Articles on General Practice | Illinois State Bar Association

Special use zoning and comprehensive plans By Terrence M. Madsen General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, September 2001 The Illinois Supreme Court has issued an important reminder to municipalities concerning the need for following through on comprehensive plans with appropriate zoning modifications in the opinion in City of Chicago Heights v. Living Word Outreach Full Gospel Church and Ministries, Inc., No. 87101, (March 22, 2001).

Taxes for the general practitioner By Thomas F. Hartzell General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, September 2001 Every member of our firm does income taxes and three members do Federal and State of Illinois estate tax returns.

Chairman’s corner General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, June 2001 As my term as Chairman of General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section Council ends, I would like to acknowledge and thank a few people on the council for their outstanding contributions during the past year.

Child custody disputes between guardians and parents: what law governs? By Patrick J. Hitpas General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, June 2001 Family practitioners frequently represent parties in child custody litigation between guardians and the natural parents of the child.

Computer update—Windows 95 retired by Microsoft By John T. Phipps General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, June 2001 Microsoft Corporation announced in February that it was retiring Windows 95.

Disclose your opinion witness even when your opponent doesn’t ask By Babette L. Brennan General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, June 2001 Opinion witnesses and what information has to be disclosed pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 213(g) is the bane of every trial attorneys existence.

Editor’s column General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, June 2001 Recently, John and I attended the 7th Annual Newsletter Editors Conference in Chicago.

Life in the hereafter: new subrogation ruling may create conflict of interest problems over common fund recoveries By Matt Maloney General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, June 2001 All lawyers are trained to rely on stare decisis. Without it, how could we predict the future without looking at the past?

Practice tip: preparation of client for deposition—patient beware! Part I By David K. Harris General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, June 2001 In Wilson v. Devonshire Realty of Danville, 241 Ill. Dec. 129, 718 N.E. 2d 700 (Ill. App. 4th Dist. 1999), the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment was granted and affirmed.

Practice tip: your professional liability policy provides defense coverage for many ARDC complaints By Patrick F. Cleary General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, June 2001 The mail comes. There is a letter from the ARDC and you know your dues are paid. Your heart sinks. Someone has requested an investigation. Most likely it is a client.

Chairperson’s corner General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, April 2001 In addition, this summer under the assistance of editor Tim Duggan, the General Practice Section Council is updating the Illinois Client Interview forms.

Editor’s column General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, April 2001 This newsletter is the seventh one published this bar year. Thank you to each of the members of the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section Council.

Insurance coverages for business clients By Patrick F. Cleary General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, April 2001 When defending a business client it is imperative to ascertain if insurance coverage exists.

Minimum coverage to maximum for bad faith dealings by insurer By David Spagat General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, April 2001 How often have you been rebuffed or ignored in dealing with a carrier, sometimes even the "better" ones, when you have a seriously injured client in a liability situation seeking the policy limits on a limited coverage policy?

Prevent office theft By Patrick F. Cleary General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, April 2001 Recent news articles document the problem of law office employees stealing money. Checks get kited, unauthorized charges are made on credit cards, and/or estates are plundered by legal assistants.

Quick reference guide to the Business Corporation Act—Part II By Timothy E. Duggan General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, April 2001 Part I of this summary of the Business Corporation Act was printed in the May 2000 issue of this newsletter.

Real estate contracts: By Patrick F. Cleary General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, April 2001 What happens when a Buyer signs a real estate contract and then bounces the earnest money check?

Chairperson’s corner General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, March 2001 At the ISBA Annual Meeting in June, 2001, the ISBA Trusts and Estates Section Council is proposing for an Estate Planning, Trust and Probate certification program for Illinois attorneys.

Editor’s column General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, March 2001 It is time once again for the annual ABA Techshow on March 15 - 17, 2001 at Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, Chicago, Illinois. At the Techshow this year there will be over 75 exciting education sessions and more than 160 exhibition booths.

Foreclosure defenses By James E. Buchmiller General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, March 2001 Sometimes there is an inclination to assume that if the basic note and mortgage are properly executed that there is no real defense to a real estate foreclosure.

Recent legislative developments By Michele M. Jochner General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, March 2001 Significant changes in Illinois law have occurred as a result of new legislation which became effective January 1, 2001.

“We have met the enemy and he is … us” By Matt Maloney General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, March 2001 My erstwhile friends in the legal community know that I regularly read the advance sheets.

Chairperson’s corner General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, February 2001 The General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section Council sponsors numerous seminars to assist ISBA members with their continuing legal education.

Computer update: Intel Pentium IV chip may actually run slower than Pentium III chip By John T. Phipps General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, February 2001 The reviews indicate that while the state of the art Pentium IV Chips indicate they have faster clock speeds than the Pentium III chips, the Pentium IV may be actually run slower then the Pentium III.

Editor’s column General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, February 2001 Now that 2000 has ended and 2001 has arrived there is no question that we have entered new millennium.

Practice alert: voluntary non-suits—criteria and consequences By G. Bradley Hantla General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, February 2001 The Code of Civil Procedure allows for the filing of a voluntary non-suit pursuant to Chapter 735 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes, section 5/2-1009.

Chairperson’s corner General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, December 2000 Probably the most important project that the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section Council has been working on this year is the work on the proposal for changes to the Rules of Professional Conduct allowing the sale of a law firm by sole practitioners.

Computer update: New Pentium IV machines create possible end of year price savings on high performance Pentium III computers By John T. Phipps General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, December 2000 Intel recently announced the introduction of the Pentium IV or Pentium 4 chip. Several computer companies are now marketing Pentium IV machines with 1.4 GHz speed.

Effective communication or “… Didn’t I tell you this during your first appointment?” By Matt Maloney General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, December 2000 We know what we do each day. There are things that we have learned both through repetition and experience.

“Mortgagee in possession”—watch your language By Thomas F. Hartzell General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, December 2000 Prepared forms do not always have necessary language. A recent case in our circuit concerning a mortgagee asking the court to be placed in possession during foreclosure proceedings reminds all of us of the need to read documents very carefully.

Select a Different Subject