ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Lifetime driver’s license revocation (Public Act 99-290), Health Care Power of Attorney (Public Act 99-328), Disabled adults (Public Act 99-302), Trusts and Trustees Act (Public Act 99-337), Elder abuse (PA 99-272), Boundary-line agreements (Public Act 99-292), Municipal Code violations (Public Act 99-293). More information on each bill is available below the video.
Practice News
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August 12, 2015 |
Practice News
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August 12, 2015 |
Practice News
In a case that has drawn national attention, the Illinois Supreme Court recently ruled that Comcast must release to the plaintiff identifying information about the till-then anonymous online defendant in a defamation lawsuit.
In Hadley v. Subscriber Doe, the court considered what a plaintiff must show to compel the release of an Internet subscriber's identifying information. The court's ruling focuses on the tension between the right of an individual to speak anonymously and the "necessity" component of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 224, which allows a plaintiff to conduct discovery to identify a responsible party. It ultimately held that if a defamation claim can survive a section 2-615 motion to dismiss, then a plaintiff has demonstrated necessity sufficient to trigger Rule 224. See the August Illinois Bar Journal for more on the ruling.
On August 3, On Monday, the attorney for the defendant filed a motion to stay with the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve his client's anonymity.
1 comment (Most recent August 13, 2015) -
August 12, 2015 |
Practice News
The Legislative Audit Commission will accept applications through August 19, 2015 for appointment as the Auditor General of the State of Illinois. The Auditor General is a constitutional officer charged with the audit of public funds of the State.
Applicants must be experienced and competent in governmental auditing, financial management, or government operation and knowledgeable of state government. The current salary is $154,127. The present Auditor General will retire on December 31, 2015.
Complete the Application for Auditor General (found at http://ilga.gov/commission/lac/lac_home.html and together with a cover letter and resume submit all materials to arrive no later than August 19, 2015 to:
AuditCommission@ilga.gov
or
Legislative Audit Commission
622 Stratton Building
Springfield, Illinois 62706 -
August 12, 2015 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner in an eight attorney general practice firm in Tulsa, Okla. A year and a half ago we hired our first legal administrator to run all business aspects of our practice. We decided that we wanted more than an office manager - we wanted an administrator to serve in the capacity of a COO. We hired an experienced administrator at a good salary, developed a well-conceived job description, and the work began. My partners and I are frustrated. We have to follow-up on projects and task assignments, do not see the leadership that we had hoped for, and have concerns that our administrator may not be up to the tasks. We just realized we have not had a performance review since he started. I would appreciate your suggestions.
A. Sounds like you did a good job clarifying the role and initially laying out your expectations. However, you cannot stop there. You have not conducted a performance review and I suspect that he has received little feedback regarding his performance. During the first year feedback needs to be ongoing with a mini review every 90 days and ongoing coaching and follow-up. You need to conduct a review with him ASAP, layout expectations and compare to actual performance, discuss gaps, and reach an agreement as to a plan with milestones and dates to resolve performance gaps. Then you will have a better picture as to whether your administrator was the right hire or not.
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August 10, 2015 |
Practice News
Amendment to Supreme Court Rule 39 takes effect Sept. 1, 2015
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced a rule change that will allow associate judge applicants to submit their documents electronically.
The change does not require applicants to electronically submit their applications and supporting documents. The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) will continue to accept paper copies of applications.
“Allowing electronic applications for those seeking associate judgeships is the latest step in the Court’s continuing effort to utilize technology to make the entire judicial process more efficient and accessible," Chief Justice Rita B. Garman said.
"Recent applicants for vacant judgeships have told us that the current paper-based application system is cumbersome and costly, and this amendment to Rule 39 is responsive to their input. In addition, the electronic application process will benefit not only those individuals who apply for associate judgeships, but also the judges who review the applications.”
Prior to the amendment, those seeking to apply for appointment to an associate judge vacancy in Illinois had to go the Supreme Court's website, download a 16-page PDF application, fill in the blanks, sign it, print it and then mail or hand-deliver two signed, original applications to the AOIC.
Starting on Sept. 1, applicants will be able to electronically sign their applications and securely email them to the AOIC.
"By allowing an application to be electronically completed and emailed to the Administrative Office, it will streamline and improve the process for applicants; and in turn will greatly reduce the amount of paper used," AOIC Director Michael J. Tardy said.
1 comment (Most recent August 13, 2015) -
August 10, 2015 |
Practice News
A U.S. federal judge has dismissed a closely-watched lawsuit that challenged New York rules that ban non-attorneys from investing in law firms. The decision supports the established ISBA position and rejects the challenge to Rule 5.4, which prohibits non-lawyer ownership of law firms.
Read the full decision Jacoby & Meyers
Read the BNA article here
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August 6, 2015 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Court security fee (Public Act 99-265), Consular notification of foreign nationals (Public Act 99-190), Speeding and supervision (Public Act 99-212), Juvenile sentencing (Public Act 99-69), Juvenile justice transfer (Public Act 99-258), Juvenile justice detention (Public Act 99-254) and Juvenile justice incarceration (Public Act 99-268). More information on each bill is available below the video.
Court security fee. Public Act 99-265 (Haine, D-Alton; Moffitt, R-Galesburg) allows a court security fee to exceed $25 to be imposed on civil litigants and convicted defendants if it is set according to an acceptable cost study under the Counties Code. Effective January 1, 2016.
Consular notification of foreign nationals. Public Act 99-190 (Drury, D-Highwood; Raoul, D-Chicago) requires that a law enforcement officer in charge of custodial facilities must ensure that a foreign national is advised within 48 hours of booking or detention that he or she has the right to communicate with the appropriate consulate as required by the Vienna Convention. Effective January 1, 2016.
Speeding and supervision. Public Act 99-212 (Walsh, D-Joliet; Mulroe, D-Chicago) does the following:
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August 5, 2015 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner of an eight attorney general practice firm in Chicago's western suburbs. We have five partners and three associates. For years, it was just the five partners who started the firm together. In the last three years we added our associates. We are not making money from our associates and wondering what we need to be doing differently. One associate is logging 925 billable hours, one is logging 1,200 billable hours, and the other 1,400 billable hours. You thoughts are welcomed.
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July 30, 2015 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Mechanics Lien Act (Public Act 99-178), Child-support fines (Public Act 99-157), Collection of fines and penalties (Public Act 99-18), Civil discovery (Public Act 99-110), Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (Public Act 99-119) and Adoption Act (Public Act 99-49). More information on each bill is available below the video.
Mechanics Lien Act. Public Act 99-178 (Sandack, R-Downers Grove; Harmon, D-Oak Park) allows a lien claimant to proceed directly against a bond substituted for the lien on the owner’s real estate or funds. The court may dismiss all parties except the principal, surety of the bond, and the lien claimant. Defenses against the lien claimant are limited to those that could be asserted by the principal or contracting owner.
The “prevailing party” in an action brought under this new subsection shall be awarded its attorney fees. The “prevailing party” is defined as a lien claimant that recovers at least 75% of the amount of its lien claim, or the principal of the bond if the lien claimant recovers less than 25% of the amount of its lien claim. The attorney’s fees for a prevailing lien claimant is limited to the amount remaining on the bond after the payment of the claim and interest, and the attorney’s fees awarded to a bond principal shall be limited to 50% of the amount of the lien claim.
Effective January 1, 2016.
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July 28, 2015 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner of a 25 attorney firm in Charleston, South Carolina. Our practice is limited to insurance defense. We have eight equity partners, four income partners, and five associates. Our firm is in second generation and virtually all of our clients were originated by first generation partners that are no longer here - they have since retired. Our compensation system focuses totally on working attorney dollars. I believe that we must begin to stress the importance of origination of new clients and factor that into the equation. I would appreciate your thoughts.