Illinois Bar Journal

The Illinois Bar Journal’s November cover story examines “8 Things Killing Your Law Firm—and How to Stop Them.” The article complements a CLE program presented by Affinity Consulting Group earlier for the Illinois State Bar Association regarding common management ruts and how to get out of them using techniques such as Lean and Six Sigma.

The purchase of a home with hidden defects has a body of law of its own. At its center is the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act. While it is commonly known that sellers must disclose certain defects, the nuances may be less known. What type of defects must be disclosed? Can a seller give an example of the problem, as opposed to an exhaustive list? Can a seller rely on the real estate agent’s advice about what to disclose? What if the sellers deny that they were aware of the defects? What if the sellers claim they believed the issue had been repaired? In his October Illinois Bar Journal article, “Full Disclosure,” Joseph Rubas answers these questions so that you can help your new-homeowner clients.

ISBA members believe the greatest threat to the legal profession is competition from nonlawyer legal services. But when asked to identify the biggest threat to their own practice, members said the unwillingness or inability of clients to pay. The two assertions are arguably correlated: Clients who struggle to pay may look for cheaper alternatives next time. The findings are among many thought-provoking results from the 2019 Economic, Marketing, and Business Health Survey conducted this spring by Readex Research on behalf of the ISBA’s Standing Committee on the Future of Legal Services. The purpose of the survey is to “better understand the current economic climate [and] marketing and business practices among ISBA members … in private practice.” More than 800 private-practicing members completed the survey, which is summarized in October’s Illinois Bar Journal.

While it has long been recognized that there is a separation of powers under the Illinois Condominium Property Act between condominium boards and unit owners, condominium boards have possessed almost all of the decision-making authority under the Act, including deciding rule violations. But, according to Ellis Levin in his September 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Power to the Condo Unit Owner,” that power has shifted in Boucher v. 111 East Chestnut Condominium Association. In Boucher (Justice Neville’s final appellate opinion before joining the Illinois Supreme Court), the balance of power has shifted from condominium officers and boards to unit owners when unit owners protest rule violations and request meeting records.