Practice News

ISBA President Paula H. Holderman interviews Judge Diane Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit about issues facing the court. Judge Wood will become the first woman to serve as Chief Judge of the 7th Circuit when she assumes the post on Oct. 1. Watch the video below to hear what Judge Wood had to say.

Asked and Answered

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I am the managing partner in an eight attorney firm in Chicago. We are having problems with office staff members getting along. Office conflict is rampant. Any suggestions?

A. You should begin by identifying some of the causes. Poor communications often can be the root cause of such problems. Interview each of your staff members individually and probe. What do they think? Is communications a problem? Are roles, duties, and responsibilities clarified? Lack of clarity can in these areas can lead to turf wars. You may want to design job descriptions for each employee and clarify roles, duties, and responsibilities for each employee. Conduct short weekly staff meetings to enhance communications. Use agendas. Take and publish notes of the meetings. Advise every one of your expectations including all members working together as team members. Let them know that working together as a team is a performance factor that will be considered in performance evaluations and reviews. Conduct periodic performance reviews. Counsel and take action against problem employees.

Maybe it is time to hire a firm administrator or business manager and let them deal with it.

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Other initiatives for non-English speaking persons include website now available in 71 foreign languages; bi-lingual signage

In an effort to bridge the gap between language barriers, the Circuit Court of Cook County is installing an over-the-phone interpretation service for persons who speak little or no English as part of its new Court Access Initiative (CAI). The service will help people navigate through the Circuit Court in a variety of ways: helping people without lawyers find courtrooms or linking them with a court-based legal self-help desk are just two examples. In conjunction with the Access to Justice Commission of the Illinois Supreme Court, the Circuit Court’s goal of the CAI is to improve the overall experience for non-English speaking people attending court.

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced starting today, the CAI will begin at the Richard J. Daley Center information desks and then will ultimately be installed in all courthouses in the coming months. Illinois JusticeCorps volunteers already are stationed at the Daely Center information desks and over-the-phone interpretation services will be provided by LanguageLine Solutions which was selected through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process.

The Judicial Conference of the United States has authorized the appointment of a full-time United States magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. The official location for the position will be Springfield, Illinois. Full-time magistrate judges are appointed to eight-year terms of office by the judges of each respective United States district court.

The duties of the position are demanding and wide-ranging, such as: 1) conducting most preliminary proceedings in criminal cases; 2) trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases; 3) conducting various pretrial matters and evidentiary proceedings on delegation from a district judge; and 4) trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants. The basic authority of the United States magistrate judge is specified in 28 U.S.C. § 636.

To be qualified for appointment as a U.S. magistrate judge, an applicant must: