Some weeks back, Illinois Lawyer Now previewed the then-upcoming Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee hearing on a proposal to allow jurors to question witnesses in civil trials (the hearing was held May 20 in Chicago).
In the June Illinois Bar Journal, ISBA members Steve Kaufmann and Michael Murphy of Springfield argue persuasively that letting jurors ask questions under the strict control of the judge, as the feds and several states do, keeps the jury engaged and gives lawyers a chance to refine their cases in response to juror queries.
Practice News
-
June 8, 2011 |
Practice News
-
June 8, 2011 |
Practice News
The Judicial Council of the Seventh Circuit is now seeking applicants for three bankruptcy judge positions for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Subsequent to the notice seeking applicants for the positions currently occupied by retiring Bankruptcy Judge John Squires and Bankruptcy Judge Jack Schmetterer who will continue as a senior judge, Bankruptcy Judge Susan Pierson Sonderby announced her retirement next May. The committee has therefore extended the deadline for applications until July 5, 2011. All applicants will be considered for all three positions. An applicant must also be willing to travel to other courts in the circuit to handle cases as need arises. Interested applicants may obtain an application from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit website at www.ca7.uscourts.gov. Persons interested in applying for these positions should send their applications to:
- Collins T. Fitzpatrick
- Circuit Executive
- Judicial Council of the Seventh Circuit
- 2780 U.S. Courthouse
- 219 South Dearborn Street
- Chicago, Illinois 60604
-
June 8, 2011 |
Practice News
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. Our firm is a 25 attorney business litigation boutique firm in Southern California. I am a partner in the firm and chair of the firm's long range planning committee. Last year we spent a lot of time putting together a strategic plan for the firm. While we have a nice plan including specific action items - we are having problems with implementation. We are stuck and not getting anything done. What are your thoughts? A. This is a common problem. Even in Corporate America the implementation rate is low.
- 90% of corporate strategies fail to achieve their expected results.
- 80% of projects are late or over budget.
-
June 3, 2011 |
Practice News
CIVIL
Italia Foods, Inc. v. Sun Tours, Inc.
By Karen Kies DeGrand, Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC Advertisers beware: Illinois courts need not wait for the green light from the General Assembly to hear claims under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”), 47 U.S.C. § 227 (2000). Italia Foods, the class action plaintiff, alleged that the defendant travel agency sent Italia 28 unsolicited faxes advertising discount travel. Italia joined forces with other unhappy recipients to seek redress under the TCPA, which Congress enacted to address telemarketing abuses through the use of fax machines and other devices. After the trial court denied a motion to dismiss, it certified three questions for interlocutory review, but the supreme court focused primarily on the first question: whether the TCPA requires the state to enact enabling legislation before private TCPA claims can proceed in Illinois state courts. The supreme court found the statutory language, allowing private claims to proceed in state courts “if otherwise permitted by the laws or rules of court of a State,” to be ambiguous. Guided by a 2007 appellate decision and the Supremacy Clause, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that no state legislation was required. See U.S. Const., art. vi, cl. 2; First Capital Mortgage Corp. v. United Federal Bank, 374 Ill. App. 3d 739 (1st Dist. -
June 2, 2011 |
Practice News
Lawyers practicing in the Circuit Court of Cook County will soon be able to file papers in all civil cases except for probate matters and condemnation cases from the comfort of their own computer terminals. Find out more in the June Illinois Bar Journal.
-
June 2, 2011 |
Practice News
By Peter LaSorsa For those of you that utilize a mobile phone with a Microsoft operating system, this new release by Microsoft may be of interest to you. Mango is Microsoft’s latest release supporting Windows Phone 7 and has a number of features not previously available — although Mango won’t come out until later this year. The features include Lync support, email enhancements, and connectivity to Office 365. The email enhancements seem to be a marked improvement and include pinnable folders. Pinnable folders allow the user to take a folder and pin it to the Windows Phone start screen. There will also be conversation views, just like in the desktop version of Outlook. In the mobile version the conversations will have a vertical line showing more than one email in the thread and they will be indented. Finally, there will be a feature called server search that will allow the user to search for archived messages. Lync is a desktop application that allows, presence, instant messaging, desktop sharing and audio and video chat. The mobile version in Mango will only bring the presence and instant messaging features. This doesn’t seem to be too big a deal; I mean if you have a mobile phone you already have “audio” chat don’t you? The final major group of features is Office 365. Basically, you will be able to save documents in Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Notes and share them through the Office 365 online service and Windows Live SkyDrive. I don’t utilize the Microsoft operating platform on my Smartphone but for those of you that do, you may find the new release in Mango helpful. Peter LaSorsa can be reached at lasorsalaw.com.
-
June 1, 2011 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. At a recent managing partner forum several of the attendees at the seminar discussed recent experiences with embezzlement by employees. What can we do to protect our firms? A. During the past 25 years that I have been working with law firms I have been amazed at the number of embezzlements caused by unscrupulous attorneys, bookkeepers, office managers and other staff members. And yes – even partners. One out of five law firms in my client sample has actually lost funds due to some form of embezzlement and caught the offenders. While some of the firms have prosecuted and taken other actions against the offenders the process was very painful, time consuming, and typically the funds are never recovered in entirety. Of course, this is if you catch the offenders. Many small firms’ internal control procedures are so lax that funds could be lost through embezzlement and the firm would not even know it. Only through effective internal accounting and financial controls can law firms protect their offices from theft. The goal is not to catch offenders – but to have a system in place that discourages and prevents the theft from occurring in the first place. The process involves implementing internal accounting and financial controls. In essence – segregation of duties. Here is an overview of such a system: Internal Control is the plan of organization and all of the coordinate methods and measures adopted within a business organization to safeguard its assets, check the accuracy and reliability of its accounting data, promote operational efficiency, and encourage adherence to prescribed managerial policies. The four basic elements considered essential in a satisfactory system of internal control are: 1. A plan of organization that provides appropriate segregation of functional responsibility and duties. 2. A system of authorization and record procedures adequate to provide reasonable accounting control over assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. 3. Sound practices to be followed in performance of duties and functions of each of the organizational areas. 4. A degree of quality of personnel (competency) commensurate with responsibilities. SUGGESTIONS: RECEIPTS 1. Have someone other than the bookkeeper open the mail. (i.e. receptionist) 2. Have the person who opens the mail prepare a list of all checks/cash received in duplicate. 3. Have person responsible for mail route one copy of the check/cash list to the office manager or managing partner and the other copy along with checks/cash to person responsible for making the bank deposit. 4. Assign someone responsibility for preparing the deposit and taking it to the bank. This person should verify the check/cash list against checks and cash, prepare deposit slip and make the bank deposit. 5. Upon return from the bank the deposit clerk should provide the bookkeeper with the deposit slip, receipt from the bank, and the check/cash list. 6. Bookkeeper enters the deposit into the computer system. 7. Office manager runs and mails monthly statements - not invoice fee bills - to clients. DISBURSEMENTS 1. Don't give bookkeeper check signing authority.
-
June 1, 2011 |
ISBA News | Practice News
Pre-Divorce Planning Alternative to Court
-
May 31, 2011 |
Practice News
In another bow to the digital age, those bulky law books containing officially reported Illinois court opinions soon will be going the way of 8-track tapes and boom boxes. The Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday a new way of officially citing its cases and those of the Illinois Appellate Court. This new method will eliminate the need to contractually publish and purchase the official opinions in bound volumes. It will save Illinois taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Illinois will join about a dozen other states who already use the new method of case citation. The Supreme Court promulgated the changes in amendments filed Tuesday to Supreme Court Rule 6 and Rule 23. “The changes are reflective of the way we all live and the way the practice of law is changing,” said Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride. “So much legal research is now done online through references and sources available on the Internet and even on smartphones that it makes the publication and purchase of official printed volumes unnecessary and a waste of money and resources. “The official body of Illinois court opinions will now reside on the website of the Illinois Supreme Court, readily available to lawyers, judges and law clerks for official citation and to any member of the public who wishes to read them.” The changes are part of a movement by the Supreme Court under the tenure of Chief Justice Kilbride and his predecessors to integrate electronic technology with a goal of achieving greater court transparency and efficiency. The Illinois Supreme Court was one of the first to incorporate Twitter in publicizing announcements and was also among the early few to make available video and audio recordings of its oral arguments the same day they occur before the Court. The audio of all Appellate Court arguments is also available on the Court’s website at www.state.il.us/court.
-
May 26, 2011 |
Practice News
By Peter LaSorsa The government comes under fire often for being slow, over bloated and the enemy of small businesses. Well here is good news for small business owners, which would include many solo practitioners and small firms. Now business owners may receive updates, tips and other ideas about starting their company or just improving it thanks to a new smart phone app. The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) along with Palo Alto Software created this special free app called SBA mobile and it is available at: www.sba.gov/content/sba-mobile-app The app provides owners with business news, and features tailored for small businesses and are designed to help increase business. App users will also have access to SBA video content, social media alerts and live updates from Twitter and YouTube. The app has a built-in startup cost calculator—custom designed to help estimate the expenses needed to start a business (useful for yourself and clients who may hire you as part of their desire to start a business). The app also has a feature that allows you to find any SBA office nationwide and allows direct access to SBA district office staff for easier assistance. The final feature of the app is access to the Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers and SCORE. The SCORE Association “Counselors to America’s Small Business” is a nonprofit association comprised of 11,500 volunteer business counselors throughout the U.S.