"Of counsel" is one of those elastic phrases that can mean almost anything. Or so it seems based on how it's used.

In fact, though, ethics opinions over the years have given the term meaning, or at least defined its outer boundaries. And what are those boundaries? When is it appropriate for a lawyer to describe himself or herself as "of counsel" to a firm?

Not for "single case affiliations and referral source schemes," writes David B. Sosin in the latest ISBA Senior Lawyers newsletter. "Similarly, the collaboration of unrelated lawyers in Of Counsel designations to expand their firm expertise on paper was not permitted" by a 1990 ABA ethics opinion.

Sosin looks at how lawyers may use the term and how they should not, and also at how the "of counsel" designation has evolved over the years. Read his article.

Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride announced Wednesday that a pilot project established last year to allow electronic filing of documents with the Illinois Supreme Court has been expanded to include the option for all documents in cases on the Court's general docket to be filed with the Supreme Court electronically. The expansion also includes the electronic filing of documents concerning attorney disciplinary matters before the Court.

The pilot project, approved by the Supreme Court in January 2012, allowed the Illinois Attorney General, the State Appellate Defender's Office and the Office of the Illinois State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor to digitally file motions, briefs and related documents with the Clerk of the Court through a secure password system designed and operated by a third-party vendor.

Now the pilot project expands to give the option for more persons registered with the third-party vendor, including pro se litigants and attorneys licensed in other jurisdictions appearing in a specific case, to file documents electronically. This move could eventually result in the savings of tens of thousands of pages of paper documents.

Chief Judge Frank H. Easterbrook announced that the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has reappointed Northern Illinois Bankruptcy Judge Carol Doyle to another 14-year term when her current term expires on July 26, 2013. Chief Judge Easterbrook commented that the bar and the public were extensively surveyed and the results were that Judge Doyle is rated as an excellent judge.  

Judge Doyle was initially sworn in as a bankruptcy judge in 1999. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and her law degree from Loyola University in Chicago. Prior to her appointment as a bankruptcy judge, she was a lawyer with the Chicago law firm of Sidley and Austin. She is the immediate past Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. 

Asked and Answered

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

Q. Our firm - St. Louis, Missouri - handles personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. All 6 attorneys practice in this area and we do no work on any other type of fee or billing arrangement. During the last couple of years cash flow has been tough, we have lost some cases, and we are looking for ideas on what we should be doing differently. We would appreciate any ideas that you may have.

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 January 2013, ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:

• Administrative Law – 15
• Bankruptcy - 16
• Business Law - 4
• Civil Disputes - 58
• Civil Rights - 26
• Collection - 16
• Consumer Protection - 9
• Contracts - 6
• Criminal Law - 64
• Education Law - 8
• Elder law - 5
• Employment Law - 62
• Estate/Probate Law - 35
• Family - 112

ISBA Laureate Joseph DuCanto, 85, a founding partner of Schiller DuCanto & Fleck, passed away after a brief illness on Friday, Feb. 8.

“Joe” DuCanto, became a founding partner of the Chicago law firm Schiller DuCanto & Fleck in 1981. He devoted himself professionally to elevating the status of the practice of matrimonial law, and of its practitioners.  With his dedicated guidance and support, shared equally by his partners, Schiller DuCanto & Fleck has become one of the most distinguished matrimonial law firms in the country. Best Lawyers in America has named it the number one ranked Family-Law divorce law firm in the United States.

Mr. DuCanto was known throughout the country for preparation and distribution of divorce-tax related materials, including his annual Federal Income Tax Charts, dating back to 1977, which are used today by lawyers, judges, accountants, bankers and financial planners.

Joe was also a prolific writer, who was frequently published in law Journals, including the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. From 2000-2008 Mr. DuCanto wrote “All in the Family”, a monthly column for the Chicago Lawyer,  where he critically examined many newly issued cases, movements, trends and ideas in the practice of family law. Ultimately, a collection of those articles was published in book form.

Please join us in supporting this event to benefit the Illinois Bar Foundation/YLD Children’s Assistance Program.

• When: Saturday, March 9, 2013 from Noon to 4 p.m.
• Where: Lion Head Pub/The Apartment, 2251 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago (map and directions)
• What: Tailgate Party buffet and domestic and import bottled beer, mixed well drinks and wine.

Join us in Chicago on Feb. 22 and get the information you need on various guardianship estates issues, including: who qualifies as a disabled person and why a guardian may be necessary; types of guardianship estates and who may serve as a guardian; the guardianship appointment process; requirements for opening and closing the guardianship estate; the powers, duties, and limitations of the guardian; investment requirements and fiduciary accountings; contested guardianships and how to avoid and/or settle them; the roles of the Public Guardian and Office of State Guardian; and the ethical issues to consider when acting as Power of Attorney.

Illinois President John E. Thies announces the final week to register your team before the start of Lawyers Feeding Illinois on Feb. 18. Please help us reach our goal of raising 1 million meals to benefit the food banks serving Illinois' neediest residents. Register your team or donate at lawyersfeedingil.org.

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the criminal cases People v. Wilmington, People v. Jackson and People v. Grant.

CRIMINAL

People v. Wilmington

By Jay Wiegman, Office of the State Appellate Defender