Transfer of practice rule proposed
A proposal for a new Illinois Supreme Court Rule 1.17 to permit the transfer of a law practice has been circulated to ISBA section councils and committees.
Drafted by the Special Committee on Implementation of Transfer of Law Practice, the proposal will be discussed during the ISBA Assembly meeting Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers.
Based on comprehensive research and comparison to model rules of the American Bar Association and existing rules in other jurisdictions, the Illinois proposal "reflects a consensus of the most reasonable and responsible options," ISBA general counsel Dennis A. Rendleman told the Board of Governors on Oct. 11.
The draft sets out conditions under which "A retiring lawyer, the estate of a deceased lawyer, a disabled lawyer, or the guardian or authorized representative of a disabled lawyer, may transfer or sell, and a lawyer or law firm may accept or purchase a law practice, including a valuation for goodwill. . ."
The conditions are: death or disability, retirement, declaration of inactive status with the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, becoming a member of the judiciary, or moving to an in-house counsel or other position of employment not involving the private practice of law.
The practice could be sold or transferred only to another lawyer or law firm that is currently licensed, in good standing and authorized to practice in Illinois. Written notice would be provided to clients by certified mail or public notice.
The proposal provides that a lawyer who transfers a practice under conditions of this rule would not be allowed to resume private practice for at least two years after closing the transaction.
Commentary provided by ISBA Assembly member John T. Phipps of Champaign, who chairs the special committee, states that a "retired attorney" may offer pro bono representation through an organized program without violating the prohibition against practicing law.
The committee has compiled reports of deaths and disabilities of solo practitioners that resulted in termination of law practices without compensation for years of work and valuable client files (ISBA Bar News, October 1, page 5).
Many solo practitioners retire each year, and an estimated 45 die in accidents or from illnesses. Dependents often receive no assets other than insurance benefits and office furnishings.
Clients are left without representation from the lawyer who has provided counsel for years, and must start over with another lawyer who may be less experienced or more busy with other clients.
A trend toward a rule as proposed by the committee has developed during the past two years, as 14 states have adopted similar rules. A total of 37 states now permit the sale or transfer of a law practice.
Justice Thomas to speak at Supreme Court dinner
Justice Robert R. Thomas has been selected by his colleagues on the Illinois Supreme Court to be the keynote speaker for the dinner in their honor Friday, Dec. 13, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers.
The Illinois State Bar Association and Chicago Bar Association annually sponsor the Supreme Court reception and dinner as a highlight of the ISBA Midyear Meeting and Illinois Judges Association Convention.
ISBA President Loren S. Golden of Elgin and CBA President Jennifer T. Nijman of Winston & Strawn will officiate. The event will begin at 6 p.m. Dinner tickets are $75 per person. Use the registration form on page 13.
Elected to the Supreme Court in 2000 after six years on the Illinois Appellate Court, 2nd District, and six years as a judge of the 18th Circuit Court, Justice Thomas is a 1981 graduate of the Loyola University School of Law who was in private practice in Kane and DuPage Counties until 1988.
As an undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame, he was an Academic All-American football player, and he also has received an NCAA Silver Anniversary Award. He was a record-setting placekicker for the Chicago Bears from 1975 to 1984.
Justice Thomas was named Lawyer of the Year in 2001 by the DuPage County Bar Association for his years of dedication and service to the legal community and public.
The ISBA Midyear Meeting will be conducted Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 12-14, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers in conjunction with the annual convention of the Illinois Judges Association. Featured events of both organizations include the following.
Thursday, Dec. 12
12 noon ISBA Committee on Minority and Women Participation annual luncheon with speeches by Justices Rita B. Garman of Danville and Sue Myerscough of Springfield.
2-5 p.m. ISBA Law Ed Series: Mediation Essentials to Consider; Alternative Dispute Resolution, Bench and Bar, Family Law, and Civil Practice and Procedure Sections.
4:30-6 p.m. ISBA/IJA joint opening reception.
5:30-6:30 p.m. Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity reception, "Meet the Out Crowd."
Friday, Dec. 13
6:45 a.m. IJA Run for Justice at Lakeshore Athletic Club.
8-10 a.m. Fellows of the Illinois Bar Foundation breakfast and presentation of Distinguished Service to Law and Society Award to R. Michael Henderson of Peoria.
9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. ISBA Law Ed Series: Family Law Update; Family Law Section.
9 a.m.-4:15 p.m. ISBA Law Ed Series: General Practice Update; General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section.
11 a.m.-12 noon IJA/ISBA Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity seminar, "Is Homophobia Unethical?"
12 noon-2 p.m. IJA/ISBA joint luncheon and speech by U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald.
2-5 p.m. IJA panel discussion, "Terrorism: Trials vs. Tribunals."
4:30-6 p.m. Law school alumni receptions by University of Illinois, John Marshall, Loyola, Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois.
6 p.m. ISBA/CBA reception for justices of the Illinois Supreme Court, followed by dinner and speech by Justice Robert R. Thomas.
Saturday, Dec. 14
9 a.m. ISBA Assembly meeting.
9 a.m.-12 noon ISBA Law Ed Series: Labor and Employment Update; Labor and Employment Law Section.
9 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Tort Law Update; Tort Law Section.
Fellows to honor Mick Henderson at Midyear breakfast on Dec. 13
Peoria attorney R. Michael "Mick" Henderson will be honored by the Fellows of the Illinois Bar Foundation at a breakfast at 8 a.m. Friday, Dec. 13, during the ISBA Midyear Meeting in the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers.
A Charter Fellow who has been a member of the Bar Foundation board of directors for several years and was president of the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois from 1997 to 1999 Henderson will receive the Fellows Award for Distinguished Service to Law and Society.
The award has been given in previous years to such legal luminaries as Arthur Goldberg, Edward Levi, Abraham Lincoln Marovitz, William J. Bauer, Mary Ann G. McMorrow, Earl E. Strayhorn and Ralph A. Gabric.
In addition to his support of charitable initiatives of the bar, Mick Henderson has filled such leadership roles as president of the Peoria County Bar Association in 1995-96 and of the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel in 1989.
A member of the ISBA Board of Governors from 1988 to 1994, he chairs the downstate Committee on Judicial Evaluations and serves on the Committee on Legislation, the Committee on Bar Services and Activities and the Tort Law Section Council.
He served last year on the Special Committee on Funding the Courts, chaired the Insurance Law Section Council in 1997-98, and was a member of the Civil Practice and Procedure Section Council for 12 years.
Henderson was inducted in 1998 as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is a member of the American Bar Foundation, the Defense Research Institute, the Abraham Lincoln American Inn of Court and the International Association of Defense Counsel.
He is a 1969 graduate of the Loyola University School of Law. His son, Ryan M. Henderson, services on the ISBA Young Lawyers Division Council.
In a letter early this year, Mick Henderson said that the Bar Foundation is one of 10 charities he and his wife, Joani, have included in their wills. "Having served on the IBF board for about 10 years, I know it provides a wonderful service to people who cannot afford good legal assistance," he wrote.
Fellows of the Bar Foundation are invited to attend the breakfast at no charge. Tickets are $25 for those who are not Fellows. For information about becoming a Bar Foundation Fellow, call (312) 726-6072.
Foundation allots grants of $95,100
Spreading its available funds more thinly to more organizations across the state, the Illinois Bar Foundation board of directors on Oct. 5 approved grants totaling $95,100 to 28 applicants.
Only six received $5,000 or more. Among those are the Illinois Technology Center for Law and the Public Interest ($8,000) and Prairie State Legal Services ($7,000).
The Henry County Children's Advocacy Center in Cambridge was awarded $6,000. The Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services in Cook County, the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice and the Lawyers' Assistance Program each will receive $5,000.
Chicago agencies receiving Bar Foundation grants are the Better Government Association ($3,000), CASA Cook County ($2,500), Community Economic Development Law Project ($3,000), Equal Justice Illinois Campaign ($2,500), Life Span ($2,500), Public Interest Law Initiative ($4,000) and St. Leonard's Ministries ($2,500).
Court-appointed Special Advocates (CASA) initiatives in several areas received grants. They are Champaign County ($2,500), DuPage County ($2,500), Jerseyville ($1,000), Kane County ($2,000), LaSalle County ($1,500), Lee-Carroll County ($2,500) and Winnebago County ($2,500).
Among agencies in other communities that will receive grants are The Bakari Institute of East St. Louis ($3,500), Griffin Center of the Belleville Catholic Diocese ($3,850), Illinois Channel at the University of Illinois in Springfield ($3,000), YMCA Youth and Government in Champaign ($3,750), Kane County Bar Foundation ($3,000), Peer Court in Danville ($3,000) and Sarah's Inn of Oak Park ($2,500).
The Illinois State Bar Association legal publishing department will receive $2,000 toward ongoing upkeep and updating of the online Guide to the Illinois Statutes of Limitation.
Stories about some of the grant recipients will be published in future issues of the ISBA Bar News.
For more information about the grant application process, or making financial contributions or bequests to the Illinois Bar Foundation, call executive director Susan M. Lewers at (312) 726-6072.
The Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and the Illinois State Bar Association will join other organizations in a tribute to retiring Appellate Justice David Cerda from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20.
The reception will take place at Gardner, Carton & Douglas, 321 N. Clark St., Chicago. For reservations, call Hillie Semprit, (312) 628-7042.
The first Hispanic to serve on the 1st District bench, Justice Cerda was a magistrate and judge of the Cook County Circuit Court from 1965 until 1989. He is a 1955 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law.
Other sponsors of the reception are the Asian American Bar, Chicago Bar, Cook County Bar, Puerto Rican Bar and Women's Bar of Illinois.
Deadline Nov. 22 for ABA delegate election filings
Only one week remains for ISBA members to file petitions for election as at-large delegates to the American Bar Association House of Delegates with the ISBA executive director in Springfield. The deadline is Friday, Nov. 22.
One delegate from Cook County and one from a downstate district will be elected to two-year terms during the ISBA Assembly meeting at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, in the Sheraton Chicago Hotel.
Nominees must be ISBA members in good standing. Each petition must be endorsed in writing by at least 20 other ISBA members in good standing from the appropriate area. For information and nominating petitions, call Karen Davidson at (800) 252-8908.
YLD holiday benefit helps kids in courts
A holiday benefit for supervised courthouse waiting rooms for children will be held by the ISBA Young Lawyers Division Council from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, at Joe's Sports Bar, 940 W. Weed St., Chicago.
Proceeds will help the Children's Assistance Fund, a YLD initiative, to provide toys, games, books and food for rooms where children of litigants and witnesses may stay while their caregivers are involved in legal matters.
Call council chair Franco Coladipietro at (312) 255-8550 for reservations, which are $30 in advance, or $35 at the door. Larger tax-deductible donations may be made to LEARN Children's Assistance Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable entity.
'Seussical the Musical' tickets are available
ISBA members and guests attending the Midyear Meeting next month in Chicago have a special opportunity to attend the Broadway song-and-dance extravaganza, "Seussical the Musical," starring Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby as The Cat in the Hat.
The ISBA Committee on Bar Services and Activities has acquired 75 tickets for the 2 p.m. matinee performance on Saturday, Dec. 14. Seat locations are in the center section of the balcony, starting in row D.
The ISBA member price is $59.75 per ticket. Purchases may be made with MasterCard or Visa by calling Janet M. Sosin at (312) 726-8775.