The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For the month of August 2016, there were 903 referrals. ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:
These offers are provided to you by Illinois State Bar Association.
I-September
Have you been to I-Drive 360 yet? Orlando's newest entertainment destination is home to Madame Tussauds Orlando, The Coca-Cola Orlando Eye, Sea Life Aquarium and more, and this month you can enjoy I-September by saving over 40% on a 1-attraction ticket on TicketsatWork.com! If you need a ride there book an Avis rental car and save 25% nationwide!
Summer’s almost over but Lenovo savings continue!
Now is the time to upgrade your PC with Lenovo's legendary PC's at great summer end discounts. If for either home or home office use, Lenovo designs and engineers legendary technologies, with top performance! As an ISBA member, take advantage of INSTANT SAVINGS up to 24% off now through September 30th.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the owner of an eight attorney estate planning firm in Jacksonville, Florida. Our firm handles estate planning and estate administration. For this entire year our financial numbers are way down and I am getting concerned. For example, compared to last year:
Michael J. Tardy, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, has announced that the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Clayton L. Lindsey as an associate judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit.
Mr. Lindsey received his undergraduate degree in 1981 from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, and his Juris Doctor in 1984 from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Mr. Lindsey is currently affiliated with WilliamsMcCarthy LLP in Oregon, IL.
Illinois attorney Phil Vacco discusses the common misconceptions associated with using version 6.1 of the multi-board residential real estate sales agreement.
The Illinois Supreme Court has adopted six new rules to establish a regulatory framework for a new state law that decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of cannabis and drug paraphernalia.
Supreme Court Rules 585, 586, 587, 588, 589 and 590 were created in response to legislation the Illinois General Assembly approved this past spring and Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law last month. Public Act 99-697 took effect July 29, 2016, and the new Supreme Court Rules take effect September 1, 2016.
On Tuesday, August 30, 2016 Judge Kevin P. Fitzgerald, Chief Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Illinois, issued a groundbreaking court order when he appointed four attorneys as “Eleventh Judicial Circuit Assistance Attorneys.” The individuals honored with this cutting edge role are: Erin Donaldson, Mike McElvain, Todd Miller, and Judge Rebecca Foley. The Chief Judge’s Court Order, Administrative Order 2016 – 8, is a critical step in a pilot program spearheaded by Lawyers’ Assistance Program (LAP) Volunteer and Board member, Mike McElvain.
The pilot program aims to make it easier for attorneys beyond the Chicagoland area, an often underserved population, to access LAP’s free and confidential services such as peer support, assessments, interventions, and referrals. The four newly appointed Court Assistance Attorneys serve as local extensions of the Lawyers’ Assistance Program. As such, they receive the same immunity and are bound by the same confidentiality as LAP employees and volunteers, as provided in the Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Interveners and Reporters Immunity Act, 745 ILCS 35/1 et. al., and the provisions of Rule 1.6(d) of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct of 2010. These Court Assistance Attorneys have committed themselves to confidentially accepting “information about Eleventh Judicial Circuit attorneys and judges in need of assistance for the sole purpose of relaying that information to the professional staff at LAP.”
In early 2012, Peter Olson, a Chicago-based sole practitioner concentrating on family law with some clients in other areas, happened upon an anonymous Craigslist listing that advertised a law practice for sale. The owner of the practice, which also focused on family law, was looking to retire and hoped to find, in effect, a successor - for the right price.
His interest grew upon discovering that the seller was an acquaintance of Olson, who will speak on the topic of buying and selling law practices, along with Rockford-based real estate and estate planning attorney John Maville, at the ISBA Solo and Small Firm Practice Institute in September.
So they reached a simple buyout agreement through which Olson effectively worked for the firm for a few months as the seller transitioned out, then took it over - not only the client files but the office, staff, computer systems, and other property.
"It's hard to know, or hard to find, when people are buying or selling practices," Olson says. "I'm asked about it, not daily, but with some frequency, and there really isn't much of a market for it. I'll see the occasional listing in some of the bar journal, lawyer-focused magazines. The only other resources I know of are a few law practice management people who do brokering of that."
What was Olson's experience as a law firm buyer? Find out in the September Illinois Bar Journal.
