Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday’s Supreme Court opinions from Civil cases Williams v. The Board of Review, Goodman v. Ward, Barber v. American Airlines, Inc., Wendling v. Southern Illinois Hospital Services, Vincent v. Alden-Park Strathmoor, and Criminal cases People v. Bartlet, People v. Alcozer, People v. Phillips, People v. Almore, People v. Madrigal and Hill v. Walker.
Practice News
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March 24, 2011 |
Practice News
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March 24, 2011 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court today released revised Minimum Courtroom Standards for the state's courthouses. The standards were originally adopted in 1993. They concern all details of how a courtroom should be set up, including the height of the judge's bench: The Judge's bench shall be designed such that the judge's eye level, when seated, is higher than any standing participant with the front of the bench 52 inches to 56 inches high and the back riser height 21 inches to 22 inches in height. Click here to read the revised standards.
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March 24, 2011 |
Practice News
...find out how much of your fee you'll have to share with the lawyer who preceded you, Ronald Kalish warns in the latest Tort Trends, newsletter of the ISBA Tort Law Section. "It may be more than you think," he writes. "Depending on how much time and effort the original attorney has put into the case, you may not receive a sufficient percentage to justify the time and risk of working on the case." Read his helpful analysis of the case law and the supreme court's fee-splitting rule.
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March 23, 2011 |
Practice News
Illinois' eavesdropping laws are interesting to say the least. With the proliferation of cell phones and other portable electronics, every stop by a police officer now has the potential to make a citizen subject to a Class 1 felony. House Bill 2018, which died in committee, tried to make an exception for motorists who are stopped by law enforcement as part of their official duties. But that isn't the only eavesdropping trap for the unwary citizen. A downstate auto mechanic with no prior criminal record is awaiting a May trial in Robinson, Illinois, on four Class 1 felony counts. The mechanic allegedly violated Judge Kimbara Harrell's right to privacy as she conducted a public proceeding (ordinance violation) against the mechanic in open court that the mechanic allegedly recorded. (Court rules also prohibit recording; no idea why the mechanic was not cited for contempt of court. Read more about it here.) Nor is there any right for a middle-school or high school student to record any proceeding while visiting the General Assembly without violating the eavesdropping law. The General Assembly exempted itself from the Open Meetings Act in this regard. Interesting legislative determination of who is at risk under these laws and whose alleged right and expectation of privacy is to be protected.
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March 23, 2011 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am a solo practitioner in Southern Missouri. I have been in practice for 20 years. I have a very successful practice with an excellent client base. I have three paralegals that I am able to keep busy. I have recently been thinking about whether I should consider joining another law firm. What should I be thinking about and what should I be looking for? A. I believe that the key question is - can a law firm offer its lawyers a measure of value independent of the skills, talents, and contributions of its partners? The answer can only be answered by recalling the advantages that the best law firms have over sole practitioners or groups of lawyers who share overhead and nothing more.
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March 21, 2011 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the filing of disciplinary orders involving a number of licensed lawyers. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law. More information on each case is available at the ARDC website.
DISBARRED
- Harry E. Defrouneau, Markham
SUSPENDED
- Maurice Joseph Barry, Jr., Normal
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March 16, 2011 |
Practice News
In the latest ISBA Family Law newsletter, Roza Gossage reminds her fellow family law section members that "income" is more than just a child support obligor's regular paycheck, at least for purposes of determining how much the obligor owes. It can include gifts, investments, royalties, and just about anything else the obligor gets by way of payment, not just what he or she earns. "The Illinois statute relating to income is one of inclusion and not a differentiation or exclusion of the types of income," Gossage writes. "This is consistent with Illinois public policy of maximizing child support awards." She backs up her argument with a review of the cases.
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March 16, 2011 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. We are a 21 attorney firm in San Francisco. Recently we have been considering overhauling our partner compensation in order to foster leadership and more of a team environment. Currently many of our partners are operating and functioning as if they are in separate law firms rather than part of a firm. What are your thoughts? A. With thinner profit margins, firms can no longer carry unproductive partners. Law firms are demanding more from their partners and asking everyone to think outside the box to help the firm innovate for the future and obtain/retain a competitive advantage. This has renewed discussion and debate on the topic of partner compensation and in particular whether compensation can make a difference in motivation, actual performance, and contribution. We are receiving many more inquiries from firms looking to overhaul and redesign their partner compensation systems. Based upon these inquiries we believe that many firms are expecting miracles from their compensation systems and are asking and expecting more than they will ever be able to accomplish. They are not just seeking to align pay with performance – but have far higher expectations.
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March 15, 2011 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it has recalled retired Appellate Court Justice Robert W. Cook and assigned him to the Fourth Judicial District Appellate Court to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of the Hon. Sue E. Myerscough upon her appointment as a federal district judge for the Central District of Illinois. His assignment will be effective April 1, 2011 and will terminate on December 3, 2012. Appellate Justice Cook graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.A. degree in History. He received his juris doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1967. After graduation, he entered the United States Marine Corps as a captain, serving with the Judge Advocate General from 1967 to 1970, and in Vietnam from 1969 to1970. Before his initial appointment to the bench, Appellate Justice Cook worked as an attorney with the law firm of Schmiedeskamp, Robertson, Neu & Mitchell in Quincy from 1970-1981. From 1983 to 1991, Appellate Justice Cook served as a Circuit Court Judge in Adams County. He was appointed to the Fourth Judicial District Appellate Court in 1991. He was subsequently elected in 1994 and was retained in 2004. The Fourth Judicial District is comprised of 30 counties across central Illinois. Those counties are: Adams, Pike, Calhoun, Schuyler, Brown, Scott, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Morgan, Cass, Mason, Menard, Sangamon, Logan, DeWitt, Macon, Piatt, Moultrie, McLean, Woodford, Livingston, Ford, Champaign, Douglas, Coles, Cumberland, Clark, Edgar and Vermilion.
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March 10, 2011 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. We have 14 attorneys in our firm and we are located in Indianapolis. A couple of weeks ago in a partner meeting we discussed hiring an additional associate attorney or two. A couple of our partners are concerned whether we have ample work on day one to keep an associate busy. Is there an optimal time to hire additional lawyers? A. I believe that it is important for firms to remember that they are competing in two markets - a market for clients and a market for talent. Firms must be competitive in both areas and sometimes there is not direct alignment. In other words - you may identify an excellent attorney or staff candidate sooner than you may have wanted to hire someone. What then? Will it pay for itself? Many years ago when I worked in a law firm the managing partner came to me and said - "are you free for lunch today - I want us to interview a lawyer that is interested in a position with our firm." I responded - "I didn't know we were looking to hire anyone." The managing partner responded "I am always looking for good talent and am willing to made an investment when I see quality talent - my motto is hire and retain quality talent - and market harder if we must to generate the revenue to pay the overhead - the money will come." Obviously cash flow and financial concerns must be taken into considerations. However, many law firms are sometimes too cautious and timid when it comes to make investments - and investment in top notch talent is one of the best investments that law firms can make. Successful firms maintain surplus talent.