So where does all of this leave the likes of demagogue Matt Hale, et al? In prison, where they probably would have been if actual sentences were levied.
But surely, Hale would like to know how much of his sentence he may already have served in the eternity of his two-year incarceration.
Joseph D. Kearney, dean of the Marquette University Law School since July 2003, will be honored Friday, March 11, during the 24th annual St. Ignatius College Prep Law Luncheon at the Chicago Athletic Association.
A St. Ignatius alumnus who was valedictorian of the class of 1982, he will receive the school's Award of Excellence in the Field of Law.
Kearney graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1989 and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and a judge of the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. He practiced with Sidley & Austin for six years before joining the law school faculty in 1997.
Kearney succeeded former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Janine Geske, who became interim dean at Marquette after the death of Howard Eisenberg in June 2002.
St. Ignatius will present an Honorary Diploma to Chicago attorney Patricia Bobb, a past president of the Chicago Bar Association, at the law luncheon. Her daughter, Brooke Bobb, will receive a St. Ignatius diploma, too, when she graduates later this year.
For more information, call Joan Kistner at (312) 432-8348 or Chiara Wrocinski at (312) 432-8347.
CBA to honor Johnson
Retired appellate justice Glenn T. Johnson will receive the 15th Earl Burrus Dickerson Award from the Chicago Bar Association during a luncheon Wednesday, Feb. 23, at The Standard Club.
The award was established in 1991 to recognize the achievements of minority lawyers whose careers reflect the courage and dedication of Earl Dickerson to justice for all in society.
Johnson retired in 1994 after 28 years as an Illinois jurist. He became a Cook County associate judge in 1966 and was elevated to the circuit court two years later. He was appointed to the appellate bench in 1973 and elected in 1974.
A 1949 graduate of The John Marshall Law School after Army service in Europe during World War II, Johnson had a private practice until 1957, when he became an assistant Illinois attorney general. From 1963 to 1966, he was senior attorney for the Metropolitan Sanitary District.
Johnson, a past president of the Cook County Bar Association, was inducted as a member of the CCBA Hall of Fame when it was established in 1997. He is a past chair of the National Bar Association Judicial Council and a former board member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
A former member of the former ISBA Judicial Administration Section Council, which he chaired in 1975-76, Johnson also served on its successor, the Bench and Bar Section Council.
The event will begin with a reception at 11:30 a.m., followed by 12:15 p.m. luncheon. For reservations, contact Tamra Drees at (312) 554-2057 or tdrees@chicagobar.org.
Norwegians mark centennial
Chicago attorney Paul S. Anderson, who is Honorary Royal Norwegian Consulate General in Illinois, will speak Saturday, March 5, at a program that marks the 100th anniversary of Norway's independence from Sweden in 1905.
Anderson, a partner in Sonnenberg & Anderson, will convey greetings from Norway during a Nordic luncheon sponsored by Chicago Friends of Vesterheim at Park Ridge Country Club. An ethnic marketplace will be open from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Proceeds will benefit Vesterheim, a Norwegian-American Museum founded in 1877 in Decorah, Iowa, that contains more than 24,000 artifacts. Call (563) 382-9681 for more information or reservations to the March 5 event.
Use the ISBA Economic Survey to benchmark performance
By Paul Sullivan
I received a call recently from the managing partner of a law firm who is concerned that its overhead is way too high.
He had read the recent ISBA Economic Survey and found that the reported mean total expense per lawyer was $89,000. His firm expense per lawyer was well over $100,000.
He asked if I had any suggestions on what the firm might look for to see where its costs may be out of line. I suggested benchmarking, a very effective management tool.
This is the process of continually measuring and comparing performance with other organizations to identify and prioritize areas needing improvement. It's also important that, when comparing yourself against others, the playing field is level.
The lawyer who contacted me was in a larger firm, while 72 percent of respondents to the economic survey had five or fewer lawyers; half of those were solos. It's really difficult to compare expenses of a larger firm with solos and small firms.
Larger firms have and use more technology because they can afford it. They provide benefits to their members and employees greater benefits because they can afford to. Employees increase overhead due to payroll taxes, unemployment taxes, workers' compensation insurance, and more management oversight.
Larger firms require more space. This means more furniture and fixtures, larger utilities, bigger insurance bills etc. Larger firms spend more because they can afford it.
The other variable to consider when benchmarking is the type of practice. Certain practice groups are naturally more profitable than others, so comparing your firm's operations to a survey that includes all practice groups and all firm sizes isn't a level playing field.
This is not to say that the ISBA economic survey is of no benefit. It contains information for firms of any size to compare with, but it takes a little analysis.
To measure overhead, use the ratio between revenue and timekeeper compensation as a measure. This will give you the true cost of operations. Including all timekeepers is important, because you are measuring the direct cost of delivering the service.
The total compensation number will be the same. If you pay your associates more, you personally take less; if you pay them less, you get more.
Looking at the ISBA survey, you will see those firms that average $89,000 in expenses also average $205,000 in revenue per lawyer. This then gives you the ratio of 43.4 percent allocated to expense and 56.6 percent to lawyer compensation.
Altman Weil indicates these dollar numbers are far below the average of the East North Central area, which is comprised of firms in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
That survey shows $156,325 in expenses per lawyer, but $381,599 in revenue per lawyer - a ratio of 40.1 percent expense and 59.9 percent lawyer income, more in line with the ISBA survey.
There is also a survey for firms nationwide. The average revenue per lawyer is $365,000 and the average expense per lawyer is $155,000. This translates to 42.4 percent expense and 57.6 percent for lawyer compensation - even more in line with the ISBA survey.
If you can get the statistics for your specific practice group, that's even better for benchmarking. For example, an Altman Weil study for insurance defense firms shows revenue per lawyer at $272,599 and expense per lawyer at $120,657. This represents a ratio of 44.3 percent for expense and 55.7 percent for attorney compensation.
Benchmarking your firm's performance against others regularly is like getting a report card. In addition to comparing the ratio of lawyer compensation to revenue, other areas can be compared directly to other organizations.
Work-in-process total, relative to average monthly receipts, is a good indicator of a firm's current financial strength and an indicator of future cash coming in. Accounts receivable is a good indicator of near-term revenues.
Average billable hours per partner and associate, debt per lawyer, and the ratio of support staff to lawyers, are all indicators of a firm's financial health and efficiency of operations.
You should be aware that what one firm deems as lawyer compensation may not be the same as in another firm. Some include benefits, while others don't. Some include payroll and unemployment taxes; others don't. In comparing your firm to others, remember these are only guidelines.
Controlling expenses, not obsessing on them, is good management. Focus on increasing revenue and controlling expenses, not just cutting expenses.
If you can add 20 minutes of billable time each day through better timekeeping practices or better efficiency, you could increase your annual revenue by nearly 4 percent. Convert that to dollars and consider what expenses you would need to reduce to achieve the same goal.
If you find you are as efficient as you can be, or you don't have enough work to do the math, then spend that 20 minutes per day on marketing activities.
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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 sullivan@qjhp.com.
Musical Shysters perform Feb. 25 for aid benefit
Shyster is not an odious word in Peoria. In fact it's melodious, as in The Shysters, a classic rock and soul music band that will perform during Legal Aid 2005, a benefit for Prairie State Legal Services.
The 10th anniversary event from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, at the Par-a-Dice Hotel in East Peoria includes heavy hors d'oeuvres, door prizes and, of course, entertainment by the trio of talented lawyers and their three accomplices.
The Shysters are Peoria attorneys Michael R. Lied of Howard & Howard, newsletter editor of the ISBA Labor and Employment Law Section Council and member of the Bar Publications Board; Gregory S. Bell of Hasselberg, Rock, Bell & Kuppler, and Keith J. Braskich of Davis & Campbell; paralegal Deborah Wallace of State Farm, Guy Fountain and Jason Lied.
The Shysters were co-founders of the annual legal assistance fund raiser in 1996 and have performed every year, helping to raise more than $50,000 during the past decade.
Tickets are only $20 in advance and $25 at the door for the anticipated crowd of 400. Call Sandra Crow at Prairie State, (309) 674-9831.
Legal Follies hijacks riverboat for Rockford
"Rockford on the Rocks" is the title of the 13th annual Winnebago County Bar Legal Follies, a benefit for Prairie State Legal Services in Northwest Illinois.
Highlights include an attempt by pirates and Native Winnebagans to hijack a riverboat casino. Thespians include 17th Circuit Judge Rosemary Collins, a member of the ISBA Committee on Judicial Advisory Polls, and State's Attorney Paul Logli, president-elect of the bar association and member of the ISBA Committee on Government Lawyers.
Show time is 8 p.m. Saturday, March 12, at the historic Coronado Theater in Rockford. For information about obtaining tickets or attending the cast party, call Dawn Rodgers at the Prairie State office, (815) 965-2902.
Lawyers display talents
The DuPage County Bar Association will mount its 30th annual Judges' Nite show, "Recipe for Disaster," on Friday, Feb. 25, at the Wilton Manor in Wheaton. The director of this spoof on life in the 18th Circuit is ISBA Assembly member Kevin Millon of Gabric, Millon & Ory.
A 6:30 p.m. reception will precede the 7:30 p.m. dinner of beef bourguignon or grilled salmon. Show time is 8:30 p.m. Call the bar association office, (630) 653-7779, for individual reservations or tables of 10.
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The Chicago Bar Association will hold its Barristers' Big Band Ball on Saturday, March 12, starting at 6 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Chicago Hilton and Towers.
Beneficiaries of the event are Children's Memorial Hospital and the Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Lend-a-Hand Program. Call (312) 554-2057.
Pizza project planned
The DuPage County Bar Association's Lawyers Lending a Hand project this month will consist of providing dinner for patients and volunteers at the DuPage Convalescent Center.
Participating lawyers will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, in the center's recreation room to order and serve pizza and visit with residents. Call Eddie Wollenberg at (630) 668-2415 to volunteer.
Legislature passes subcircuit bill
Illinois House Bill 949, an omnibus piece of legislation that draws subcircuit boundaries in five judicial circuits and creates two additional county judgeships, was passed Jan. 10 and 11 by the chambers of the General Assembly. It awaits the governor's signature.
Complete details and maps, in color, were posted Jan. 13 on the ISBA Web site, www.isba.org. In brief, the following circuits would be affected by the legislation:
9th Circuit - A resident county judgeship is added in Fulton County.
12th Circuit (Will County) - The five subcircuits that were authorized by previous legislation now have boundaries.
16th Circuit - Although not included in previous legislation, the three-county circuit (Kane, DeKalb and Kendall) has been divided into four subcircuits.
17th Circuit - Although not included in previous legislation, the two-county circuit (Winnebago and Boone) has been divided into four subcircuits.
19th Circuit - As authorized by previous legislation, this former two-county circuit now contains only Lake County, and has been divided into six subcircuits.