Chief Judge John T. Elsner announced that the Court is accepting applications to fill a vacancy for the Office of Associate Judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit, DuPage County. This vacancy is the results of the elevation of Associate Judge Liam C. Brennan to Circuit Judge.

Judge Elsner added that applications to fill this vacancy will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2014. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, licensed to practice law in this state, and a resident of DuPage County. Two original applications, submitted on the prescribed application form, must be filed with:

• Michael J. Tardy, Director
• Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts
• 3101 Old Jacksonville Road
• Springfield, IL 62704-6488

Applications can be obtained from the Chief Judge's Office, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts or from the Supreme Court's website: www.state.il.us/court

Applications may be be submitted electronically or via facsimile.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch – two internationally recognized Internet trainers and authors of seven American Bar Association Law Practice Division books – as they show you how to develop online investigative strategies to search like a private investigator. The program, which takes place in Chicago on December 12, 2014, show you how to develop effective investigative search strategies via the Internet using a variety of free and low-cost sources to help with your next case or transaction. Attendees with all levels of practice experience will learn how to: access expensive databases (for free!); retrieve background information from public records; conduct due diligence; unearth bankruptcies and other litigation history; find hard-to-locate people; learn how you can (and can’t) use social networking sites for investigative and background research; and how to overcome social media discovery and evidentiary issues and authenticate profiles. This Master Series seminar qualifies for 3.0 hours MCLE credit, including 3.0 hours Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval).

Click here for more information and to register.

Q. My client is making unreasonable demands and I believe she cannot make rational decisions which will impact the outcome of the case. Am I allowed to withdraw from representation?

A. IRPC 1.16(b)(4) states that a lawyer may withdraw from representation if “the client insists upon taking action that the lawyer considers repugnant or with which the lawyer has a fundamental disagreement.”  However, when withdrawing, a lawyer should follow 1.16(c) and (d) and must follow applicable law requiring notice to or permission of a tribunal when terminating representation and take steps to protect the client’s interests, such as allowing time to find new counsel, refunding fees, and returning files.

For more information, consult ISBA Advisory Opinion 12-10

ISBA members can browse past ISBA Ethics Opinions, access our Ethics Hotline, and other resources on the ISBA Ethics Page.

[Disclaimer.  These questions are representative of calls received on the ISBA’s ethics hotline.  The information provided below is meant as an educational tool to highlight potentially applicable Illinois RPC or other ethics resources that might help the lawyer answer the question posed.  The information provided isn’t legal advice.  Because every situation is different, often complex, and the law is constantly evolving, you shouldn’t rely upon this general information without conducting your own research.]

Chicago solo practitioner Leila Kanani needed to find experienced attorneys to help her handle overflow work when her docket spiked, but she couldn't hire anyone full-time because she couldn't count on staying crazy-busy. So she reached out to attorneys she knew who had left BigLaw to become stay-at-home mothers but wanted to keep one foot in the legal business.

"Whenever I got busy, I didn't know who to turn to for work," says Kanani, who estimates her practice is 60 to 65 percent litigation and the rest transactional, including estate planning, intellectual property, and corporate, family, and environmental law. "They were just sitting at home. They loved it. I set them up with other projects, and it just grew out of that."

In 2013, she founded Intermix Legal Group, a network of freelance attorneys and those who want to hire them for piece work - projects like drafting pleadings and motions, helping with discovery and depositions, and handling trial preparation - without setting up their own full-time practices. Find out more about hiring freelancers - and being one - in the December Illinois Bar Journal.

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers the proposed Service tax on attorneys, Juvenile Court Act (Senate Bill 3075) and Condominium Property Act (House Bill 4204).

More information on each bill is available below the video.

The Illinois State Bar Association's Task Force on the Impact of Law School Curriculum and Debt on the Future of the Profession will hold seven open hearings throughout the state. The Task Force was established by President Richard D. Felice and is chaired by Honorable Ann Jorgensen, Justice of the Second District Appellate Court. ISBA members are encouraged to attend these hearings to discuss the core skill sets that new lawyers should have and how law schools can graduate more “practice ready” lawyers.

The final hearing will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, December 10 at the ISBA Chicago Regional Office, 20 S. Clark, Ste. 900.

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the civil cases Keating v. City of Chicago, Madigan v. Illinois Commerce Commission, Pusateri v. Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company and Huber v. American Accounting Association and the criminal cases People v. Denson, People v. Holt, In re Detention of New and Cordrey v. Illinois Prison Review Board. The court also released In re Edmonds.

CIVIL

Keating v. City of Chicago

By Alyssa M. Reiter, Williams, Montgomery & John Ltd.

This opinion, while not reaching the merits of the case, reflects an important point of Illinois constitutional law.

The appellants sought review from a Supreme Court Rule 23 Order which affirmed dismissal of the plaintiffs’ complaint challenging the City of Chicago’s red light camera ordinance.  On review, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal:

In this case, two Justices of this Court have recused themselves and the remaining members of the Court are divided so that it is not possible to secure the constitutionally required concurrence of four judges for a decision (see Ill. Const. 1970, art. VI, § 3).  Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.

The Court explained that the effect of this dismissal is the same as an affirmance by an equally divided court of the decision under review but it does not have precedential value.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. I am the firm administrator with a 27 attorney firm in Detroit. We have 15 partners and 12 associates. I have been with the firm and in this position for eight months. I replaced another administrator who was terminated because the partners did not believe he lived up to their expectations. This is my first law firm and I want to be successful. I feel that I am struggling and am not sure of my priorities. I would appreciate your thoughts.

It’s easy to find great results in Fastcase – and easy to save key documents and record time in Clio. But both tasks just got easier.

We’re happy to announce the integration of the best research and practice management tools in the business: Fastcase and Clio. Fastcase is an ISBA member benefit and Clio is part of the ISBA member discount program.

With this partnership, legal professionals can track time spent researching without focusing attention away from the task at hand. From inside Fastcase, you can now select from clients and matters in Clio, start a timer for your research session, and record the activity automatically in Clio. You never have to miss or manually record your research time again.

ISBA members can sign up for Fastcase at www.isba.org/fastcase
ISBA members can sign up for Clio at www.isba.org/membermarketplace/practice#clio