The Illinois Supreme Court issued amended Rule 313 on Monday, doubling filing fees in appellate cases. The fee for appellants and petitioners will be $50 and the fee for all other parties will be $30. The rule change takes effect on Jan. 1, 2015. Read the full text at Rule 313.
Practice News
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January 28, 2014 |
Practice News
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January 25, 2014 |
Practice News
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Friday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the civil case Gillespie Community Unit School District No. 7 v. Wight & Co. and the criminal cases People v. Elliott, People v. Hommerson and People v. McChriston.
CIVIL
Gillespie Community Unit School District No. 7 v. Wight & Co.
By Karen Kies DeGrand, Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC
The Illinois Supreme Court applied a five-year statute of limitations to bar a school district’s lawsuit alleging that an architect’s misrepresentations resulted in the district’s decision to build an elementary school that was condemned less than seven years after it was built. A history of coal mining activity in the Benld/Gillespie area of the state prompted the plaintiff, Gillespie Community Unit School District No. 7, to contract with defendant, Wight & Company, to perform, among other architectural services, a “site mine investigation” before determining to go forward with the project. Based on the analysis provided regarding the risk of mine “subsidence,” that is, collapse, the school district went ahead at the site selected. Unfortunately, in March, 2009, a coal mine subsided beneath the new building, which was severely damaged.
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January 24, 2014 |
Practice News
Panel of 16 Lawyers and Former Judges to Recommend Candidates
U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today announced formation of a statewide, non-partisan Judicial Search Committee. The Committee will recommend a nominee for the vacancy in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, which was created when Judge James F. Holderman became a senior judge at the end of last year.
"I am confident that these 16 panelists will conduct a productive, non-partisan and satisfactory review of the applicants as they work to fill the judicial vacancy for the Northern District of Illinois," Senator Kirk said. "With their combined experience and knowledge, I am certain that we will submit the strongest applicant possible for review by the President and the U.S. Senate."
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January 22, 2014 |
Practice News
Time to strike out on your own? Veteran practitioners help you get off to a good start - and avoid common missteps - with tips on marketing, billing, technology, retainers, client management, and more in the February Illinois Bar Journal.
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January 22, 2014 |
Practice News
The Supreme Court of Illinois announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on January 17, 2014, during the January Term of Court (unless noted). Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.
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January 21, 2014 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner for a 18-attorney insurance defense firm in Atlanta. We have 6 partners and 12 associates. Most of our associates have 10 years plus experience. They receive a salary plus discretionary bonus. We are having problems with six of the associates not reaching performance goals. (1,800 minimum billable hours per year.) While we have some attorneys billing 2,400+ hours per year - these six are not - some are billing 1,400 hours. What sort of incentive should we be thinking about to improve their performance?
A. The incentive is to get to continue their employment, maintain a full work schedule, progress to partnership, and to receive future pay raises and bonuses.
I know of some insurance defense firms that pay a billable hour bonus above a certain level. However, this approach often causes other problems such as milking hours in client files and overbilling often resulting in client dissatisfaction and potential loss of key clients. In addition, other factors are also important - quality of work, results obtained, teamwork, client relationships (minding) etc. that are often not considered and left out of the equation.
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January 21, 2014 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court is expected to release opinions in the following six cases on Friday, Jan. 24. Quick Takes on each case will be published in Monday's E-Clips due to ISBA network downtime.
- No. 115308 - People State of Illinois, appellant, v. David K. Elliott, appellee. Appeal, Appellate Court, Fifth District.
- No. 115310 - People State of Illinois, appellee, v. Billy McChriston, appellant. Appeal, Appellate Court, Fourth District.
- No. 115330 - Gillespie Community Unit School District No. 7, etc., appellant, v. Wight & Company, etc., appellee. Appeal, Appellate Court, Fourth District.
- No. 115424 - In re S.L., a Minor (People State of Illinois, appellant, v. Julia F., appellee). Appeal, Appellate Court, Fifth District.
- No. 115459 - People State of Illinois, appellee, v. Christopher B. Bailey, appellant. Appeal, Appellate Court, Second District.
- No. 115638 - People State of Illinois, appellee, v. Peter Hommerson, appellant. Appeal, Appellate Court, Second District.
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January 16, 2014 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Cook County Circuit Judge Laura Liu to the 1st District Appellate vacancy created by the death of Justice Patrick Quinn.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, sitting Appellate Justice Bertina Lampkin will move into Quinn's vacancy and Liu will move into Lampkin's spot.
The appointment is effective Feb. 3.
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January 15, 2014 |
Practice News
Chief Justice Rita B. Garman of the Supreme Court of Illinois has begun an application process for a Circuit Court vacancy in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.
The Woodford County resident circuit vacancy is created by the retirement of Judge John B. Huschen on March 31, 2014. Judge Huschen has been a resident Circuit Judge since 1998.
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January 15, 2014 |
ISBA News | Practice News
The Illinois State Bar Association's Delivery of Legal Services’ Committee has updated its Disaster Legal Services Manual and the newest version is now available at www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/disastermanual