GENERAL PRACTICE, SOLO & SMALL FIRM

SECTION COUNCIL

MINUTES

April 3, 2004

ISBA Regional Office, Chicago Illinois

Present: In person: Michele Jochner (Chair), Tim Duggan (Vice Chair), Jim Dunneback, Julie Ann Sebastian, Mike Goldberg, Donald LoBue, Matt Maloney, Patrick Kinnally, John Phipps, Brian McPheters. By telephone: Dawn Hallsten (Secretary) and Anne Martinkus

Absent: David Franks [military obligation], Terry Madsen, Bernie Wysocki, James Buchmiller, Patrick Cleary, Tom Hartzell, Walter Kilgus, Patrick Ward.

Guests: Three candidates for ISBA Third Vice-President: Joseph Bisceglia, Russell Hartigan, and John O'Brien. Also, three candidates for ISBA Board of Governors: Mauro Glorioso, John Locallo and Kevin O'Reilly.

Chair Michele Jochner called the meeting to order at approximately 10:00 a.m.

Candidates Introduction. Michele Jochner introduced several guests. The three candidates for Third Vice President of the ISBA were introduced and each in turn was given a few minutes to speak to the council. Next Michele Jochner introduced several candidates for the Board of Governors who were present and each briefly addressed the council. In addition, other members of the council were allowed to say a few words about the other candidates who were not able to attend.

Minutes. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the last meeting as presented. The motion carried.

Section Counts. The General Practice section count as of February 29, 2004 is 1,816, which is an increase of more than ten members from the last section count. In addition, there has been an increase of nearly 200 members of the General Practice section when compared to numbers at the same time last year. Chair Michele Jochner thanked the members of the section council for all of their hard work this year that has helped to significantly increase section membership.

Subcommittee Reports.

Newsletter: Newsletter co-editor John Phipps circulated a grid showing the status of newsletter article assignments. He thanked those who have submitted their articles and urged those who have not to do so as soon as possible because he needs them in order to attain the Council's goal of 12 newsletters during this year. So far, nine newsletters have been published.

Professional Education: Michele Jochner noted it had been a very busy few weeks for the Council in this area.

Technology and the Law - Three very successful seminars were held over the course of three weeks in March in three different locations. Congratulations were extended to Julie Ann Sebastian who organized these programs. Evaluations were favorable and the hands-on approach received high marks.

What's New in Custody, Child Support, & Maintenance: Issues for the General Practitioner – This program was held at the ISBA Chicago office on March 19^th, and was also well-received with almost 70 attendees. A person who registers for more than one of the three GP series seminars received a discount. This series discount has worked well.

The status of upcoming programs was also reviewed.

General Practitioner's Guide to Forming an Illinois Business Entity - April 16^th in Chicago. This program is the second in the GP series and Don LoBue will moderate. So far, more than 40 persons are registered.

Clearing Your Way to Closing – May 7^th in Chicago. This will be a ½ day program and the third GP program. The idea for this program came from discussions in this section council.

Hanging Out Your Shingle Without Hanging Yourself – This program will be May 14^th in Collinsville. This program is a repeat of the program offered in Chicago in December, which was very-well attended. Also, please note that this seminar is held on the Friday before the Council's May meeting in St. Louis.

The Lawyer's Workshop – The General Practice Section Council is co-sponsor with the Standing Committee on Minority & Women Participation of this program set for May 1^st in Chicago.

Protecting Rights of Unmarried Couples – We are a co-sponsor with the Standing Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity of this program, scheduled for May 21^st in Collinsville.

Planning & Managing Your Personal Life- We are a co-sponsor with the Law Office Management and Economics (Standing Committe on) Council of this program, which is proposed for Saturday morning, June 19^th, at the Annual Meeting.

Hot Topics Seminar – This seminar has been approved for Friday, June 18^th at the Annual Meeting as a full-day program.

Michele Jochner noted that, during the current bar year, the General Practice Section Council has sponsored or co-sponsored 13-14 programs across the state, and she thanked all the council members who have worked on these programs. Discussion ensued as to some topics for other possible future programs. The suggestions included: collateral consequences of pleas (some examples given were the consequences to a person who pleads guilty or has an order of protection entered against him or her); immigration issues including ramifications on children, the inability to obtain driver's licenses and the ability to attend college; and the serious consequences of using phony ID's and papers, as now felony charges can be lodged for false ID use and a member noted that one county is charging persons using false papers with obstruction of justice. Pat Ward's idea for a luncheon "Bar Law" program is also being considered. Submissions for fall 2004 programs are due on or before June 9^th, 2004.

Legislation: Jim Dunneback and Julie Ann Sebastian reported on legislation. Julie Ann Sebastian kindly prepared most of the following table setting forth the Council's position on the legislation before it.

BILL

SYNOPSIS

SECTION POSITION on 4/03/04

HB4450 HA#2		Support in theory, but oppose as drafted. This bill is inadequate and is a piecemeal approach to a serious problem. No notice of the consequences of what happens if automatic billing provision should be canceled. Secret liens created by billing could make renewal a problem; if the provider gets the benefit of payment, who incurs the liability if account is terminated - and what remedy is provided in the legislation?
HB 4703 HA#3	Shell bill		No position
HB 4895 HA#1			Table, amendment #1 not available at time of meeting to review in full.

HB 5130 HA#1 and #2		Opposed unanimously. Bill covers too many things; fees already too high and bill includes fees increases; charging a fee to file a motion to reconsider is too burdensome.
HB 5197 HA#1		Support in concept but oppose as drafted. This bill is simply moralistic, without any means to enforce its terms; no private right of action. Also, existing statutes provide remedies under, for example, the Consumer Fraud Act.
HB 7042		No position
SB 1127		No position, based upon status of bill – it is still in Rules Committee.
SB 2451 SA#1	Added a provision allowing managing agent to charge a fee to the unit seller	*Supported unanimously*. Only allows for out-of-pocket expenses and agent should be allowed to recoup expense.
SB 2456 SA#2	Adding collection fee	Opposed Unanimously. No provision for collecting procedure. You can already file motion for contempt and achieve same result.
SB 2548	Notary Public	*Majority Opposed* 2 abstain and 1 supports bill after very length debate about the history of the notary and "accredited representatives" in a proceedings. However, because bill goes too far, majority oppose this legislation.
SB 2630	Small Estate Affidavit – up to $100,000 instead of $50,000 limit	Supported Unanimously. Section Council supported this same legislation last year; support again this year
SB 2690	Unpaid child support	Majority Supported - 1 opposed. See written comments on list serve for reasons.
SB 2905	Auto collision act	Opposed unanimously. Act already provides for who-does-what.

Kim Wallner's memos regarding bill tracking and proposals for new legislation were noted and briefly discussed. Proposals for legislation are due by May 31^st for the ISBA Legislative Program for the 94^th General Assembly and the form for submissions was provided to Council members.

Cable TV Program(s): Michele Jochner stated that there is no report at this time.

Publications: Tim Duggan reported that the 2003 update to the 1999 "Attorney Fees" publication has been submitted to the ISBA and hopefully will be available for purchase at the Annual Meeting. Tim received a round of applause in appreciation of his overseeing this project. The "Checklist of Your Family's Legal Health" pamphlet project is on hold until after the "Attorney Fees" update is published. He hopes to use a weblog to expedite this next project and is interested in names of those who know more about blogs.

Membership/Mentorship: Patrick Kinnally reported that Julie Ann Sebastian and Edna Turkington-Viktora deserve commendation - each recruited a new ISBA member! A website is under construction and the mentorship program will be starting soon.

Unauthorized Practice: Jim Dunneback reported on mailings notifying people that they could get a "certified deed," and informed ISBA Legal Counsel of the solicitation as an UPL issue.

Practice Transfer: John Phipps reported that the ISBA proposal is currently before the Illinois Supreme Court's Rules Committee.

Ancillary Business: No report.

Internet: No report.

Tradition of Excellence: Don LoBue reported. The subcommittee members to whom he will circulate the applications are: Michele Jochner, Tim Duggan, Pat Cleary, Jim Dunneback, Judge Patrick Hitpas, Julie Ann Sebastian, and Dawn Hallsten. The subcommittee members will evaluate the applications and their responses will be tabulated so that their recommendation can be forwarded and voted upon at the Council's May meeting.

Other Business.

Report to Scope Committee on Written Goals of Section Council - Michele Jochner and Tim Duggan prepared and submitted to the Scope Committee a very thorough report. A copy of this report was attached to the Agenda as item IV.A. The report provided an overview of the 2003-2004 bar year and presented not only the accomplishments of the past year but also highlighted a list of goals to pursue over the next three years. The emphasis is the continuity of membership because so many of the activities of this Section Council cross years and reflect long-term plans and long-term efforts by so many members.

Family Law Custody Act Rewrite - Matt Maloney prepared a lengthy letter-report that discussed the sections of the proposed Act and raised questions regarding the sections as well as the underlying thesis of the proposed legislation. Matt stressed the need for professionals to review the legislation and its underlying concepts and provide their input. A copy of Matt's letter report was attached to the Agenda.

Both the letter-report and the Council discussion raised questions and concerns regarding the motivation for the proposed re-write and questioned the need for such sweeping change. It was asked, "Where is the current law broken?" John Phipps reported that a special committee of the ISBA has been formed to review this proposal and Anne Martinkus was appointed to this committee. He sees some merit in its attempt to focus on the children and to promote agreement, but nevertheless believes the proposal needs a lot of work. The expansive definition of parent was challenged by several council members and some members asked if this proposal is intended as a precursor to civil unions and whether it puts the "cart before the horse." Concern was expressed that the proposal would lead to more litigation given the increase in persons who would be able to file petitions and the increased basis for filing them. In addition, based upon strong wording regarding parental rights in the Supreme Court grandparent case, several members questioned whether the proposal would withstand a constitutional challenge. Some members saw merit in concepts in the proposal such as the affidavit for parenting time and mediation aspects of the proposal.

After extensive debate, the Chair recommended Matt Maloney, John Phipps, Tim Duggan, Anne Martinkus, Dawn Hallsten and Jim Dunneback gather input from members and compile the Council's remarks via email correspondence before the May meeting. Michele Jochner noted that the Council's review of this legislative proposal is due by May 1^st.

Meeting Date - Next meeting is Saturday, May 15^th at 10:00 a.m. in St. Louis, Missouri. The long-range planning subcommittee meets at 9:00 a.m.

Solo & Small Firm Conference Proposal - Michele Jochner asked Council members to review a lengthy handout. The handout was a copy of the Missouri Bar Association's program for its three-day meeting for solo and small firm practitioners that is promoted as a CLE meeting that is family friendly. We have been asked to consider whether or not we should try to offer a program similar to this one. Location and time-frame remains to be determined but we are considering this program for sometime in 2005.

Meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Dawn Hallsten