A decade after limited scope representation (LSR) first became an option in Illinois, Illinois attorneys have used it sparingly. An ISBA member survey undertaken in 2018 showed that less than half (42 percent) of attorneys have engaged in intentional LSR even once, and the vast majority (85 percent) received 10 percent or less of their income from limited scope work. In May’s Illinois Bar Journal feature article, we explore the reluctance to offer LSR and talk with practitioners who are benefiting from providing LSR services to clients. They say LSR is ideal for budget-conscious clients who might otherwise have gone pro se to hold down costs, opens new income streams for attorneys, and eases the burden on court systems flooded with self-represented litigants. The article also points to two LSR webcasts the ISBA is holding: one on May 29; the other on June 10.
Practice News
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May 4, 2020 | Practice News
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May 4, 2020 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court is proud to celebrate this year’s Law Day theme: “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Democracy: The 19th Amendment at 100.” The women’s suffrage movement forever changed America, expanding representative democracy and inspiring other popular movements for change and reform.
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May 1, 2020 |
Practice News
The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), the administrative agency that regulates licensed Illinois lawyers, has filed its year 2019 Annual Report with the Supreme Court of Illinois. The report was released to the public this morning when a copy was posted on the ARDC website.
A summary of the Annual Report entitled Highlights of the 2019 Annual Report is also available.
The 2019 Annual Report is dedicated to Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd E. Karmeier, who for 15 years has served as the Court’s liaison officer to the ARDC and who has had an outstanding, extensive, and positive impact upon the organization. The report includes a retrospective of Justice Karmeier’s distinguished career. -
May 1, 2020 |
Practice News
The Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) is among several organizations that received an American Bar Endowment grant this year.
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May 1, 2020 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that the Illinois bar exam, originally scheduled for July 28-29, 2020, has been rescheduled to September 9-10, 2020, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Illinois Supreme Court also entered an order to relax rules for administering the bar exam to allow the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar the flexibility to prepare for and administer a bar examination in a manner that maintains the health and well-being of all applicants and others involved with the administration of the bar examination.
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April 29, 2020 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has entered an order temporarily amending Supreme Court Rule 206 to ease the requirements for remote depositions.
The amended Rule is effective immediately.
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April 28, 2020 |
Practice News
By Clarissa Gaff, Land of Lincoln Legal Aid Executive Director
The nation’s largest legal nonprofit funder, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), wants attorneys outside of legal aid organizations to have opportunities to provide free legal services to low income community members. To ensure that attorneys have a variety of options for pro bono service, LSC awards Pro Bono Innovation Grants to civil legal aid providers around the country to create new and diverse programs for other attorneys, like ISBA members, to provide legal services to those individuals with civil legal needs who cannot afford an attorney.
1 comment (Most recent June 3, 2021) -
April 27, 2020 | Practice News
Attorneys and their firms operate on both sides of the online consumer and data-collecting divide. We interact with all manner of websites and services, and therefore care that private information is safely managed. We also operate websites and services where consumers and our clients expect the same. Government regulation of personal information at state, national, and supranational levels is just beginning and cannot be ignored. Since websites know no geographic boundaries, attorneys—particularly those with firms that operate in multiple states or internationally—must educate themselves about these issues. In April’s Illinois Bar Journal’s Practice HQ column, “Don’t Be a Cookie Monster,” Affinity Consulting Group’s Jeffrey Schoenberger summarizes how website cookies work and an attorney’s obligation to be aware of the internet’s data-collecting nature.
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April 24, 2020 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court announced today an emergency order which limits freezes on personal bank accounts during the COVID-19 pandemic. This order temporarily relieves debtors of the burden of asset freezes, up to the $4,000 exemption provided by law, at a time when they have limited recourse to the courts.
The order is available on the court website.
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April 21, 2020 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court, for the first time in its history, will hold oral arguments via the Zoom videoconference platform when it hears cases in May. The court is doing this to practice social distancing while still conducting court proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
1 comment (Most recent April 23, 2020)