The Just The Beginning Foundation, ISBA's Law and Leadership partner, is offering free CLE credits at its 20th Anniversary Conference "Reaching Back, Lifting Up." Each panel (list below) awards between .50 and .75 Illinois Professional Responsibility credits. The conference will be held Sept. 21-22 at the Chicago Marriott, 540 N. Michigan Ave. Click here to register.
Illinois Judges Association (IJA) President Rita M. Novak has announced that 90 judges have been appointed to committees of the Illinois State Bar Association by its new President John E. Thies.
Judge Novak, an Associate Judge from Cook County, pointed to Illinois judges continuing commitment to the betterment of the legal profession. She said: “It is difficult for both lawyers and for judges to find the extra time, in addition to their already demanding jobs, to be part of the larger profession. But that is our responsibility. I am proud of the commitment of Illinois’ judges to our state bar association.”
Among those serving on ISBA committees are Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier, of Nashville, who is a member of the Bench and Bar Section Council.
Many judges have committed to leadership positions in the ISBA. Hon. Stephen Pacey, of Paxton, is Treasurer of the 33,000-member organization. Judge Pacey, along with the Hon. Russell Hartigan of Cook County, also serves on the ISBA Board of Governors. Both men also perform other committee work for the ISBA. The 27-member Board of Governors oversees the operations and management of the ISBA, subject to policies set by the ISBA Assembly.
Numerous judges also serve on the ISBA Assembly, which is the supreme policy making body of the Association, with 201 lawyer or judge members elected on a pro rata basis from the judicial circuits.
In the latest issue of ISBA's The Corporate Lawyer, Aurora lawyer Christine M. Kieta expresses a sentiment that would surely warm the heart of Jim Covington, ISBA's clear-writing authority: "[M]y favorite part of being an attorney is writing agreements that clients can understand."
Kieta describes three strategies for making agreements more clear to lay readers. Among other things, she understands the importance of good document design, telling lawyers to "break up documents so that the reader can digest them in small portions. Expertly crafted point headings serve as lamps along a hallway giving light to each section in the contract." Read and heed her good advice.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am a sole practitioner in Bloomington, Illinois. My practice is a general practice and most of my clients are either individuals or small businesses. I have one legal assistant and one paralegal that work for me. I am 62 and am starting to think about what to do with my practice and what I need to be thinking about concerning selling my practice. I would be interested in your suggestions.
A. I would start by asking yourself when you actually want to retire or quit. Do you really want to stop practicing law or do you want to work forever? Over two-thirds of the solo and small firm lawyers that I speak with advise me that they want to practice forever - maybe not full throttle - but on a continued but scaled back schedule. Review Rule 1.17 - Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct to insure that you understand the method and the restrictions involved in sale of a law practice. If you want to continuing practicing determine whether selling your law practice is your best option given Rule 1.17. Some of our clients are exploring other options including bringing in other attorneys and forming partnerships or merging with other firms.
If you determine that selling the practice is the route you want to go here are a few ideas to begin readying it for sale:
Many lawyers, particularly young parents, have fantasized about being able to sit at a computer at home and answer clients' legal questions over the internet. It is therefore, no surprise to learn that those internet-based law practices already exist. Stephanie Kimbro, for example, maintains a web page which identifies her as a member of Burton Law Firm, LLC, "A virtual law firm offering online unbundling and traditional full service representation in North Carolina and Ohio." She has even named her blog, Virtual Lawyering. Similarly, Richard Granat, who publishes the e-Lawyering blog, operates MDFAMILYLAWYER.com, a Maryland virtual law firm, from his home in Florida. One big challenge for these and other lawyers who use the internet, with its global reach, as their primary method of practicing law, is satisfying the ethical requirements of local authorities. Both of these lawyers clearly identify themselves as the provider of legal services and the nature and limits of the legal services that they offer. At least one well known legal media consultant, Robert Ambrogi, considers them to be ethical users of the internet.
The Illinois Supreme Court announced Monday that the Fifth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Mark E. Bovard as an associate judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit.
Mr. Bovard received his undergraduate degree in 1994 from Eastern Illinois University in
Charleston and his Juris Doctor in 1997 from Indiana University. Mr. Bovard is currently affiliated with Heller, Holmes & Assoc., P.C. in Mattoon.
ISBA President John E. Thies revisits the ISBA's efforts to keep multidisciplinary practice out of the legal profession.
Perplexed by the Juvenile Court setting? Get the information you need to oversee a juvenile delinquency case with this full-day seminar!
The procedures surrounding the offenses committed by a juvenile living in Illinois differ from that of a traditional adult criminal case – making it imperative that attorneys working with children understand the inner functions of the juvenile court setting. Join us in East Peoria on September 28th for this full-day seminar for an in-depth look at the juvenile delinquency process. Family law attorneys, child law lawyers, and general practitioners who occasionally represent minors will benefit from the information presented by gaining a better understanding of: the issues that affect delinquency; what will likely happen to a minor charged with an offense; detention hearings and alternative sentencing options; the adjudication hearing process; the services available through DCFS and DJJ; juvenile probation; the policies and procedures for expungement; and much more!
The program is presented by the ISBA Child Law Section and qualifies for 7.25 hours MCLE credit.
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinion in the Criminal case In re Austin M.
By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers the New probate fee, Juvenile Records, Adoption and Disabled adults. More information on each bill is available below the video.
New probate fee. Public Act 97-1093 (Silverstein, D-Chicago; Feigenholtz, D-Chicago) creates a $100 fee to open a decedent's estate to fund the State Guardianship and Advocacy Commission. It exempts indigents, the State Guardian, any state agency, any local public guardian, and any state's attorney. (2) It also allows the court to appoint a limited guardian for a disabled adult who lacks some but not all of the required capacity. If the court finds that the ward is totally without the required capacity, it may appoint a plenary guardian. (3) It adds criteria for the termination of the guardianship or modification of the guardian's duties. Effective January 1, 2013.