Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. We have a 24-attorney litigation firm in Pittsburgh. We represent insurance companies and business firms. We recently conducted a client satisfaction survey of our top-tier clients via telephone and face-to-face interviews. We have discovered that we have numerous issues regarding client satisfaction. Where do we go from here?
Appellate and trial courts are issuing inconsistent decisions concerning proper standing and jurisdiction following the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins. The uncertainty created by these decisions means judges and attorneys must juggle many variables when considering choice of venue in Illinois and other states. The difference is in how each court defines concrete injury and whether the threat of future harm is sufficiently concrete. An illustration of these inconsistencies is in cases brought by consumers affected by data breaches. In those cases, consumers’ personal information became exposed to parties not authorized to see or possess it. Claims based on data breaches typically include, if not solely rely on, allegations that consumers were injured because the mere exposure of their personal information created a threat of future harm. Read Mark Bernstein’s article, “Standing Here or There?,” in October’s Illinois Bar Journal for a detailed analysis of venue and jurisdiction implications when trying or defending cases involving concrete-injury and future-harm claims.
The Illinois Supreme Court handed down seven opinions on Thursday, October 18. The court affirmed that the warrantless use of a drug-detection dog at a man’s apartment door violated his Fourth Amendment rights in People v. Bonilla, reversed the appellate court’s judgment vacating a man’s sentences and remanding for resentencing for a murder conviction in People v. Harris, upheld a circuit court’s decision to seal two motions filed by a defendant facing murder charges in People v. Zimmerman, and affirmed a defendant’s conviction for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a church in People v. Newton. The supreme court also reversed a circuit court’s decision to dismiss eminent domain complaints against landowners in Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois v. Hutchings, considered the meaning of the phrase “unable to satisfy any judgment” in Cassidy v. China Vitamins, LLC, and affirmed a circuit court’s order dismissing claims against an insurance company in American Family Mutual Insurance Company v. Krop.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am part of a three-member management committee. We have a 25-attorney firm located in the greater Washington D.C. area. We specialize in governmental law. We are feeling that our committee and the firm spend a lot of time in meetings discussing management problems and strategies to no avail. Not much changes or gets implemented. I welcome your comments.
In October’s Illinois Bar Journal, Derek M. Johnson discusses the challenges a decedent’s estate may face if it owes federal income taxes, which may take priority over other claims and expenses, especially when the estate is insolvent. Understanding how and when to pay an estate’s taxes in relation to its other obligations is critical, Johnson advises. In his article, “Debts, Secret Tax Liens, and Other Estate Traps,” Johnson considers options and preventive measures when determining whether taxes are owed by decedents and their estates in probate.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the owner of a small general practice firm in Novato, Calif. I have three associates working in the firm, three legal assistants, and one office manager/bookkeeper. I started my practice 35 years ago right out of law school. I am 60 years old and wanting to retire within the next five years. None of my associates have the ability or the desire to take over the firm. I believe that my best option is to sell my practice to another practitioner or join another firm through a merger or other arrangement. I would appreciate your ideas regarding merging with another firm and how I would be compensated and receive payment for the goodwill value of my firm.
PILI will grant $309,000 to fund 60 law student interns at 28 public interest law organizations across Illinois during the 2018-19 academic year and the summer of 2019.
PILI’s Law Student Internship Program connects law students from across the country with public interest law agencies in Illinois and pays them for their work.
In August, the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates approved changes to its Model Rules of Professional Conduct concerning advertising. In October’s Illinois Bar Journal, ISBA General Counsel Charles Northrup, in light of the ABA’s decision, revisits the fundamental principle set out in Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct (IRPC) 7.1 — that lawyers may not make false or misleading communications about themselves, their practices, or their services. Given the ABA’s recent action, Northrup suggests revisiting this fundamental principle is worthwhile.
By Michael G. Bergmann
Coordinated by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, Pro Bono Week is intended to inspire even greater pro bono participation by lawyers throughout the nation. This initiative provides an opportunity for legal organizations across the country to collaboratively commemorate the vitally important contributions of America’s lawyers and to recruit and train the many additional volunteers required to meet the growing demand. The Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service undertook this initiative to provide a format for showcasing the incredible difference that pro bono lawyers make to our nation, to our system of justice, to our communities and, most of all, to the clients they serve. For more information, visit www.celebrateprobono.org.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the owner of an estate planning firm in Milwaukee, Wis. I have five associates and four paralegals working in the firm. More of my time is spent on managing the practice and marketing than on servicing clients. I am trying to develop financial goals for the firm, but I am clueless as to what financial indicators or ratios I should be looking at and what constitutes good or bad performance. Anything that you are willing to share would be appreciated.