Don’t miss this in-depth look at the various types of economic development incentives that are available to local governments – from TIFs and Business Development Districts, to Special Services Areas and more! Attorneys with all levels of practice experience who attend this online seminar on March 15, 2017 will better understand: the financial elements of economic development incentives and how financing is an area of special concern; the role of bond counsel; how the Prevailing Wage Law can impact the economic development in your community; what not to do when using incentives; and how to structure redevelopment agreements.

The seminar is presented by the ISBA Local Government Law Section and qualifies for 2.0 hours MCLE credit.

Click here for more information and to register.

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers the Mechanics Lien Act, the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, defining "high school" for child support purposes, the Health Care Services Lien Act, name changes and IMDMA judgments, the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, and the Presumptively Void Transfers Article of the Probate Act of 1975.

More information on each bill is available below the video.

Beginning with its March 2017 term, the Illinois Supreme Court is posting briefs for each case in the term’s Call of the Docket on the court’s website.

The briefs for the March term are available under Docket in the Quick Links tab. Briefs for upcoming terms will typically be available one to two weeks before each term starts.

“Briefs and oral arguments are the primary tools used by courts of review in deciding cases," Chief Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier said in a court press release. "Our court has made videos of all oral arguments available online for several years now. We are very pleased that briefs will now be available online as well."

The change was made possible when the Illinois Supreme Court adopted Rule 364 to protect against identity theft and the disclosure of personal information in cases before the state's reviewing courts. The rule took effect July 1, 2016, and affects all documents and exhibits filed by paper or electronically in criminal and civil cases before the Illinois Appellate and Supreme Courts.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. I am the owner of a plaintiff personal injury law firm in Arlington, Texas. I have three associate attorneys, six non-lawyer case managers, and three other staff members. Our marketing consists of our yellow pages program and our website. I am considering TV advertising and I would appreciate your thoughts concerning venturing into this arena.

Beginning next year, lawyers who don't carry malpractice insurance will have to complete a four-hour assessment of their ethical knowledge and management practices.

Each year, the ARDC requires Illinois attorneys to report whether they or their firms carry malpractice insurance. That information is made public via the ARDC's website, although a prospective client may not know the website exists, let alone that it provides such information. On January 25, 2017, the Illinois Supreme Court amended Rule 756(e) by implementing "proactive management based regulation" (PMBR). The new rule will require attorneys who do not carry malpractice insurance to complete a four-hour interactive, online assessment of the operations of their firm. The assessment is based on both ethical rules and best business practices. It will be conducted every two years, beginning in 2018. (For more about PMBR, see the June 2016 Illinois Bar Journal cover story.)

According to James Grogan, the ARDC's Deputy Administrator and Chief Counsel, 41 percent of solo practitioners in Illinois do not carry malpractice insurance. There are roughly 13,500 solo attorneys in the state, which means some 5,500 practice uninsured. What's more, nine percent of small firms do not maintain malpractice insurance policies.

Campaign season is here! Biographies of candidates for the ISBA 3d VP and board of governors races, along with a complete list of Assembly candidates, are online now. Paper ballots will be mailed and e-ballots will be emailed on March 29. Voting concludes April 28 at 4:30 p.m. CDT. All attorney members with dues paid up by March 1 of this year are eligible to vote for races in their area. Find out more at www.isba.org/elections.

The 2017 class of laureates of the ISBA Academy of Illinois Lawyers will be honored at a special luncheon at the Standard Club in Chicago on March 30. This year's inductees are Patricia Bronte, Chicago; Joseph Gagliardo, Chicago; Marshall Hartman, Lincolnwood; James Holderman, Chicago; Lori Levin, Chicago; George Mahoney, Joliet; Nicholas Motherway, Chicago; Michael Reagan, Ottawa; and Larry Rogers, Chicago.

 A welcome reception begins at 11:15 a.m., followed by lunch and award ceremony at noon. To order individual tickets, complete the online registration form. The deadline for purchasing tickets is March 24.

The ISBA Academy of Illinois Lawyers honors lawyers "who have established and maintained the highest principles of the profession as demonstrated by their pervasive record of service to the law and the public." Find out more about the Academy and the Laureate Award.

Questions about the luncheon should be directed to Kim Weaver at kweaver@isba.org.

Are you an attorney with advance-level practice experience who would like to better understand The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA)? Do you want to give your physician clients practical legal advice about Medicare payments and obligations? Do you represent and advise other health care professionals that might benefit from your understanding of MACRA? Then don’t miss this hot topic live webcast on March 15, 2017 that explains: what MACRA is – including objectives and principal provisions; how MACRA will affect physicians, as well as the requirements MACRA imposes on physicians; how physicians can maximize their Medicare payments on account of MACRA; and the tools available for helping physicians make informed decisions about participating in the Medicare Program.

The program is presented by the ISBA Health Care Law Section and qualifies for 1.50 hours MCLE credit.

Click here for more information and to register.

Glenview lawyer Rachel Huan Kao discusses four factors to consider before practicing immigration law.

For about a dozen years after Kerry Lavelle founded his namesake law firm a quarter-century ago, he was based in the loop and took what cases he could find, enjoying steady success that enabled him to grow the firm to five lawyers, which he took pride in at the time.

About 13 years ago, he moved the firm to northwest suburban Palatine and undertook a change in direction aside from geography. "I took a very different approach: I built a business plan, and with the right discipline, we really grew the firm, and we now have 24 attorneys," says Lavelle, who will speak in Moline March 31 at the ISBA Solo and Small Firm Practice Institute on "Build It and the Profit Will Come: Simple Steps to Building Your Business Plan."

Lavelle didn't just throw himself into this exercise blindly. "I read a lot of business books, and I realized there's more to a business plan than just the pro forma financials," he says. "A business plan is a model to really touch on all the necessary elements of the business going forward. And if you stick to those goals and those truisms, you will be successful."

A business plan can help lawyers flesh out their ideas, and in some ways the journey is more enlightening than the destination, says Debbie Foster, partner at Affinity Consulting Group, who helps law firm clients put business plans together.