Here are ten good reasons why you shouldn't miss the Solo, Small Firm Conference
By Stephen Anderson
The inaugural ISBA Solo and Small Firm Conference, "Don't Just Survive; Thrive!" is the foremost of early initiatives of President Bob Downs to provide opportunities for energy and activity among the practicing bar.
The three-day conference promises a blend of outstanding national speakers and state bar practitioners, "all in the comfort of a great family-friendly resort," Downs said. It is a prototype for future programs that could fulfill a year's worth of mandatory CLE requirements.
The conference is sponsored by the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section Council, and several of its educational components are of interest to most attorneys in other substantive areas of the law.
It will be conducted Friday through Sunday, Oct. 7 to 9, at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles. Complete details of topics and presenters are at www.isba.org.
Here are 10 of the dozens of reasons why general practitioners should attend for survive-and-thrive enlightenment, while their family members relax and enjoy resort amenities.
1. Law practice management guru and conference keynoter Jay Foonberg will fly in from California to discuss achieving profitability from womb to tomb, and acquiring happiness along the way.
2. General practice warhorses John Phipps of Champaign and John Maville of Belvidere will explain how to sell or transfer a law practice under the new Supreme Court rule, with maximum value and minimum expense.
3. ARDC administrator Mary Robinson and litigation group manager Peter Rotskoff will give ethical advice on dealing with nightmare clients who don't pay, who lie, who are impaired, and who are potentially violent.
4. Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge Jacqueline Cox and Trustee Ira Bodenstein will reveal everything you need to know about procedures under the new bankrupcty law.
5. ISBA board member Michele Jochner, law clerk to Chief Justice Mary Ann McMorrow, will explore the thorny maze of search, seizure and suppression issues in Fourth Amendment cases.
6. Adrienne Albrecht of Kankakee, a past chair of the Committee on Legal Technology, will conduct a Computer Boot Camp on tips and tricks for using MS Word and MS Excel advantageously.
7. Arizona business strategist Dustin Cole will outline some essential keys to marketing a law practice and using time and talent to maximize revenues.
8. Various speakers will talk about applying case management tools to avoid the malpractice jungle, and to manage, store and locate documents without wasting billable time.
9. Technology gurus Todd Flaming and Bryan Sims will shed light on use of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and Blawgs (legal blogs) to communicate with clients and the public.
10. Pheasant Run is really a swell place for family relaxation and enjoyment. The St. Charles-Geneva area is abundant with charming shops and tempting restaurants, and brilliant fall foliage is expected.
Thies, O'Brien elected to offices by ISBA Board
The ISBA Board of Governors has elected Urbana attorney John E. Thies as the association's secretary, and John G. O'Brien of Arlington Heights as treasurer. The unanimous elections took place July 22 during a Chicago meeting.
The board also elected seven members of the Committee on Scope and Correlation: Michele M. Jochner and John G. Locallo of Chicago, Mark D. Hassakis of Mt. Vernon, Howard W. Feldman of Springfield, Richard W. Zuckerman of Peoria, Thies and O'Brien.
Chicago attorney Debra B. Walker was elected to the vacancy of Meredith E. Ritchie on the board of directors of the Illinois Bar Foundation. Zuckerman replaced Nicholas J. Bertschy in the 3rd District, and Vincent F. Cornelius of Wheaton was re-elected to his 2nd District seat.
ISBA President Bob Downs made at-large appointments of Thomas W. O'Neal, past president of the Peoria County Bar Association, and O'Brien to the IBF board.
The election of former ISBA board member Jack C. Carey as third vice president created a 20th Circuit vacancy on the Assembly. The board elected Brendan F. Kelly of Swansea.
Bar groups help fund Judge Treat's marker
Federal Judge Samuel Hubbel Treat died March 27, 1887, He was buried in Springfield's Oak Ridge Cemetery near the tomb of Abraham Lincoln, who practiced before him in several courts.
For 118 years, Judge Treat's remains have reposed in obscurity without an appropriate marker. The Illinois Bar Foundation and Illinois State Bar Association have joined an effort to rectify that oversight.
In response to an appeal from Judge Richard Mills of the Central District, the Bar Foundation will conduct a reception at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, in the federal courthouse to support a campaign to provide "a fitting monument to one of the greatest jurists on Mr. Lincoln's Prairie."
Scheduled speakers include Judge Mills, incoming Chief Justice Robert R. Thomas of the Illinois Supreme Court, IBF President Russell K. Scott and Daniel W. Stowell, director of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln.
Supreme Court justices and federal judges are expected to join in viewing a replica of the proposed monument, a historical display of Treat's career and his relationship with Lincoln, and a commemorative publication.
In addition to the ISBA and IBF, sponsors of the reception include the Supreme Court Historical Society, the Sangamon County Bar Association, and the Bar Association of the Central and Southern Federal Districts of Illinois.
The first judge to serve in all three court systems in Illinois circuit, supreme and federal Treat presided in the Southern District court for more than three decades, working until a few weeks before his death.
Between 1839 and 1855, he heard Lincoln argue 870 circuit court cases and about 162 Supreme Court matters, and as a federal judge, he presided in at least 136 more of Lincoln's cases.
"Needless to say, it was quite a shock for me to learn that one of the most distinguished jurists in Illinois history lies buried near Mr. Lincoln ... but has no headstone," Mills advised the ISBA.
Sangamon County Court archives reveal that the administrator of Treat's estate received permission on Dec. 11, 1888, to expend not more than $200 on procuring a tombstone and placing it at the site. The cost today could be as much as $14,000.
Pro bono rule hearing is set for Sept. 16
The Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee has scheduled a hearing on Friday, Sept. 16, to consider several amendments and new rules. Among them is the pro bono reporting requirement.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in room C-500 at 160 N. LaSalle St. To obtain copies of the agenda and proposals, call Michelle Goossens at the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, (312) 793-7275, or fax a request to (312) 793-0775.
The pro bono reporting proposal, which involves amendments to Rule 756 and new rules 6.1 and 6.5 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, was submitted by the Special Supreme Court Committee on Pro Bono Legal Service.
In December, the ISBA Assembly adopted alternative proposals based on comments from state bar sections and committees and subsequent action by the Board of Governors (ISBA Bar News, July 2005, page 1). Both the proposals and the ISBA response are posted on the Web site, www.isba.org.
The Rules Committee agenda for the Sept. 16 hearing follows:
Proposal 03-04 (P.R. 0111) from the Court Rules Committee - Would amend Rule 604. Appeals from Certain Judgments and Orders, (a) Appeals by the State.
Proposal 04-09 (P.R. 0116) from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinating Committee of the Illinois Judicial Conference - Would amend Rule 222. Limited and Simplified Discovery in Certain Cases, (c) Time for Disclosure; Continuing Duty.
Proposal 04-15 (P.R. 0128) from the Court Rules Committee - Would amend Rule 604. Appeals from Certain Judgments and Orders, new (g). Appeal from an Order Granting or Denying a Motion to Disqualify Defense Counsel.
Proposal 04-20 (P.R. 0133) from the Court Committee on Pro Bono Legal Service - Would amend Rule 756, Registration and Fees, new (e) Reporting on Voluntary Pro Bono Service. Would establish new Rule 6.1 Pro Bono Public Service and Rule 6.5 Voluntary Pro Bono Plan.
Proposal 05-01 (P.R. 135) from the Court Rules Committee - Would establish new rule on Compensation for Attorneys Appointed to Represent Indigent Parties.
Proposal 05-03 (P.R. 0137) from the Judicial Conference Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinating Committee - Would amend Rule 91. Absence of Party at Hearing, (a) Failure to Be Present at Hearing.
Proposal 05-05 (P.R. 0139) from the Court Rules Committee - Would amend Rule 315. Leave to Appeal from the Appellate Court to the Supreme Court, (b) Time; Contents. Conforming amendment to Rule 368. Issuance, Stay and Recall of Mandates from Reviewing Court, (a) and (b).
Proposal 05-08 (P.R. 0142) from the Court Committee on Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases, new (g) Separate Proceedings When an Enhanced Sentence Is Sought.
Staffer elected to NABE office
Mark S. Mathewson (right) of Springfield, ISBA director of legal publishing, has been elected secretary of the Communications Section of the National Association of Bar Executives. The election took place Aug. 4 during the section's annual meeting in Chicago.
A member of the ISBA staff since 1988, Mathewson is managing editor of the Illinois Bar Journal. He also supervises the section and committee newsletter program and oversees production of the Illinois Courts Bulletin, which is a section of the ISBA Bar News.
Mathewson is responsible for the electronic delivery of information to ISBA members on the Web site, www.isba.org, and through e-mail services such as the case digests, practice updates and discussion groups.
A graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, he has a master's degree in advanced writing from the University of Iowa. He has practiced law in Pana and taught journalism at Culver-Stockton College, and he was a reporter for Illinois Times in Springfield.
Mathewson's leisure passion is bluegrass music and its roots in Celtic, country, folk and blues. He is co-host of "Bluegrass Breakdown," a weekly radio program from 6 to 8 p.m. Sundays on WISU-FM in the Springfield area.
The ISBA Board of Governors voted July 22 to establish a new relationship with the Alliance of Bar Associations that will increase the effectiveness of screening judicial candidates in Cook County.
The combined membership of 10 diverse associations will enhance the credibility of the evaluation process and expand the pool of volunteers who conduct the investigations and interviews.
In addition to the ISBA, alliance members are the Asian-American Bar, the Black Women Lawyers, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, the Cook County Bar, the Decalogue Society, the Hispanic Lawyers, the Lesbian and Gay Bar, the Puerto Rican Bar and the Women's Bar.
The ISBA was a co-founder of the alliance in 1998 but withdrew in 2003 when members could not agree on a single rating method, rather than a confusing grid of 10 sets of ratings.
The ISBA Committee on Judicial Evaluation in Cook County is chaired by Mary Ann Connelly of the Law Offices of Terrence Kennedy Jr., Chicago.
MentorCenter a stepping stone to new practitioner's success
By Roberta C. Conwell
"If you're not working for yourself, you're dead in the water!" Thus spoke the experienced lawyer to the newly admitted, mother-of-six lawyer who was finding it all she could do to drag herself to the job everyday.
The words stuck in my head during the six years when I handled leasing and zoning matters for a giant corporation. I pictured myself as a dead fish, floating on my side dead in the water.
As if that weren't bad enough, I was feeling like another kind of animal too a chicken. Although I wanted to start my own practice, I just didn't know how to get my head into that place where confidence and action are dispensed.
Fast forward. Through a ridiculous course of personal challenges, all within 16 months, it occurred to me that I needed to strike out on my own.
They were a job loss, a house fire, a 14-night hospital stay with a 10-year-old's appendix, a mother's illness and death, and then the big one: my husband getting injured at work and not looking like he'd be going back soon.
I needed to fend for myself, to grab all the gusto I could! I decided to start my own law practice, concentrating in residential closings for buyers and sellers. With OfficeMax charge card in hand, I started out.
The first thing on my to-do list was getting insurance. I wanted to get it through the Illinois State Bar Association because I'd heard a lot of good things about the ISBA Mutual Insurance Co.
So I forked over the dues for ISBA membership and began to peruse the ISBA Web site. There, I spotted something that has changed my life: the MentorCenter.
Right in the first sentence it said the MentorCenter was designed to connect experienced ISBA lawyers with any member attorney. Any member attorney, not just a new grad.
I figured it was worth a shot and dashed off an e-mail to a guy I picked because we share the hobby of running. I knew nothing more about him and didn't bother to research before writing. I just knew that any lawyer willing to talk to me and share the great secrets of how to start my own practice would be practically a saint.
A miracle occurred, and he actually responded. I got a very friendly phone call and an invitation to lunch with him and a couple attorneys from his firm. So I put on my best suit and ventured into the big city.
I was given the grand tour of his offices and introduced to everyone at the firm. Then we went to lunch where I was filled with stories, suggestions, advice and contacts' phone numbers, as well as some delicious food. This was just what I needed (the access to knowledge and legal experience, not the food).
I went away and set to work implementing all the advice and suggestions to get my practice up and running. I had the answers I needed for a variety of issues, from how to set up an accounting program and an IOLTA account, to marketing and networking, and whom to call for quick answers to substantive questions.
Although it takes a lot of guts (not to mention brevity and succinctness) to interrupt someone's day with some dumb question you need answered fast, I have utilized this available resource several times. It gives me a great sense of security to know that there is someone I can ask to be sure I am doing something the right way.