The United States Attorney for the Central District of Illinois is currently seeking qualified applicants for a position as Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Criminal Division for our Rock Island, IL location, which is one of four branch offices in the district. AUSAs in the Criminal Division supervise the investigation of and prosecute federal offenses involving among other things, financial fraud, hate crimes, identity theft, economic crimes, firearms trafficking, counterfeiting, program fraud, immigration violations, drug trafficking, violent crimes, domestic terrorism, bank robbery, human trafficking, child exploitation, transportation of stolen goods, and public corruption.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 1 year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.

United States citizenship is required.

Preferred Qualifications: Applicants must demonstrate analytical ability, good judgment, and excellent communication and courtroom skills. Applicants must demonstrate superior oral and writing skills as well as strong research and interpersonal skills. Applicants should be proficient in the use of a computer. Applicants must exhibit the ability to work in a supportive and highly professional manner with other attorneys, professional support staff, client agency representatives, law enforcement officers / investigators, opposing counsel, and court staff.

You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. Our firm is a six attorney personal injury plaintiff located in Kansas City. We have been in practice for 20 years and the firm has been very successful. However, in the last few years the cases are getting larger, more complex, and really putting a drain on our cash flow. We are always into our credit Line. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

A. Cash flow has always been a challenge for contingency fee practices. However, times are getting harder. Insurance companies are refusing to settle personal injury cases, stretching out timelines for paying out cases they do settle, paying less, and becoming even harder to deal with. Other contingency fee practices are also facing similar challenges and everyone is finding it harder to find adequate lines of credit. Many firms that were once 100% contingency fee practices are looking for ways to improve cash flow implementing different fee arrangements or by adding non-contingency fee practice areas.

I suggest that you evaluate ways that you might re-balance your case portfolio to say 60% contingency/time-bill mix. You might consider:

Tweet to us about your ISBA membership experience between May 5-29 for a chance to win an Apple iWatch Sport (Grand Prize) or a $100 Amazon Gift Card (3 Runner-Ups.) Winning tweets (and their tweeters) will also be featured in an upcoming issue of theIllinois Bar Journal.

In 140 characters or less, tell us about how you’re using an ISBA member benefit in your practice. Our panel of judges will choose the winning tweets based on the following criteria: cleverness, relevancy and helpfulness.

A few important tips:

• Be sure to use #isbabenefits in your tweet.
• Keep it clean (including your handle.)
• Inspire other ISBA members to think about using the benefit the way you do.

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Cannabis civil penalties (Senate Bill 2228), Limited Liability Company Act (House Bill 4361), Income shares and child support (House Bill 3982), IMDMA cleanup (House Bill 3898), and Land Trust Beneficiary Rights Act (House Bill 4697). More information on each bill is available below the video.

Cannabis civil penalties. Senate Bill 2228 (Steans, D-Chicago; Cassidy, D-Chicago) makes several changes to the Code of Criminal Procedure. It replaces criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of cannabis (less than 10 grams) with a civil fine of $100-$200. The other change at issue replaces the current “zero-tolerance” prohibition of driving with any trace of cannabis in the driver’s bodily fluids with a per se standard of five nanograms/milliliter of whole blood or ten nanograms/milliliter in any other bodily substance. It’s passed the Senate and on second reading in the House.

Attorney Trent Bush demonstrates how to capture any part of your screen using the snipping tool in Microsoft Windows. Capture parts of documents to include in your briefs, and even share an error message with your IT staff through email.

The fifth Solo & Small Firm Practice Institute will be held on Thursday, May 14 in at the ISBA Chicago Office, 20 S. Clark. This program will focus on “Protecting Your Practice: Finances and Technology.”

As a solo or small firm attorney, you have worked hard to build your practice, manage your time, and prepare for the future. Now it’s time to protect everything you’ve accomplished. Join us for this in-depth look at how you can continue building your practice, promote yourself online, and enjoy your profession – all while avoiding various ethical traps along the way. Attorneys who are new solo or small firm practitioners – and those thinking about becoming one – who attend this seminar, will better understand:

• The ethical issues you need to be aware of regarding client confidentiality;
• How to protect your retainers, fees, and income;
• How to properly use IOLTA accounts;
• The financial details involved in starting your own firm;
• How to network during business events;
• The risks associated with using social media to promote your practice;
• How to balance stress with a happy personal and professional life;
• The top causes for grievances against lawyers;
• And much more!

Find out more and register at tinyurl.com/ok55gqe.

The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), the administrative agency that regulates licensed Illinois lawyers, has filed its year 2014 Annual Report with the Supreme Court of Illinois. The report was released to the public this morning when a copy was posted on the ARDC website: www.iardc.org.

A summary of the annual report entitled Highlights from the 2014 Annual Report is available below.

• Lawyer Population

The names of 92,756 lawyers appeared on the Master Roll of Attorneys as of October 31, 2014. That number does not include 1,902 attorneys who took their oath of office in late 2014. The overall lawyer population in Illinois saw a modest increase of 1.8% over 2013. The percentage of attorneys reporting a principal address outside Illinois increased 7.4% from the year before. The number of female lawyers has slowly but steadily risen over the last 20 years. Female lawyers are 38% of Illinois lawyers in 2014, a 1% increase over the prior year. Ten years ago, women lawyers made up 32% of the legal profession in 2004 and only 25% of Illinois lawyers in 1994. There are 371 Illinois lawyers who serve on active military duty.