ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers The Parentage Act of 2015 (House Bill 4447), Income shares and child support (House Bill 3982), New filing fee (Senate Bill 3162), IMDMA cleanup (House Bill 1190), Trust law (Senate Bill 2842), Personal guardian (House Bill 5924), Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (House Bill 4648) and Land Trust Beneficiary Rights Act (House Bill 4697). More information on each bill is available below the video.
Practice News
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April 28, 2016 |
Practice News
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April 27, 2016 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner of a 12-lawyer insurance defense firm in Oklahoma City. We have four partners and eight associates. While we have grown over the last five or six years by adding associates, our profitability has remained flat. We feel that we are not getting the billable hours that we should out of our associates. What are other firms like ours getting out of their associates in terms of billable hours?
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April 25, 2016 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court will take its work on the road in May, when it will hear oral arguments at Benedictine University in Lisle.
The one-day change of venue is part of the Court's and Chief Justice Rita B. Garman's initiative to bring the Court to the people it serves and its continuing goal for greater transparency in the judicial process.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases starting at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 19, 2016, in Benedictine University's Daniel L. Goodwin Hall of Business, located at 5700 College Road in Lisle.
1 comment (Most recent April 28, 2016) -
April 25, 2016 |
Practice News
Attorney David Holtermann of the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois discusses recent rules changes to handling unidentified funds in IOLTA accounts.
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April 21, 2016 |
Practice News
Attorney Kim Davis discusses how to give an effective closing argument.
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April 21, 2016 |
Practice News
People reporting for jury service at the Rolling Meadows courthouse in the Circuit Court of Cook County will now have Wi-Fi access while they wait to find out if they will be considered to serve as jurors for a trial, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today.
Prospective jurors already have Wi-Fi access in the Richard J. Daley Center, the Leighton Criminal Court Building and the courthouse in Markham.
The Circuit Court is working with the Cook County Bureau of Technology to bring Wi-Fi to the jury assembly rooms at the Skokie, Maywood and Bridgeview courthouses.
1 comment (Most recent April 25, 2016) -
April 19, 2016 |
Practice News
The names of 13 new associate judges, selected in a vote of Cook County Circuit Court judges, were announced Tuesday by Michael J. Tardy, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.
Ballots listing the names of 26 finalists, chosen from 283 candidates, were distributed to 249 circuit judges. Ballots were due April 15, 2016.
The Alliance of Bar Associations and the Chicago Bar Association evaluated the candidates. Each candidate was interviewed by a nine member nominating committee, comprised of Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans of the Cook County Circuit Court and eight presiding judges.
2 comments (Most recent April 25, 2016) -
April 18, 2016 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Jacob H. Jost as the new Reporter of Decisions, a position that ensures opinions issued by the Supreme and Appellate courts are published with accurate case citations and proper style.
Mr. Jost's appointment took effect April 1, 2016. He replaces Urbana resident Amy L. Tomaszewski, who served in the role for two years. Mr. Jost joins the Court's staff from Chief Justice Rita B. Garman's office, where he had worked as a judicial law clerk since 2013.
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April 14, 2016 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Judicial Retention (House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 20), Illinois Administrative Procedure Act (House Bill 4372), The Parentage Act of 2015 (House Bill 4447), Income shares and child support (House Bill 3982), New filing fee (Senate Bill 3162) and IMDMA cleanup (House Bill 1190). More information on each bill is available below the video.
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April 14, 2016 |
Practice News
For the first time, the Circuit Court of Cook County will create a Restorative Justice Community Court that empowers victims and residents to play an active role in the rehabilitation of adult offenders who commit certain nonviolent crimes, under a pilot program Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today.
The “restorative justice” concept emphasizes the ways that crime harms relationships in the community and brings together the people most impacted by the crime to resolve it. Under the model, defendants take accountability for their actions and then work to repair the harm – for example, through restitution, community service, letters of apology, and peace circles.
1 comment (Most recent April 15, 2016)