The Illinois Supreme Court recently adopted Illinois Rule of Evidence 502 and issued its Center Partners decision. Together, they set important new limits on the doctrine of subject matter waiver of attorney-client privilege, establishing that waiver only happens when there are intentional disclosures designed to give the disclosing party an unfair tactical advantage in litigation. Here's an analysis by Gino DiVito and coauthors from the July IBJ.
Practice News
-
July 11, 2013 |
Practice News
-
July 11, 2013 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Juvenile Court Act (Public Act 98-62), Raising the age of juvenile court (Public Act 98-61), Concealed carry (Public Act 98-63) and Real estate documents and thumbprints (Public Act 98-0029). More information on each bill is available below the video.
Juvenile Court Act. Public Act 98-62 (Tracy, R-Quincy; Clayborne, D- E. St. Louis) amends the “continuance under supervision” section (Section 615) to track the procedure followed in adult criminal court. It does the following: (1) Leaves current law so that a case may be continued under supervision before a finding of delinquency with the approval of the state’s attorney. (2) Amends § 615 to allow the court to continue case under supervision after a finding of delinquency. It adds the same criteria from the supervision statute in the Criminal Code that the judge must consider before ordering supervision. Regardless of when this happens, current law is retained that prohibits a case from being continued under supervision for any forcible felony, a Class X felony, and first-degree murder. Effective January 1, 2014.
-
July 10, 2013 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner for a 16 attorney firm in Miami. I am new in the job and am trying to learn all that I can about law firm financial management. I have recently read several law firm management articles that have referred to "Pipeline Management". What exactly does this mean and what is the implication for law firm management?
A. Pipeline management is a term used in the management consulting profession to refer to the process by which you continually evaluate your active opportunities (prospective clients to booked clients) for their balance of QUALITY and QUANTITY. The goal is to continually stay on top of the overall health which is a full pipeline. Pipeline management allows client relationship managers to more accurately forecast fee revenues, better staff and manage client engagements, and close more client business.
I often also refer to Pipeline management in law firms in the context of using financial dashboards by which the individual charged with financial management responsibilities is continuously aware of significant changes in the firm's Pipeline (from prospects to cash): -
July 3, 2013 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am one of the founding partners in a 27 attorney law firm in San Antonio, Texas. We have four equity partners, six non-equity partners and seventeen associates working in the firm. We focus totally on litigation. Each of us four equity partners have equal ownership percentages and since day one (20 years) have divided firm profits equally along those lines (25%, 25%, 25%, 25%). We each put in the same amount of effort and work - but since I am managing partner - my fee collections are much lower than those of the other three equity partners and I am concerned that they may feel that I am not carrying my weight since my fee collections are lower. How should this be handled in our compensation system?
A. This is a common question that we hear often. It sounds like you are still allocating income in the same manner that you did when the firm first started. Often when a firm grows the partner compensation system needs to be reexamined when and if partner roles or contributions change. As the firm has grown I suspect that your time spent on management activities has grown as well. I, as well as many other legal management consultants, believe that firm management (running the business) is as important as generating client fees and should be so considered in partner compensation systems.
We have numerous law firm clients where at least one or more of the equity partners "run the business" and do not provide billable client services at all. -
July 1, 2013 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court announced Monday that it has amended rules that would expand mediation for child custody cases to include requests by a custodial parent to move a minor child to another state.
Mediation programs for child custody and visitation cases have been a requirement for each judicial circuit in Illinois through Supreme Court Rule 905.
1 comment (Most recent July 2, 2013) -
July 1, 2013 |
Practice News
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 Peoria, Illinois. Full-time magistrate judges are appointed to eight-year terms of office by the judges of each respective United States district court.
-
June 28, 2013 |
Practice News
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 138, amended to protect against identity theft and the disclosure of sensitive information through electronic filing, goes into effect Monday, July 1 with two of its provisions being deferred.
A requirement that birth dates and the names of minor individuals be excluded from documents in civil cases has been deferred until Jan. 1, 2014. The delay will allow attorneys and state agencies that handle high volumes of affected cases additional time to adapt to the new requirements. In the interim, the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committeee will schedule a public hearing on the deferred provisions.
In response to additional inquiries from judges, practitioners, clerks and other court partners, the following clarifications are offered:
-
June 26, 2013 |
Practice News
A reviewing court can be an intimidating place, especially for the occasional appellate practitioner. An Illinois circuit judge and former supreme court clerk offers 10 practical tips to put you at ease and strengthen your case on appeal in the July Illinois Bar Journal.
-
June 26, 2013 |
Practice News
United States Bankruptcy Judge Thomas L. Perkins of the Central District of Illinois has applied to be reappointed by the United States Court of Appeals to a new 14-year term when his current term expires on July 19, 2014. A United States Bankruptcy Judge is a judicial officer of the United States District Court who exercises the authority of the district court with respect to any action, suit, or proceeding under Chapter 6 of Title 28 of the United States Code. 28 U.S.C. § 151.
Comments are invited from the public and the bar as to whether Judge Perkins should be reappointed. Those comments should be in writing and sent by July 30, 2013 to:
Collins T. Fitzpatrick
Circuit Executive
219 S. Dearborn Street
Room 2780
Chicago, IL 60604 -
June 26, 2013 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the sole owner of a 8 attorney practice in Houston. I am 55 years old and am beginning to think about retirement. The other attorneys are associates in the firm. What do I need to be thinking about in order that I can transition out of my practice and have money for retirement. While I have put some money in a 401k, I am not yet financially secure enough to retire.
A. You are not alone. As the baby boom generation ages - more and more attorneys are asking this question. Unless you have an appropriate Exit Planning Strategy and put in place a sound Exit Plan, it is doubtful that you will be able to cash in on the full value of the goodwill that you have created. To exit successfully you need: