Illinois State Bar Association President John E. Thies (front row, center) gave a speech to representatives of the Chinese Ministry of Justice, including Zhao Jianji (front row, second from left), the Director of the Ministry's Department of Legislative Affairs. The delages were on a two week trip to the U.S., coordinated by the University of Illinois. President Thies discussed the various bar associations in the United States (including their respective activities, and how such associations benefit various members of the legal profession and public); lawyer regulation; legal ethics; legal education; and legal aid (among other topics).

Chief Judge John T. Elsner has announced that the Court is accepting applications to fill a vacancy for the Office of Associate Judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit of Illinois, DuPage County. This vacancy is a result of the retirement of Associate Judge Cary B. Pierce.

Judge Elsner added that applications to fill this vacancy will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2012. Applicants must be a United States 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 52704-6488

Applications can be obtainted 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 not be submitted electronically or via facsimile.

The Illinois Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Illinois State Bar Association, has announced a change to its bylaws that will shorten the term length of its officers from two years to one year, as of June 2014. The change was approved at the IBF’s board meeting on June 14.

During the transition, Cook County Judge Debra B. Walker, of Chicago, will become president at the IBF’s board meeting in October and will hold the office for 18 months through June 2014. Other officers, who will hold their terms during the same time, are James M. Lestikow, of Hinshaw & Culbertson, Springfield, first vice president; Shawn S. Kasserman, of Corboy & Demetrio, Chicago, second vice president; and Elizabeth Kaveny, of Burke, Wise, Morrissey & Kaveny, Chicago, third vice president. The remaining positions of secretary and treasurer will be appointed prior to the October meeting.

"By adopting the terms and officer structure of our partner, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Foundation Board now gives more of its members the opportunity to bring their zeal, passion and enthusiasm for the foundation to its leadership,” said IBF Board President George F. Mahoney, III, of Joliet.

The mission of the Illinois Bar Foundation is to ensure meaningful access to the justice system, especially for those with limited means, and to assist lawyers who can no longer support themselves due to incapacity. This year, the Foundation will distribute more than $425,000 in grants to legal aid organizations across the state of Illinois, and in Lawyers Care Fund support to attorneys and their families in need.

"The definition of income for child support purposes is somewhat murky, but in a recent Illinois Supreme Court decision, In re Marriage of McGrath, 2012 IL 112792, family law practitioners got the final word on whether money regularly withdrawn from savings accounts can be considered income. According to the Illinois Supreme Court, it cannot."

So write Marilyn Longwell and Aurelija Juska in the latest ISBA Family Law newsletter. Read their analysis.

A recent flurry of posts on an ISBA discussion group revealed what might be one of the best-kept secrets in Illinois: Where there’s a will, there’s a way to store it without keeping it in your office and assuming the attendant risk and responsibility.

Pursuant to statute, the Illinois Secretary of State’s office maintains a “deposit of wills,” in which any Illinois attorney can file a will into archival storage for a fee of $15, writes Adam Lasker in the July Illinois Bar Journal. Find out more.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. Our firm is a 42 lawyer firm in downtown Chicago. We have 22 equity partners. Five years ago we decided to allocate a significant portion of our marketing budget to branding the firm. In that regard we cannibalized the marketing budget to the extent that very little was left for individual marketing. Now we have many unhappy campers. Some of the partners are advocating scrapping the firm-level effort and going back to our past practices of "long ranger" individual marketing. What are your thoughts regarding firm branding? Should we continue our efforts in this regard?

A. In today's climate it takes both - a firm brand and individual attorney brands. Since I don't have all the details concerning your situation - it is difficult for me to generalize. However, based upon what I am seeing in the competitive landscape I believe that the firm was correct in deciding to invest in enhancing the firm's image and brand. However, personal attorney brands are important as well. I am often advised by law firm clients that they hire the lawyer - not the law firm. While this is only partially true, it bring home the importance of individual branding. Often lawyers think they can push off their business development responsibilities to "the firm" and go back to practicing law. This is simply not the case. Marketing and business development must occur at the firm, practice group and individual lawyer levels. Resources must be allocated to each.

ISBA President John E. Thies wrote a letter to the editor (below) in response to the Chicago Tribune article last Friday on the difficult legal job market and high debt load facing recent law school graduates. President Thies has made examining the impact of high debt load on the future delivery of legal services a key theme during his presidential year.

Dear Editor:

As suggested by your Friday article about the grim picture facing law school graduates, these are difficult times for recent law grads and the law schools that gave them their diplomas.  The current employment statistics and debt amounts for new lawyers are simply unsustainable. 

At the Illinois State Bar Association, we place a great priority on making sure that the members of our profession – through a variety of practice settings - can continue to meet the legal needs of the citizens of this state.  Especially in difficult economic times, the process of meeting legal needs is frustrated by, among other things, the unhealthy (and costly) zeal with which American law schools race to maximize their respective U.S. News & World Report ranking, sometimes with terrible (and predictable) consequences.  We need to focus on lowering the cost of legal education, ensuring that we continue to have bright students interested in obtaining their JDs, and having “practice ready” lawyers from the moment they leave law school.

Learn to overcome the challenges of admitting Facebook profile information into evidence with this informative webcast!

Join us from the comfort of your home or office at noon on July 17^th for this fun and engaging mock evidentiary hearing set around an employment lawsuit in which the defendant is moving for the admission of the plaintiff's Facebook account information to defend against the plaintiff’s breach of employment contract claim. The program opens with a brief overview of the factual and procedural context for the hearing, followed by the speakers serving as plaintiff counsel, witness, expert witness, defense counsel, forensic expert, and judge. The program closes with an analysis of the various challenges in admitting Facebook profiles into evidence. Litigators, employment lawyers, and civil practitioners with advanced practice experience will benefit from this information presented throughout this live webcast.

The program ispresented by the ISBA Standing Committee on Legal Technology and qualifies for 1.0 hour MCLE credit.

Click here for more information and to register.