to the firm - growth - you are diluting the earnings pool and reducing the size of the pie for yourselves. Personally, I think in a firm your size criteria for becoming an equity partner should, among other things, include client development and a capital contribution. They should have some skin in the game, contribute capital, and signup for their share of the liabilities. I also believe they should then be included in the inner circle.

Join us in Chicago on September 7th for a better understanding of how military service impacts the intact family, as well as the insights you need on child custody considerations in military service cases. Child law attorneys, military lawyers, and family law practitioners who attend this seminar will better understand the role that the military service plays in family law cases; get helpful information regarding the benefits available to service members and their families; discover how service-related disabilities – such as post traumatic stress disorder – can affect parenting and custody issues; learn the methodology of a custody evaluation; and receive best practice tips for representing service members in the family law courts.The program – which qualifies for 6.5 hours MCLE credit – is sponsored by the ISBA Family Law Section andtheISBA Standing Committee on Military Affairs.Click here for more information and to register.

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers the Radon Resistant Construction Act, Mechanics Lien Act, Trust modernization I, Trust modernization II, Order of protection and Child support and dissipation claims. More information on each bill is available below the video.Radon Resistant Construction Act. Public Act 97-953 (McAsey, D-Lockport; Collins, D-Chicago) creates the Radon Resistant Construction Act. It requires all new residential construction include passive radon resistant construction. "New residential construction" is any original construction of a single-family home or a dwelling containing two or fewer apartments, condominiums, or townhouse. "Passive radon resistant construction" includes an installed pipe that relies solely on the convective flow of air upward for soil-gas depressurization and may consist of multiple pipes routed through conditioned space from below the foundation to the roof above. Effective June 1, 2013.