All attorneys who choose to become solo practitioners face the challenges of setting up and running a business. That includes putting together a business plan, separating trust accounts and other funding sources, and attracting and retaining clients.

Women who take the solo journey also face bias and stereotypes that can negatively affect their confidence and their bottom line - although occasionally, being female can be an advantage. That's according to a panel of women lawyers who have started their own firms and who participated earlier this year in an ISBA webinar titled, "On My Own: Starting Your Solo Practice as a Female Attorney."

Criminal defense attorney Sarah Toney of The Toney Law Firm in Chicago notes that some challenges female solos face are not necessarily related to being a woman. When an attorney starts a firm, she says, she or he should create a checklist of everything a solo practitioner needs to do, ranging from registering your entity with the Illinois Supreme Court to getting malpractice insurance.

"There's a lot of minutiae you don't think about," Toney says. "You can't just quit your job, hang a shingle, and start practicing. You need to get an EIN number."

As law school admissions decline and the job market for attorneys shrinks, some law schools have been forced to shut their doors. In June 2017, Whittier Law School in California announced it would shut down this spring (https://usat.ly/2t2aGCc). Closer to home, Valparaiso University's law school stopped admitting new students this year (http://bit.ly/2FHFr5i).

Paul A. Osborn, attorney with Ward, Murray, Pace & Johnson, discusses how billing can be an opportunity for positive communication with your client. 

The Fellows of the Illinois Bar Foundation (IBF) will honor Eugenia C. Hunter, Attorney at Law, and posthumously honor Hon. David W. Watt, Jr., 1st Judicial Circuit Court, at a Southern Illinois Fellows reception on Thursday, May 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Carbondale Civic Center, 200 S. Illinois Avenue in Carbondale. 

Tickets are $35 per person. Tickets and sponsorships are available on the IBF website.

Created in 1983, the Fellows Program consists of a special group of lawyers and Foundation supporters who have committed, by direct payment or pledge over ten years, sums of money ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 to support the mission of the IBF.

The IBF raises funds for distribution to Illinois nonprofit organizations whose mission is to provide free legal services to those with limited means. It also provides assistance to lawyers who can no longer support themselves due to incapacity. The IBF also oversees the Illinois JusticeCorps program, which provides trained part-time student volunteers to serve as guides in courthouses. This year, the IBF will distribute more than $820,000 in funds.

Learn how to better represent and protect your elderly clients! Over 40 million Americans are currently over the age of 65 – and that number is rapidly growing. The legal issues surrounding the elderly are wide-ranging and complicated, and can involve overlapping areas of practice.

Asked and Answered

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I am a partner in a 12-attorney commercial litigation law firm in Palm Beach, Florida. There are five partners in the firm. We are contemplating merging with another firm in the area of similar size. We have done our due diligence and have come across a possible non-starter—our compensation system. Our compensation system is an objective, formula-based system. The other firm has operated under a subjective system and they are pushing for the firm to operate similarly. We would appreciate your thoughts on this method of compensation.

Voting is now underway in the 2018 ISBA election. Voting closes at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, April 30.

ISBA's election provider Election America e-mailed ballots to members with valid e-mail addresses and mailed paper ballots to members without valid e-mail addresses two weeks ago, on Monday, March 26. The deadline to request paper ballots was last Friday, April 13.

Get the updates you need regarding a number of important mental health topics with this half-day seminar in Chicago or via live webcast on May 16, 2018. Practitioners with all levels of legal experience who are interested in the current regulations surrounding attorneys facing substance abuse or mental health issues (and how to assist them) will benefit from attending and learn: how to help attorneys and law students facing mental illness and/or substance abuse issues; the recent legislative changes and appellate opinions in mental health; the mission of the Lawyer’s Assistance Program to help attorneys facing substance abuse and/or mental health issues through mentoring and other tools; and how disciplinary authorities handle attorney mental health and substance abuse cases.

The ISBA president-elect will appoint a member to one of the under-represented seats of the Board of Governors at the May 2018 Board of Governors meeting. The member appointed to this position will serve with full Board member privileges for a three-year term beginning the first day of the 2018 Annual Meeting in Fontana, WI. 

Pursuant to the Association Bylaws, eligible candidates for the under-represented seat include members of the Association with a status of, but not limited to, age, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, geography, areas and types of practice, and years of practice. 

The Diversity Leadership Council is responsible for recommending candidates for consideration by the president-elect. All interested members should submit a written self-nomination by email to mburkholder@isba.org no later than April 27, 2018. 

Limited scope representation has been ethically permissible in Illinois since at least 2010 and probably even before then. Initially conceived to make it easier to serve clients of modest means, it might be more important today as a way to accommodate changing consumer preferences about legal services.