Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am a new firm administrator with a 35-attorney litigation firm in Los Angeles, California. The accounting department has seven staff members handling a variety of tasks. My partners are concerned that we are inefficient and over-staffed. I am having a hard time finding where to start so to get a handle on this issue. Please provide any information that you are willing to share.
The circuit judges of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, DuPage County, Illinois, have appointed Kavita Athanikar to the position of association judge. Ms. Athanikar fills the vacancy created by the appointment of Hon. Jeffrey S. MacKay to circuit judge.
The Illinois Supreme Court handed down two opinions today, Friday, Feb. 16. The court considered whether the Cook County Circuit Court erroneously entered a finding of a good-faith settlement agreement under the Joint Tortfeasor Act in a personal injury action arising out of a car accident in Antonicelli v. Rodriguez. In People ex rel. Hartrich v. 2010 Harley-Davidson, the court addresses the application of the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment to the civil forfeiture of personal property. Leading appellate attorneys Karen DeGrand and Joanne Driscoll summarize the cases below.
PILI seeks a program manager who will report to the executive director and be based in central Illinois. The program manager will serve as a member of PILI’s Programs Team, with primary responsibility for overseeing PILI’s statewide efforts to expand and enhance pro bono. The ability to do regular statewide and limited national travel is required.
In much of Illinois outside of Cook County, there is only one legal service agency serving low-income people with civil (non-criminal) legal needs. Due to ethics rules, these organizations sometimes have to turn a potential client away due to a conflict of interest. Hundreds of potential clients are denied services in Illinois every year for this reason.
There are a number of scenarios in which a conflict of interest may arise that would prevent the local legal aid office from providing assistance. One example would be where that office is already providing representation to another party in the same legal matter.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the firm administrator with a ten attorney firm in Long Beach, California. I really enjoyed reading your blog post Law Firm Compensation – Bonuses for Staff, which discussed how to measure performance for bonuses. I really like the approach of establishing goals at the beginning of each year — two for the firm, and two that are personal — and tying bonuses to measurable outcomes. Have you used other approaches other than percentage of salary? Can you give additional examples of specific goals that would be appropriate for a bookkeeper, office manager, or firm administrator?
The Board of Education of the City of Chicago, also known as Chicago Public Schools (CPS), has set ambitious goals to ensure that every child, in every community, have access to a high quality education that prepares him or her for success in college and career.
CPS is seeking an Assistant General Counsel to represent CPS and its agents in state court and various administrative forums. Matters include personal injury cases ranging from slip and falls to sexual assaults and death cases, mechanic’s liens, property tax appeals, construction cases, whistleblower claims, limited employment matters and breach of contract claims. The Assistant General Counsel will have the following responsibilities:
By Sandy L. Morris
Tired of answering “zero” hours of voluntary pro bono service on your annual attorney registration form? It’s time to think about why and how you can help the increasing numbers of self-represented litigants.
The Circuit Court of Cook County is closed today, Friday, Feb. 9, due to severe winter weather, according to a statement released by the court. With the exception of Central Bond Court at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago and juvenile detention hearings at the Juvenile Center in Chicago, there will be no court in session in any Cook County courthouse and the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court will be closed.
Glenn Gaffney of Gaffney & Gaffney, P.C. discusses whether your client should sign a severance agreement.