Leading appellate attorneys review the Illinois Supreme Court opinions handed down Friday, February 17. The cases are Stone Street Partners, LLC v. City of Chicago Dept. of Administrative Hearings, Wardwell v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., Grimm v. Calica, and, from the criminal docket, People v. Fort, People v. Ayres, and People v. Shinaul.
Practice News
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February 19, 2017 |
Practice News
1 comment (Most recent February 21, 2017)
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February 16, 2017 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers a bill about judicial complaints, the Probate Act, the Insurance Code and arbitration, changing names under the IMDMA, guardians, the Jury Act, and criminal law and defense.
More information on each bill is available below the video.
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February 14, 2017 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. We have a 12-attorney business litigation firm in Sacramento, California. I am one of three members on our technology committee. Our IT infrastructure consists of an in-house Microsoft file server, a separate Microsoft Exchange e-mail server, and document management and time, billing, and accounting software. Our documents are stored locally and managed by the locally installed document management software. Several of our partners have talked with other firms that are operating totally in the cloud. We would appreciate whether moving to the cloud is something that we should consider?
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February 14, 2017 |
Practice News
Springfield lawyer Barry Hines discusses the law governing boundary disputes in Illinois.
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February 12, 2017 |
Practice News
The ABA Futures Initiative and the association's Center for Innovation have created ImmigrationJustice.us, a portal for attorneys and others responding to President Trump's executive order on immigration (now stayed by a restraining order). People interested in volunteering legal or language expertise can sign up there to work on behalf of affected immigrants. Attorneys and others can also find information on the travel ban and other immigration-related issues, such as habeas corpus and detention. Find our more from the ABA Journal.
Another new website, Airport Lawyer, connects travelers affected by President Donald Trump’s travel ban with free lawyers who can help them. The ABA Journal has more.
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February 9, 2017 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers administrative review, the Open Meetings Act, the Veterans and Servicemembers Court Treatment Act, collections, the Rent Control Preemption Act, the Guardians for Adults with Disabilities Article of the Probate Act of 1975, and the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
More information on each bill is available below the video.
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February 9, 2017 |
Practice News
LAND OF LINCOLN LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOUNDATION, INC.
NOTICE OF JOB OPPORTUNITY
POSITION: STAFF ATTORNEY at the Northern Regional Office of Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Representation of low-income persons in routine and complex family law litigation, particularly for victims of domestic violence, represent homeowners who need legal assistance to avoid foreclosure.
QUALIFICATIONS: Admission to the Illinois Bar and demonstrated commitment to the representation of low-income individuals. Prior legal services or clinical work experience strongly preferred.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation is a non-profit organization which provides free legal services to low-income individuals in central and southern Illinois. The program has a strong history of high quality and innovative advocacy for its clients. The Northern Regional office is located in Springfield, Illinois.
SALARY: $45,000+ with license (depending on experience). Excellent fringe benefits.
APPLICATIONS: Send resume, letter and writing sample to:
Lauren J. Pashayan, Managing Attorney
Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc.
3085 Stevenson Drive, Suite 202
Springfield, Illinois 62703
217-529-8400
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
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February 8, 2017 |
Practice News
A proposed bill that is an initiative of the ISBA's International and Immigration Law Section Council would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to improve compliance with a current law that requires judges to notify defendants of the immigration consequences of guilty pleas. The current law, found at 725 ILCS 5/113-8, requires judges to advise defendants that a misdemeanor or felony conviction may result in deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization. However, since the law's adoption in 2004, it has been unevenly applied across Illinois courts.
In some cases, the required admonition is simply posted in courtrooms. In others, it may be contained in written agreements in court orders. It has not been uniformly given from the bench.
In 2009, the Supreme Court of Illinois found that the statute was directory, not mandatory. See People v. Del Villar (2009). The court reasoned that because the law does not provide a consequence for non-compliance, it is not truly mandatory.
The proposed legislation will add a consequence for non-compliance to make the law mandatory under the Del Villar standard. A defendant who is not given the admonition and who would risk deportation, exclusion, or denial of naturalization as a result of a guilty plea would be entitled to move to vacate the judgment, withdraw the guilty plea, and instead enter a plea of not guilty. Find out more about this and other ISBA-backed legislative proposals in the February Illinois Bar Journal.
2 comments (Most recent February 9, 2017) -
February 8, 2017 |
Practice News
Chicago lawyer and ISBA Construction Law Section Council member Margery Newman discusses the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act. For the definitive resource on mechanics lien practice, see Turner on Illinois Mechanics Liens.
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February 8, 2017 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. We have a 25-attorney firm based in San Antonio, Texas. We have 15 equity partners. We are equal partners and have equal ownership interests. Our partners are paid based upon ownership shares. Thus, each is paid the same. The system has worked well for us for many years and has supported our team-based collaborative culture. However, we are having issues with non-productive partners, and some of the productive partners feel that the compensation system is no longer fair. Some of the partners have suggested that we move to a formulaic system. Other partners in the firm feel that such a system would destroy the collaborative culture we have built. We appreciate your thoughts.