The vacancy will be filled that day by C. Stanley Austin, a former associate judge who was elevated to the 18th Circuit Court two years ago for an interim term that will end Dec. 5, but lost a six-candidate primary election contest to Popejoy.
Now presiding judge of the Domestic Relations Division, Austin will become an associate judge again, an office he held from October 1993 until June 2002, when he replaced retired judge Ronald Mehling.
Recent court appointments
Quincy attorney William O. Mays Jr. of Mays, Walden & Anastas was appointed Nov. 5 to an interim term as a judge of the 8th Circuit that will expire in December 2006. He replaced retired judge Dennis K. Cashman.
Associate Judge William A. Schuwerk Jr. of Chester will move up to the 20th Circuit Court on Dec. 5, when Judge Jerry D. Flynn retires. Schuwerk will serve in Randolph County until December 2006.
Waukegan attorney Raymond D. Collins has been appointed to the 19th Circuit associate judge vacancy of Emilio B. Santi, who retired Sept. 30. Collins will be sworn in at 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19, in the Lake County Courthouse.
Retired appellate justice Daniel D. Doyle of Rockford has been recalled to a one-year term on the 17th Circuit Court to handle a growing docket of felony cases. He was a circuit judge from 1986 until 1992, when he was appointed to the 2nd District Appellate Court. He retired in 1998.
Help wanted in 19th Circuit
Two 19th Circuit jurists plan to retire by the end of the year, and a third may leave the bench next July. The court has already taken applications for the impending vacancy of Associate Judge Terrence J. Brady, who will retire Dec. 31.
Associate Judge John G. Radosevich said he will retire Nov. 30, and Associate Judge Gary G. Neddenreip will wait until mid-2005. Radosevich has been an associate judge since 1986, and Neddenreip since 1985.
Brady, a member of the ISBA Assembly, was appointed to the bench in 1977 after eight years in private practice. He also serves on the Bench and Bar Section Council and has been a member of the Committee on Judicial Advisory Polls.
Legislation was signed recently to ensure that Lake County and Will County will not lose any associate judge positions when the 19th and 12th Circuits are split in 2006 and subcircuits are established (Public Act 93-1040).
County lawyers move on
Robert B. Berlin, first assistant Kane County state's attorney, will leave at the end of November to become deputy chief of the DuPage County state's attorney's Juvenile Division.
Morgan County public defender Richard K. Crews of Jacksonville resigned in October to enter private practice. Appointed assistant public defender in 1996 and public defender in 1998, he ran unsuccessfully for nomination as state's attorney in March.
Commission changes name
Effective Jan. 1, the Illinois Industrial Commission will be renamed the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission as a result of enactment of House Bill 6648. The new name reflects more clearly the scope of the commission and is expected to alleviate confusion.
Bar Foundation makes grants of $118,000 throughout state
Organizations of Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) throughout the state received almost one-fourth of $118,000 in grants approved Oct. 2 by the Illinois Bar Foundation board of directors.
Grants totaling $28,000 to 11 CASA offices ranged from $4,000 for Lee-Carroll Counties to $500 for Franklin County. Four grants of $3,000 each will go to CASAs in Cook County, DuPage County, Jerseyville and St. Clair-Monroe Counties.
Others are $2,500 each for Lake County, LaSalle County and Whiteside County, and $2,000 each for Fulton County and Kankakee County.
The largest grants approved by the foundation board are $15,000 for the Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS), a Cook County hotline; $10,000 for the Illinois Equal Justice Campaign, and $10,000 to the Illinois State Bar Association to defray costs of the Future of the Profession Conference next month.
The Children's Home and Aid Society of Illinois in Bloomington will receive $6,000; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Illinois in Belleville, $5,000; Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, $5,000; Children First Foundation in Belleville, $5,000; Genesis House in Chicago, $5,000;
Children's Action Network in Quincy, $4,000; First Defense Legal Aid in Chicago, $3,000; Crisis Center for South Suburbia in Tinley Park, $3,000; Will County Legal Assistance Program, $3,000; World Relief in Chicago, $3,000;
Guardianship and Referral Services in Decatur, $2,500; John Howard Association in Chicago, $2,500; Winnebago County Bar Association, $2,500; Chicago Children's Advocacy Center, $2,000; Family Rescue in Chicago, $2,000; Henry County Children's Advocacy Center, $1,500.
YLD reception is benefit for kids in courts
It's never too early or too late to support the ISBA Young Lawyers Division's Children's Assistance Program. In addition to the benefit holiday party from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 3, at Joe's Sports Bar in Chicago, tax-deductible contributions are always welcome.
The program helps maintain supervised courthouse waiting rooms throughout the state for children of litigants and witnesses by providing toys, books and games.
Checks may be made payable to IBF/ Children's Assistance Fund and mailed to the Illinois Bar Foundation, Suite 910, 20 S. Clark St., Chicago 60603.
Admission to the Dec. 3 benefit is $35 per person, or more if desired. For reservations or information about making donations, which will be acknowledged at the benefit, contact ISBA Assembly member Gregg A. Garafalo of the YLD Council at (312) 286-5440 or gregg@garofalolaw.com.
More special events support initiatives
The Child Friendly Courts Foundation, established by the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers, will gain funding from its annual dinner dance at the Brookfield Zoo on Friday, Nov. 19.
Called "Through the Eyes of a Child," the black-tie optional event is a benefit for Safe Harbor, a children's waiting room in the 18th Circuit Judicial Center. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. with safari car rides to The Swamp for a reception.
Dinner and dancing will follow in the Discovery Center. Call ISBA Second Vice President Irene F. Bahr at (630) 462-1113 for reservations at $100 per person. Tables of eight are available.
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Retired Cook County judge Nancy Sidote Salyers will be honored by SHALVA during a Unity Dinner at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, in the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Chicago. Keynote speaker is Jeff Benedict, author of "Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence and Crime."
Proceeds will benefit victims of domestic abuse in Jewish homes. Co-chairs of the event are Sharon Eiseman, Renee Goldfarb, Marilyn Eisenberg and Viki Rivkin. Call (773) 583-4673 for reservations.
Taking control of cash flow requires realistic budgeting
By Paul Sullivan
A reader recently sent an e-mail asking for my ideas on ways to improve cash flow. He indicated he had a great practice, but it seemed the bank account was always empty.
The first step in solving erratic cash flow is to determine a likely cause. The most serious cause would be insufficient business to support the level of expenses. This is a big problem because it's the hardest to correct quickly.
More likely, the problem can be traced to poor management practices that don't focus on timely billing, collection of fees, and control of expenses. We may find that uneven cash flow is a symptom of a growing practice, where increased expenses run ahead of offsetting revenues.
Assuming you have adequate clients to make ends meet, here are some ideas to improve the cash flow of your practice.
The first thing you need is a budget. It doesn't have to be sophisticated, but it must be in writing. You may think you know what you'll be spending, but when you add it all up, you'll be quite surprised.
When you've listed every expense, add another 15 percent for contingencies and surprises. Once you know the extent of your expenses, you'll see how much revenue you need to bring in.
Budgeting income is a little more tricky, but with some historical perspective you should be able to do it. Think of your budget as your road map. If you took an trip to some place you've never been to before, you would lay out the route and follow it until you reach your destination. If you encountered a detour along the way, you'd look at the map and take alternate roads.
Your budget works in a similar way. It should be reviewed regularly to make sure you're still on track, and if necessary, you make adjustments along the way. The real benefit of a budget is that, over several years, you get more accurate at forecasting and can make informed financial decisions about your practice based on those forecasts.
A good billing system will document the work you do for your clients and will help you to collect the fees. Part of this system should include an initial meeting where fees, frequency of billings, and expectations regarding payment should all be covered.
Although not practical with some clients, retainers should be collected and arrangements for replenishment should be set up if at all possible. Everything agreed on should then be put in writing in the form of an engagement letter. Billings should always be rendered according to the agreed schedule.
Work with existing clients to get them on regular billing cycles. Some clients may have been billed annually or even on the completion of a matter. It's best to get them to agree to regular billings. Clients have cash flow issues too, and getting regular bills instead of a large one might appeal to them.
Be sure to get your time into the billing system, daily if possible. It's likely you're missing billable time if you enter it only once a week or once a month. Capturing this lost time has the same effect as reducing expenses or finding new business. If you enter it daily, you get the benefit of having bills ready to go out on the first or second day of each new month.
Once the bill is mailed, be sure to follow up if payment isn't received in a reasonable time. You may be sending the bill to the wrong address. Perhaps the client has an issue, and that's why the bill isn't being paid. A phone call is always more effective than a letter.
Expenses are easier to budget, but sometimes unforeseen events cause the cash flow to go negative. Insurance premiums often can be paid monthly or quarterly, instead of annually. If you have employees, paying salaries on a semi-monthly or monthly basis makes every month equal for payroll budgeting. If you advance expenses like filing fees and expert fees, have the client agree to either pay directly or let you bill more frequently.
Get a line of credit with your banker, who will grant this line based on your financial health. Expect to provide lots of information about your practice. Once you have a line of credit, you can level out your expenses to make it through those slow months.
If your practice is growing rapidly, a loan to finance the growth with payment over a longer term may be necessary. Lines of credit typically are repaid in full within a 12-month period.
Finally, it's probably okay to be a little late on a bill that's due, but don't let it happen too often. Never delay payments to the IRS, particularly for payroll taxes. The penalties are extremely stiff.
Every business has cash-flow issues. Those that minimize these issues enjoy the ability to see problems coming by good budgeting, to bill and collect through good systems, and to have contingency plans available when things are a little tight.
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Paul Sullivan, a member of the ISBA Law Office Management and Economics (Standing Committe on) Council, is office administrator for the Peoria firm of Quinn, Johnston, Henderson & Pretorius. Questions and comments may be sent to him at psullivan@qjhp.com.
Law Librarians to hold workshop
The Chicago Association of Law Libraries will conduct a workshop from 10 a.m. to 12 noon Wednesday, Nov. 17. A panel will discuss "Law Librarians as Change Agents: How You Can Help Influence Public Policy."
Speakers are Mary Alice Baish of the American Association of Law Libraries, James Duggan of the Southern Illinois University Law Library and Veronda Pitchford of the Metropolitan Library System. Call (773) 702-9614 for details.
John Marshall Law
The John Marshall Law School Center for Intellectual Property Law will conduct a seminar, "Copyright and Privacy: Collision or Coexistence?" from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, at the Standard Club, Chicago. Call Michele Bridges, (312) 427-2737, ext. 581.
Cook County Bar
Investigative reporter Renee Ferguson of NBC News will speak Thursday, Nov. 18, during the third annual Cook County Bar Association Lecture Series on Ethics and Professionalism. The presentation will take place at 12:30 p.m. in the sixth floor conference room at 188 W. Randolph. Call (312) 386-0213.
No program is scheduled in December. The next date is Jan. 27, when Chief Judge Charles P. Kocoras of U.S. District Court will speak.
Kane County Bar
The Kane County Bar Association's annual David Peskind Memorial Family Law Seminar will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, at the County Judicial Center. Call (630) 762-1915 for a complete schedule.
A KCBA criminal law seminar, "A New Look at Sentencing Options," will be conducted from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 8, at the judicial center.
DuPage County Bar
"Practicing Law in DuPage: A Guide to the County Court System," a seminar for new lawyers and others unfamiliar with the 18th Circuit, will be presented by the DuPage County Bar Association from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, in the County Judicial Center. Call (630) 653-7779.