By Teri Ross, Program Director, Illinois Legal Aid Online

Like many Illinois attorneys, I recently completed my ARDC registration. Like some of you, I had to answer “Mandatory Pro Bono Information” questions. In particular, this one stood out:

"Did you within the past twelve months, provide any pro bono legal services? Yes or No"

Well, honestly (as my mother used to say), who wants to answer ‘No’ to that? There must have been something I’d done that I could report on. Think, think, think. I reflect on my extracurricular activities in 2017 — scout mom, active church member, elementary school volunteer, letter writer, and other social justice advocacy. Can I report on any of that?

Now, it’s not like I don’t know what pro bono is. I work for a non-profit legal aid organization that offers great, online information about pro bono, not to mention a whole directory of Illinois pro bono opportunities. My problem is that I really haven’t done any pro bono work. I am a lawyer, so of course, I could try to justify some of my activities listed above to wedge (awkwardly) into the pro bono categories. But the truth is, I have not done anything outside of my paid employment that equates to “legal services to a person/persons of limited means.”

In the spring, members of the ISBA will elect a third vice president, six seats on the Board of Governors, and 22 seats on the Cook County Assembly.

One board seat is open in each of the following Areas: Cook County, Board Area 1 (circuit 18), Board Area 3 (Circuits 12, 13, 16, 21 and 23), Board Area 4 (circuits 10, 14, and 15), Board Area 6 (circuits 7, 8 and 9), and Board Area 8 (circuits 3 and 20).  

Nominating petitions are now being accepted and must be filed by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at either the Illinois Bar Center, 424 South 2nd Street, in Springfield, or the ISBA Office at 20 S. Clark Street, 9th Floor, Chicago.

Petitions must be physically submitted with original signatures. Petitions submitted via email or fax will not be accepted.

Candidates should submit their biography and photo online.

Questions regarding the filing of petitions should be directed to Kim Weaver, assistant to the executive director.

Find out more on the ISBA Elections page.
 

Asked and Answered

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

Q. My firm is a Tucson, Arizona business litigation firm. We have four founding partners and four associates. The partners are in their late fifties and early sixties. All four of us are contemplating retirement in the next 8–10 years. We are assuming that our associates will be willing to step up and buy out our interests. We have not had any discussions with our associates concerning this. Your thoughts are appreciated.

The Illinois Supreme Court launched its Commission on Pretrial Practices today to conduct a comprehensive review of Illinois' pretrial detention system and provide guidance and recommendations for change.

Building on pretrial reform initiatives that began last year, the Commission will gain an understanding of where the greatest problems lie; how the problems vary by jurisdiction; and how laws, regulations, and rules can be changed to ensure pretrial services are fair, efficient, transparent, accountable, and adequately resourced. 

Illinois' pretrial practices are one of the greatest problems facing the state's justice system. "Pretrial detention costs now consume a substantial portion of the total resources expended by the justice system in our country. The time has come to take a hard look at whether that investment makes sense," Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier said. "Mindful of these social and financial costs, the Illinois Supreme Court has committed itself to enacting sensible and practical reforms to the pretrial process to ensure that pretrial incarceration is reserved for cases in which the threat to public safety truly warrants it."

The idea of forming a statewide pretrial commission began four years ago when the supreme court began looking into the issue of pretrial services in Cook County by creating a committee of key stakeholders in the county. This stakeholders committee, chaired by Hon. Benjamin Miller, retired Illinois Supreme Court chief justice, and Hon. David Coar, retired federal judge, met for several years to develop a program of best practices.

The ISBA Springfield and Chicago offices will be closed for the holidays beginning tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 22. They will reopen on Jan. 2, 2018. During this time, members can expect the following:

• E-Clips will not be delivered for the duration of this period
• Your Membership: The Featured Five will not be delivered on Wednesday, Dec. 27
• Illinois Lawyer Now will not be delivered on Thursday, Dec. 28
• All ISBA systems will be down temporarily from 8 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 29 through noon on Saturday, Dec. 30. Additional information regarding which services will be unavailable and instructions for members who wish to ensure continued service throughout this period are available on Illinois Lawyer Now.

All business and e-newsletter distribution will resume as usual on Jan. 2, 2018.

On behalf of everyone at the ISBA, we wish you a happy holiday season and best wishes in the new year. 

Jayne Reardon, executive director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, discusses changes to the MCLE rules made by the supreme court.

As lawyers increasingly focus their practices, a given attorney often isn't the best choice to handle a given case. Yet clients typically don't know where to turn, which means lawyers and their firms end up deciding which cases to accept and which to refer, and - when they send cases out - how to handle that referral.

Once done on the down-low, referrals have become a more above-board part of legal practice, says Warren Lupel, former special counsel in the litigation and dispute resolution practice at Much Shelist in Chicago. "There's nothing wrong with it, and it's even desirable in most instances," says Lupel, who appeared with Daniel Breen of Chicago's Breen Goril Law during a CLE presentation at the ISBA's Solo and Small Firm Practice Institute in October. "If you are not that specialist, and you know a specialist, the client is going to get a better deal if you refer."

Whether and when to refer is a case-by-case judgment based on one's confidence level in handling a particular matter, Lupel says. "You don't have to be the best lawyer in the country or the county to keep the file," he says. "But if you're a real estate lawyer, and you get a medical malpractice case, that decision should be easy."

Other judgments are trickier, he says. "You may handle small personal injury cases, and this is a big one. Maybe you don't refer it."

All ISBA systems will be down due to electrical work beginning Friday, Dec. 29 at 8 a.m. until Saturday, Dec. 30 at 12 p.m. (noon). During this time the ISBA website will not be available. As a result you will also not be able to log into Fastcase, online CLE, and ISBA Central. Here is what you need to know and steps you can take to ensure continued service.

Online CLE

You will not be able to access online CLE at all during the outage. If you need to complete CLE credit before the end of the year, we strongly urge you to plan to finalize that before the outage. 

ISBA Central Communities and Discussion Groups

Discussion groups will still be available via email, but you will not be able to log into ISBA Central. (Note: if you are already logged into the ISBA website, you may be able to access ISBA Central by going to it directly at http://central.isba.org).

Fastcase

For members who need to access Fastcase during this time, please follow the instructions below.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. Our firm is a six-attorney estate planning/probate firm in Mesa, Arizona. There are three partners and three associates in the firm. We have had associates for the last eight years and have never made money from them. Last year we decided to implement a billable hour expectation of 1,800 hours for the associates. A year later, no one is even close. Only one associate has reached 1,500 hours. Is our expectation reasonable? Your insight is appreciated.

In this Agreed Final Order, Ms. Kadan was found guilty of minor indirect criminal contempt for engaging in the unauthorized practice of law in six separate court proceedings. Ms. Kadan was ordered to pay approximately $16,000 in restitution, $500 in court costs, and sentenced to four years of probation. ARDC v. Kristina Kadan, Cook County No. 16 MC1-600066 (December 19, 2017).