The Illinois State Bar Association's Special Committee on Judicial Disqualification Standards met Tuesday at the Chicago Regional Office. The committee is discussing ways to increase public and professional attention to campaign contributions in judicial elections and the perception that such contributions may influence judicial decision making.

On hand for the meeting were (clockwise from left): Diane F. Klotnia of Miller Shakman & Beem, Chicago; Hon. Raymond J. McKoski, Lindenhurst; ISBA Board liaison Christopher Hurley of Hurley McKenna & Mertz, Chicago; co-chair Warren Lupel of Much Shelist, Chicago; Stephen L. Corn of Craig & Craig, Mattoon; Hon. Michael B. Hyman, Circuit Court of Cook County, Skokie and co-chair Hon. Gino L. DiVito, Tabet DiVito & Rothstein LLC, Chicago.

President John E. Thies appointed this special committee as one of his presidential initiatives. More information on the committee and those serving on it can be found at www.isba.org/committees/judicialdisqualificationstandards.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled recently in People ex rel. Glasgow v. Kinney that prior misdemeanor DUI convictions – even if the defendant was unrepresented – can be used to bump a later DUI charge to a felony, Adam W. Lasker explained in the July IBJ.

"DUI defense attorney Donald J. Ramsell said Illinois used to prohibit any and all use of uncounseled misdemeanor convictions for enhancement purposes, but that policy changed after the [U.S. Supreme Court's] Nichols decision in 1994," Lasker wrote. "As such, it did not surprise Ramsell" that the Illinois high court lowered the bar in Kinney. Find out more.

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Adoption, Community Association fees, the Common Interest Community Association Act and the Condominium Property Act. More information on each bill is available below the video.

Adoption. House Bill 4028 (Feigenholtz, D-Chicago; Koehler, D-Edwards) rewrites and re-formats parts of the Adoption Act. (1) It rewrites the form for a final and irrevocable consent to adoption by a specified person or persons in DCFS cases. (2) It creates the Adoption Advisory Council to replace the two current advisory groups. (3) Allows the court to waive the statutory time requirements of a child to be in the physical custody of certain specified persons before a parent may execute a consent for adoption in a case in which DCFS is involved. Passed both chambers; effective January 1, 2013.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. Our firm is a 6 attorney firm in downtown Chicago. Our practice is a litigation boutique focused on representing individuals in personal injury and divorce matters. We do a fair amount of advertising and have had mixed results. We tried radio and limited TV ads, have an innovative website, have done some pay per click ads on the web and are now considering a lead referral service. Do you have any suggestions concerning what we should be investing in marketing and what we should be doing to maximize our results?

A. Studies that have been conducted indicate that law firms that provide services to business firms (B2B) spend approximately 2.4% of fee revenue on marketing. However, law firms that focus on individual consumers (retail law if you will) spend much more - 10%+ of fee revenues on marketing - especially if strong referral networks are not in place. I have several PI, SSDI, Elder Law and Estate Planning firm clients that are spending 10%+ of their fee revenue or greater on marketing. I have some extremely successful PI firm clients spending 20% of their revenue on marketing.

The amount of appropriate investment can depend upon referral networks in place. I have successful PI and Estate Planning firms that are getting all of their business from their referral networks and spending next to nothing on marketing and advertising. (By referrals I am speaking about professional referrals not involving a referral fee and client referrals. If referral fees are involved they should be considered a marketing cost) So it depends upon your situation, the type of cases you are going after, etc.

"The Business Buying Process" and "How to Find a Business to Buy" aired on Illinois Law in July and August, 2012. These programs were moderated by John Theis and featured panelists William Price, Marcus May, Jeff Gonyo and Todd Cushing. "How to Find a Business to Buy" begins at 27:19 in the video.

The Illinois State Bar Association's 8th Annual Solo & Small Firm Conference returns to Chicagoland Sept. 13-15 at the Westin Northwest Chicago in Itasca. Register by Aug. 20 for the Early Bird discount -- a savings of $75. Earn up to 15 hours of MCLE credit, including all 6 hours of PMCLE credit.

Top 10 Reasons To Attend This Year’s Conference

1. Networking with like-minded peers from across the state!
2. Crowd favorite program Gizmos & Gadgets returns
3. Basic and advanced Fastcase legal research training
4. New location in Itasca, just northwest of Chicago
5. Individual counseling on how to market your firm
6. Mobile Device App to put Conference info you need at your fingertips
7. Comedians-at-Law at Friday night social event
8. Plenary speaker Todd Winegar's Trials of the Century Overview program
9. New 4th track of programming – Practice Fundamentals
10. 15 HRS MCLE/ 6 HRS PMCLE credit available

Learn more and register today at www.isba.org/soloconference

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Friday's Illinois Supreme Court opinion in the Criminal case People v. Hackett.

People v. Hackett

By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender

Melinda Bentley, ISBA's First Assistant Counsel and Assistant Director of Legislative Affairs, has accepted a position as Legal Ethics Counsel with the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri.

Bentley joined ISBA out of law school in 2001. She graduated from the Valparaiso University School of Law and is a native of Alton.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the ISBA for almost 11 years," Bentley said. "It is a wonderful organization committed to serving the lawyers of Illinois and I will miss my many friends within the ISBA."

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Mandated reporter of child abuse, Judicial Privacy Act, Juror’s fees, Trust modernization I and Trust modernization II. More information on each bill is available below the video.

These numbers do not include additional referrals made through the online Lawyer Finder service.

Want to be part of the ISBA Lawyer Finder Service?  Call (800) 252-8908 and ask for the Legal Department, or visit www.illinoislawyerfinder.com

Clients should call (800) 922-8757.