ISBA President John E. Thies and Attorney General Lisa Madigan discuss the mortgage foreclosure crisis and what homeowners who are facing foreclosure should do.
Practice News
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May 16, 2013 |
Practice News
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May 15, 2013 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. Our firm is a 12 attorney firm located in downtown Chicago. We have 8 partners and 4 associates. We are considering making a change to our associate compensation system. Currently associates are paid a salary plus a discretionary bonus at the end of the year. We are considering continuing to pay them a salary plus 60% of any business they bring in (origination). Does this plan make sense?
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May 14, 2013 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Body attachments and child support (House Bill 2473), Juvenile Court Act (House Bill 3172), Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act (Senate Bill 2306), Medical cannabis (House Bill 1), Juvenile court jurisdiction (House Bill 2404) and Real estate documents and thumbprints (House Bill 2269). More information on each bill is available below the video.
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May 10, 2013 |
Practice News
Clerk of the Circuit Court Keith S. Brin is proud to announce the Public Access System developed by his office has gone live today. They Public Access System can be accessed through the Clerk of the Circuit Court's Website www.lakecountyil.gov/CircuitClerk/Pages/default.aspx or directly at circuitclerk.lakecountyil.gov/publicAccess/jsp/common/index.jsf
Part-one of a two-part initiative developed by Brin who just marked his first hundred days in office, the Public Access System provides a secure way for individuals to obtain basic information on any court case in Lake County -- from checking on a future court date and amounts due, to parties involved in a case. The second of Brin's two-pronged initiative, Electronic Filing, will be launched for public use this fall.
"It's not an 8:30 to 5:00 world anymore, we live in an age of technology and information." said Brin. "In the private sector companies implement technology to remove barriers and make doing business easier, less expensive and more efficient for the customer -- this is exactly what my office has done with the implementation of the Public Access System," the Circuit Clerk explained.
2 comments (Most recent May 13, 2013) -
May 9, 2013 |
Events | Practice News
More than 600 new attorneys were admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday with Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court presiding and administering the attorney’s oath at five separate locations.
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 (467) was admitted in the First Judicial District at the Arie Crown Theatre. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman presided, with Justices Anne M. Burke and Mary Jane Theis participating.
Appellate Court Justice Maureen E. Connors from the First Judicial District made the motion to admit the class.
The 668 men and women certified as candidates were sworn in as Illinois attorneys at ceremonies in the five Supreme Court judicial districts.
The other ceremonies included:
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May 8, 2013 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. Our firm is a personal injury plaintiff firm in Topeka, KS. Until two years ago we had two attorneys (both partners) and two support staff members. In early 2012 we added an associate attorney, increased our marketing investment, moved our offices and took on additional space, added five additional support staff members, and implemented a case management system. We currently have 500 open cases - up from 200 cases 2+ years ago. Revenues are up - but the two partners are each taking home $40,000 less than they were before the expansion. Our home-grown office manager runs the office. What should we be doing differently?
A. My first thought is that your revenues have not caught up with the overhead and the growth investments that you have made. (You should review your reports and verify this) Personal injury cases have a much longer revenue lag than does work that gets "time-billed" monthly. Some cases may be in progress for two years or so. So be patient, but don't be complacent.
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May 7, 2013 |
Practice News
More than 600 new attorneys will be admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday, May 9 with Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court presiding and administering the attorney’s oath at five separate locations.
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, 467, will be admitted in the First Judicial District during ceremonies starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Arie Crown Theatre. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman will preside, with Justices Anne M. Burke and Mary Jane Theis participating.
Appellate Court Justice Maureen E. Connors from the First Judicial District will make the motion to admit the class.
The 668 men and women were certified as candidates and will be sworn in as Illinois attorneys Thursday at ceremonies in the five Supreme Court judicial districts.
Here are the time and locations of Thursday’s ceremonies:
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May 2, 2013 |
Practice News | ISBA News
ISBA President John E. Thies asks Illinois Bar Foundation President Hon. Debra Walker how IBF is addressing the issue of access to justice in Illinois. They also discuss the IBF Lawyers Care Fund - how lawyers help take care of their own.
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May 2, 2013 |
Practice News | Events
Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown will host an Expungement Summit will be held on Saturday, June 8 at the New Faith Baptist Church International, 25 S. Central, Matteson. This is a full service expungement summit serving both adults and juveniles.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and doors close at 6 p.m. Call (312) 603-5200 for additional information or visit www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org.
Volunteer attorneys will be on site to help with expungement and sealing applications. Attorneys interested in volunteering must attend an MCLE training course on May 15 or May 22 from 3-5:30 p.m. at the County Building, 69 W. Washingon, 17th floor. RSVP for the training to mrnoel@cookcountycourt.com
Volunteer attorneys will receive 2.5 General MCLE credits.
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May 1, 2013 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. Our firm is a relatively new firm. Several of us left a large firm in Dallas and started the firm last year. We have 17 attorneys - 10 of us are partners. When we started the firm we each put in a little cash and obtained a line of credit which we have used extensively and we are at our limit. Is this a good practice? Should the partners contribute more capital? How much? I would appreciate your ideas.