At some point in the development of a marketing plan, a firm will also want to project its values and its unique expertise in conjunction with a visible image to the public. This term is commonly known as branding or business identity.
In the case of a law firm, this image and theme will project throughout all the activities of the firm: letterhead, business cards, brochure, Web site, etc.
Marketing is being aware of the need to promote your practice, and incorporating that awareness into activities that actually promote it. Marketing is an investment in the future of your practice.
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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 this new e-mail address: sullivan@qjhp.com.
Chicago attorney Robert F. Harris took over Dec. 1 as Cook County public guardian. He succeeded Patrick T. Murphy, who was elected to the circuit court in November.
Harris, who joined the office in 1991, was chief deputy public guardian and supervisor of the Juvenile Division. His cadre of 120 lawyers, 18 paralegals, 30 child advocates and 24 support staff represents 18,000 children in the juvenile justice system.
A 1991 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, Harris has an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering. Before he entered law school, he held engineering positions with Westinghouse Electric and Honeywell.
McCuskey to be chief
Judge Michael P. McCuskey of Urbana was to become chief judge of U.S. District Court for the Central District this month, when Judge Joe B. McDade of Peoria steps down after six years.
McDade last year had announced his intention to take senior status but has since decided to remain full-time on the federal bench.
McCuskey, a member of the ISBA Civil Practice and Procedure Section Council, is past chair of the Federal Civil Practice Section Council and a former member of the Criminal Justice Section Council.
New chief serves 19th
Lake County Judge Christopher C. Starck, who was presiding judge of the 19th Circuit Felony Division, succeeded Margaret J. Mullen as chief judge on Dec. 1. Mullen served two one-year terms.
A 1979 graduate of the Loyola University School of Law who was named an associate judge in 1989, Starck was appointed to the circuit court in March 2000 and elected in November 2004.
He serves on the boards of the Northern Illinois Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and Rebound, a program for at-risk youths.
More jurists appointed
ISBA Assembly member Michael J. Chmiel of Crystal Lake has been appointed to the 19th Circuit vacancy of Ward Arnold, who retired as presiding judge in McHenry County. Chmiel will serve from Jan. 1 until December 2006.
A partner in Chmiel & Matuszewich, he is associate newsletter editor of the ISBA Commercial, Banking and Bankruptcy Law Section and a member of the Corporation, Securities and Business Law Section Council.
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Bloomington attorney David Wayne Butler, who has handled cases for the McLean County public defender office, has been appointed an associate judge of the 11th Circuit.
The vacancy resulted from the election of Associate Judge Scott D. Drazewski to the circuit court seat previously held by retired chief judge John P. Freese.
Judge Elizabeth A. Robb has been elected to a two-year term as chief judge of the 11th Circuit.
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Edwardsville attorney Janet R. Heflin has been named to the vacancy of 3rd Circuit associate judge Lola Maddox, who retired last month after 25 years on the Madison County bench. Heflin has been assigned to the Family Division.
Kuehn is reappointed
St. Clair County Judge Clyde L. Kuehn of Belleville, who was assigned to the Illinois Appellate Court, 5th District, in 1995, has been reappointed for another six months.
Kuehn originally replaced William A. Lewis on the appeals bench, and in 2002 was named to the vacancy caused by the appointment of Justice Philip J. Rarick to the Supreme Court seat of retired justice Moses W. Harrison.
Rarick, who has retired, and Lloyd A. Karmeier, who was elected to succeed him on the Supreme Court (see photo), agreed to the interim appointment of Kuehn after Appellate Justice Gordon E. Maag failed to be retained.
Retirements announced
Two Cook County Circuit Court judges - Aaron Jaffee and Stephen A. Schiller - have retired after long judicial careers.
Jaffee became an associate judge in 1985 and was elected a circuit judge in 1986. A former state representative, he has served in the Domestic Relations, Law and Chancery Divisions. He was a founding member and president of the Jewish Judges Association.
Schiller was elected to the circuit court in 1980 and has served in the Criminal, Law and Chancery Divisions. See separate story on page 18.
Arthur M. Gorov retired Nov. 19 as director of legal research for the Cook County courts. He has moved to Montana to become lead counsel for the Department of Labor and Industry.
Honored this year as an ISBA Senior Counsellor, Gorov received the General Practice Section Tradition of Excellence Award in 1999.
Assigned to committee
Rock City attorney Susan M. Brazas of Barrett & Gilbert has been appointed to the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness for evaluation of Illinois bar applicants in the 2nd District. She replaces Daniel D. Doyle, who was recalled to the 17th Circuit Court.
A member of the ISBA Assembly, Brazas serves on the Civil Practice and Procedure Section Council and is newsletter co-editor for the Committee on Minority and Women Participation. She is a past president of the Winnebago County Women's Bar Association.
As Odysseus left for Troy to do battle during the Trojan War, he left his son, Telemachus, in the tender care of Mentor, his wise and faithful counselor.
Since the mid-18th century, the word "mentor" has been used synonymously with educator, adviser and influential supporter, more or less in tribute to its trusted namesake in Greek mythology.
Early this year, the Illinois State Bar Association embarked on a mentoring program to apply the experience of seasoned professionals to the essential task of enhancing the lawyering skills and acumen of those with less experience.
A MentorCenter was established and a procedure set in place to pair inquiring mentees with willing mentors by geographical area, practice concentrations and other affinities.
The ISBA program has proven successful, at least in identifying those newer lawyers who realize their practical shortcomings and are anxious to overcome them in hopes of fulfilling roles as respected contributors to their communities.
But a sufficient cadre of volunteer mentors has not risen to fulfill the need adequately. The MentorCenter so far has been contacted by 190 mentees, but only 72 mentors.
Serving as a mentor, one of mythology's "wise and faithful counselors," is more fulfilling than time-consuming. Being a teacher is more of a challenge than a chore.
Learning about the ISBA MentorCenter is as easy as accessing the Web site, www.isba.org, without obligation. Look for MentorCenter under Other Practice Resources on the home page.
Try it. You might really like sharing the wealth of your experience. Some day, a successful lawyer will remember that you helped along the way, and he or she will decide to become an ISBA mentor, too.
Kane Bar gala slated Jan. 22
The Kane County Bar Foundation will present a Pro Bono Award during its annual black-tie-optional gala dinner dance on Saturday, Jan. 22, at Eagle Brook Country Club in Geneva.
Foundation President Paul J. Glaser of Elgin will officiate at the benefit that supports law-related charitable initiatives. Reservations at $150 per person (60 percent tax-deductible) may be made by calling Deb Cook, (630) 762-1915.
New officers elected
Bloomington attorney Brenda Hill Simkins has been elected president of Prairie State Legal Services, which coordinates pro bono legal services for the poor in Central and Northern Illinois counties.
Other new officers are Vice President Marge Donahue of Kankakee, Secretary William I. Caldwell of Woodstock, and Treasurer Michael J. Scalzo of Oak Brook, also a member of the Illinois Bar Foundation board.
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Connie R. Gessner of Wheaton is the new president of the DuPage Legal Assistance Program. She succeeds Daniel T. Smyth Jr. of Oak Brook as head of the DuPage County Bar Association's pro bono programs.
Other new officers are Vice President William F. Knee of Oak Brook, Treasurer Sarah L. Poeppel of Naperville, and Secretary Tom Slymon, a lay board member from Warrenville.
Elizabeth Berrones of Naperville, former family law program director for the Cabrini Green Legal Clinic, joined the DuPage Legal Assistance Foundation staff in September. A past president of the Latino Law Students Association at DePaul University, she is fluent in Spanish.
Notice of name change
Illinois Legal Aid Online is the new name of the former Illinois Technology Center for Law and the Public Interest, based at the Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Call executive director Lisa A. Colpoys, a member of the ISBA Committee on Delivery of Legal Services, at (312) 906-5321 for more information.
SIU endows 3 programs with settlement funding
The Southern Illinois University School of Law has created three endowed programs with the $425,000 it received from the 2001 settlement of a national class action consumer protection lawsuit.
Judge David R. Herndon of U.S. District Court for the Southern District, a 1977 graduate of the law school, made the award from unclaimed funds in the case of rates and surcharges by MCI for direct-dialed long distance telephone calls.
One of SIU's programs, endowed with $250,000, is the Joseph R. Bartylak Public Interest Fellowships named in honor of the retired executive director of Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation.
Five law students will receive $2,000 stipends each year toward living expenses, with priority for those who participate in public interest summer jobs in the Metro East area.
A $150,000 endowment of a William L. Beatty Jurist-in-Residence Program will foster participation by judges with students, faculty and staff at the law school. The program is in memory of a federal judge who died in 2001.
A $25,000 endowment for a Consumer Protection Award will provide an annual cash prize for a law student who excels in the consumer protection course.
New Zealand, land of Maoris, is ISBA destination in March
New Zealand was first settled a thousand years ago by Maoris who arrived in canoes from other Polynesian islands. The territory was explored in 1642 by the Dutch and in 1769 by the British, who formally annexed the islands in 1840.
ISBA members will explore New Zealand in March, led by President Ole Bly Pace III, on an illuminating travel program coordinated by Carrousel Travel.
Maoris still comprise 10 percent of the population, protected for 165 years by the Treaty of Waitangi, but 80 percent of the people of New Zealand are of European descent and Christian.
The ISBA land package price of $2,990 includes 11 nights in fine hotels, daily breakfasts, four lunches, five dinners, private coach tours with experienced guides, and the services of a travel escort.
Participants may purchase air transportation on their own or through Carrousel. Call (800) 800-6508 for more information, or visit an ISBA office to obtain a brochure.
The itinerary calls for departures on Saturday, March 5, crossing the International Dateline the next day, and arriving in Auckland, the country's largest city, early March 7 for tours to the War Memorial Museum, Antarctic Experience and Underwater World before dinner.
March 8 is a leisure day that ends with hosted dinners in local homes. On March 9, the group will go to Waitomo for a tour of Glow Worm Caves and lunch, and continue to Rotorua.
March 10 highlights are an Agrodome Farm Stage Show and tours of Rainbow Springs and Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve. Dinner includes a Maori Hangi and concert.
On March 11, travelers will fly to Christchurch, the second largest city. The coach trip to the city includes a tour of the International Antarctic Centre, a ride on the Hagglund Adventure Course, and lunch at Mona Vale Homestead.
March 12 is leisure day with options such as a TranzAlpine train journey to Arthur's Pass. An evening option is a city-loop tram ride and reception, with dinner at Annie's Wine Bar in the Arts Centre.
March 13 is a leisure day, with dinner at the Sign of the Takahe Restaurant in Port Hills. On March 14, the group will head for Mt. Cook National Park for lunch at the Hermitage Hotel Restaurant before arriving in Queenstown.
March 15 is a leisure day. March 16 will include a trip through Te Anau to Milford Sound for a nature cruise and picnic lunch. A farewell dinner is planned March 17 at Gantley's Restaurant.
Departures will be scheduled March 18 from Queenstown to Auckland, and then to the United States as arranged by participants.
Global schedules many 2005 trips
Call Global Holidays, an ISBA-sponsored travel coordinator, at (800) 842-9023 to obtain information about several travel programs that are planned next year. Brochures on many of the offerings are available from ISBA offices.