ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Small Estate Affidavit (Senate Bill 2985), Service of process (Senate Bill 3286), Guardianship (Senate Bill 1046), Health Care Power of Attorney (Senate Bill 3228) and Presumptively void transfers (Senate Bill 1048). More information on each bill is available below.
Practice News
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May 1, 2014 |
Practice News
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May 1, 2014 |
Practice News
The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), the administrative agency that regulates licensed Illinois lawyers, has filed its year 2013 Annual Report with the Supreme Court of Illinois. The report was released to the public this morning when a copy was posted on the ARDC website: www.iardc.org.
A summary of the annual report entitled Highlights from the 2013 Annual Report is available below.LAWYER POPULATION
The names of 91,083 Illinois lawyers appeared on the Master Roll of Attorneys as of October 31, 2013. That number does not include 2,164 attorneys who took their oath of office in late 2013. The overall lawyer population in Illinois saw an increase of 2% from 2012. The percentage of attorneys reporting a principal business address in Illinois, however, decreased last year and the number of practitioners reporting an address outside Illinois increased by 9.5% over 2012.
GRIEVANCES AND FORMAL DISCIPLINARY CHARGES
During 2013 the ARDC docketed 6,073 investigations, a 5% decrease from the prior year. More than half of grievances lodged against lawyers involved issues of poor attorney-client relations, typically neglect of a client matter (40% of all grievances) or failure to communicate with a client (18% of all grievances). Consistent with prior years, the top practice areas likely to attract a grievance include criminal law, domestic relations, real estate, and tort.
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May 1, 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 Eighth Judicial Circuit.
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May 1, 2014 |
Practice News
This two-day program in Carbondale on May 22-23 is designed to help those attorneys who represent children. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 906(c)**, attorneys should receive 10 hours of education every two years in child development; roles of guardians ad litem and child representatives; ethics in child custody cases; relevant substantive state, federal, and case law in custody and visitation matters; and family dynamics, including substance abuse, domestic abuse, and mental health issues.
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April 30, 2014 |
Practice News
Q. Can I take a security interest in property my client owns (but not involved in the representation) to guarantee my fee?
A. IRPC 1.8(i) provides that a lawyer shall not acquire a proprietary interest in the cause of action or subject matter of litigation a lawyer is conducting for his client. See Supreme Court Rule 1.8. Comment [16] to that Rule provides additional guidance on acquiring security interests from clients. That Comment says: “When a lawyer acquires by contract a security interest in property other than that recovered through the lawyer’s efforts in the litigation, such acquisition is a business or financial transaction with a client and is governed by the requirements of paragraph (a)” of RPC 1.8 (which requires: objectively fair and reasonable terms; written disclosure of the terms; written notice that the client should seek review by another lawyer; and informed client consent in writing).
ISBA members can browse past ISBA Ethics Opinions, access our Ethics Hotline, and other resources on the ISBA Ethics Page.
2 comments (Most recent May 1, 2014) -
April 30, 2014 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. We are a three attorney personal injury plaintiff firm in Moline, Illinois. There are two partners and one associate in the firm. We handle a large volume of small PI files - currently we have 700+ open files handled by three attorneys and 5 assistants. We recently hired our fourth attorney - second associate - that came to us with 20 year's experience as an associate in several large firms (100 plus attorney firms). The attorney, who has been with us for about 8 weeks, has never handled personal injury cases and is having some problems getting organized. Do you have any suggestions?
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April 29, 2014 |
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 277 candidates, were distributed to 257 circuit judges. Ballots were due April 25, 2014.
The Alliance of Bar Associations and the Chicago Bar Association evaluated the candidates. Each candidate was interviewed by an 11-member nominating committee, comprised of Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans of the Cook County Circuit Court and 10 presiding judges.
Judge Evans certified the 26 finalists to the Administrative Director on March 28, 2014.
In accordance with the 1970 Illinois Constitution, the Administrative Office conducted the election pursuant to the provisions of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 39 which directs that twice as many candidates as vacancies be nominated. Supreme Court Rule 39 provides that the term for all associate judges expires on June 30, 2015. The 13 judges appointed today, as well as those associate judges currently serving, must be reappointed July 1, 2015. Cook County seats 146 associate judges.
The following is a list of the newly selected Cook County associate judges. A brief biography of the thirteen associate judges named today is attached.
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April 29, 2014 |
Practice News
Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Appellate Court administered the attorney’s oath to 691 new attorneys at five separate locations on Thursday, May 1.
All of the candidates have passed the Illinois state bar examination, an ethics examination, and have been certified by the Committee on Character and Fitness.
The largest group, 474, were admitted in the First Judicial District during ceremonies in the James R. Thompson Center Assembly Hall in Chicago.
ISBA President Paula H. Holderman addressed the new admittees at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony with Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman and Appellate Justice Joy V. Cunningham presiding.
Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke presided over the 9 a.m. ceremony and Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis presided over the 2:30 p.m. ceremony.
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April 24, 2014 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers The Residential Real Property Disclosure Act (Senate Bill 2597), Common Interest Community Association Act (Senate Bill 3057), Condominium Property Act (Senate Bill 2892), Driving on suspended license (Senate Bill 3547) and Transfer on Death Instrument (TODI) Cleanup (Senate Bill 2656). More information on each bill is available below.
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April 23, 2014 |
Practice News
Q. Can I participate in a one day non-profit organization sponsored “ask a lawyer” type event?
A. Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 6.5 allows lawyers to for participate in certain programs under the auspices of a nonprofit organization or court. Comment [1] to that rule elaborates further by stating that when participating in a program such as a “legal advice hotline” or “pro se counseling program,” “a client-lawyer relationship is established, but there is no expectation that the lawyer’s representation of the client will continue beyond the limited consultation.” For more information about these events, consult Rule 6.5.
ISBA members can browse past ISBA Ethics Opinions, access our Ethics Hotline, and other resources on the ISBA Ethics Page.