Practice News

Limited scope representation, a legal arrangement blessed by the Illinois Supreme Court for transactional work in 2010 and for litigation in 2013, provides attorneys the ability to represent clients for only part of a matter. Limited scope gives clients help with just what they need, at a more affordable price, and potentially brings pieces of business to attorneys that would not otherwise have arrived at their doorstep.

So how have attorneys in Illinois put limited scope to work, and what are the potential advantages and drawbacks? Michael Brennan, a Grayslake-based sole practitioner who bills himself as The Virtual Attorney (see the October IBJ for more), sees an opportunity for lawyers to develop a completely different type of product.

"It offers new ways to do things and new ways to structure a practice," he says. Partly due to services like LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer, "The consumer base is becoming knowledgeable before they even approach an attorney," he adds. "They're coming in with a rough draft [of a document].

"Embracing that new reality is key for attorneys in 2015. Realizing it's there is the first step to realizing that the way to stay ahead in the marketplace is to embrace what these folks are doing, saying, 'Great, I'm happy you're coming in with your contract. Let me figure out the pros and cons [of the client's own work to date].'" Find out more in the December Illinois Bar Journal.

The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Frederick H. Bates as a Circuit Judge of Cook County, At Large. This vacancy was created by the retirement of the Hon. Marilyn F. Johnson. It is effective Dec. 14, 2015 and terminates on Dec. 5, 2016.

Michael J. Tardy, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced today that the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Donna R. Honzel as an associate judge of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit.

Ms. Honzel received her undergraduate degree in 1988 from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg and her Juris Doctor in 1991 from the University of Illinois. Ms. Honzel is currently affiliated with Mateer Goff & Honzel LLP in Rockford.

Justice Thomas L. Kilbride and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Galesburg attorney Anthony W. Vaupel as a Circuit Judge in the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Mr. Vaupel was appointed by the Court to fill the vacancy created by Chief Judge James B. Stewart, who retired on October 1, 2015. His appointment takes effect December 7, 2015, and will terminate on Dec. 5, 2016, when the position is filled by the 2016 General Election.