The Bar News

Bar News Sections

Practice News

  • January 9, 2019 | Practice News
    Best Practice Tips: Law Firm Management—Held Hostage by Office Manager or Bookkeeper

    Asked and Answered 

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    Q. I am a partner is a small family law firm in Tucson, Arizona. There are two partners in the firm and two associates. We have an office manager/bookkeeper, a receptionist, and two legal assistants. The office manager was hired one year ago. The other partner is retiring next year, and I am purchasing the practice from him. I became a partner last year. I am new to the management side of the practice and have been relying on the office manager who also serves as our bookkeeper. I am at my wit’s ends with our office manager and I believe that she is not suited for the position. She has no organizational skills, she misses deadlines, vendor bills are not paid on time, and client bills are not sent out accurately and timely. I have counseled her on numerous occasions to no avail. I believe we need to replace her, but I am reluctant since no one else here knows what she does or how she does it. A new billing and accounting system was implemented last year and she was the only one trained to use the system. What do we do if we terminate her or she quits? We are hostages. I would appreciate any ideas or thoughts that you may have.

    2 comments (Most recent January 11, 2019)
  • January 7, 2019 | Practice News
    Taming the Guessing Game: Child Support and Variable Income

    Finding an agreed-upon methodology to calculate child support can become litigious when a supporting spouse’s income is variable. But basing support calculations on gross income and percentages of income is a good start. In his January 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Taming the Guessing Game: Child Support and Variable Income,” Bryan D. Sullivan explores the benefits of using predetermined percentages of gross income for additional child-support orders under the income shares model and provides practical advice for legal practitioners when drafting such orders. Sullivan’s article also includes links to extensive tables that show how various child-support calculations discussed in his article play out.

  • January 3, 2019 | Practice News
    Best Practice Tips: Law Firm Non-Equity Partner Subjective Compensation Factors

    Asked and Answered 

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    Q. Our firm is a 17-attorney commercial litigation firm in Atlanta, Georgia. I am a member of our firm’s management committee that decides raises and bonuses for non-equity partners and associates. Currently our non-equity partners are paid a salary and a discretionary bonus. We would like to stay with this approach; however, we have had complaints that our system is totally arbitrary. We would like to be able to provide more transparency— a general list of the items that we consider when making our decisions on salary and bonuses. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

  • January 2, 2019 | Practice News
    Property Tax Appeal Board Withdraws Proposed Rule to Prohibit Lawyer-Legislators from Practice Before the Board

    The Property Tax Appeal Board has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have prohibited lawyer-legislators from practicing before the board.

    At its Nov. 13, 2018 meeting, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted to object to the rulemaking and prohibit its filing with the Secretary of State. The committee's reasoning is that since the Property Tax Appeal Board has no statutory authority to take the action embodied in this rulemaking, such rulemaking represents a threat to the public interest.

    1 comment (Most recent January 5, 2019)
  • January 2, 2019 | Practice News
    Quick Takes for Your Practice: Three Easy and Low-Cost Steps Every Attorney Should Take to Protect Their Client Data

    Ruth Schneider, an attorney with RCJ Law, LLC, discusses three low-cost steps attorneys should take to protect client data. Tips include using long, unique passwords for accounts, utilizing two-factor authentication, and sending important documents securely.

  • January 2, 2019 | Practice News
    Quick Takes on Illinois Supreme Court Opinions Issued Friday, December 28

    The Illinois Supreme Court handed down four opinions on Friday, Dec. 28. In Sienna Court Condominium Ass'n v. Champion Aluminum Corp., the court addressed the question of whether a purchaser of a newly constructed home could assert a claim for breach of an implied warranty of habitability against a subcontractor that had no contractual relationship with the purchaser. In Stanphill v. Ortberg, the court reviewed a jury verdict hinging on the foreseeability of a depressed person’s suicide. The court considered whether five monetary charges were fines or fees in People v. Clark and determined there was no probable cause to execute a search warrant in People v. Manzo.

  • December 19, 2018 | Practice News
    Quick Takes for Your Practice: How to Handle a Mediation

    Michael Alkaraki, an attorney at Leahy & Hoste, LLC, discusses how to handle a mediation.

  • December 19, 2018 | Practice News
    Best Practice Tips: Strategic Planning Retreat—Need for Specific Action Plans

    Asked and Answered 

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    Q. Our firm is an eight-attorney firm in Cincinnati, Ohio. We have been together for 14 years. There are four partners and four associates in the firm. Over the years we have traditionally had a year-end attorney planning retreat with limited success. This year we have decided that we want to dedicate the entire time to developing a strategic plan for the firm. What can we do to ensure that our strategic plan leads to actual implementation?

  • December 17, 2018 | Practice News
    Illinois Supreme Court Announces Judicial Appointments

    The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the appointments of nine Illinois judges.

    The appointments are as follows:

  • December 17, 2018 | Practice News
    Remove or Remain: Trying Asbestos in Illinois

    A state’s legal standard for determining fault is a key factor in determining whether to file a motion to apply foreign law or a motion to dismiss under the doctrine of forum non conveniens. In December’s Illinois Bar Journal, Cameron Turner and Sean Phillips examine such choices regarding asbestos cases in Illinois. Illinois is a well-known epicenter of asbestos litigation, having earned a reputation for allowing cases unconnected to the state to proceed through its system. Onlookers and clients, particularly those new to asbestos litigation and unaware of its broader scope, often express disbelief and frustration at the legitimacy of such a system. Such reactions are fair, and related questions certainly are valid. Illinois does, after all, have statutes in place that allow for the transfer of cases to appropriate forums when any particular forum is improper or inconvenient. It also seems logical, on its face, to lessen the impact of sometimes-harsh Illinois law by looking to the law of a state with a stronger connection to the case when that state's law is more favorable. This rings true even if a defendant chooses to forgo pursuing a forum non conveniens argument.