Workers' comp reform legislation didn't emerge from the fall veto session. But expect reform to be front and center in the spring, Rich Hannigan reports in the latest issue of the ISBA's Workers' Compensation Law newsletter.
"I was present during the election conducted in the Senate and the acceptance speech by President John J. Cullerton and minority leader Christine Radogno," Hannigan wrote. "President Cullerton...spoke of the tax increase and the accomplishments of the veto session and added, '[w]orkers' compensation reform still remains a top priority.' In her acceptance speech minority leader Radogno [said], 'I look forward to working with President Cullerton on workers' compensation reform.' I have been advised that House Speaker Michael Madigan and Representative Cross expressed the same sentiments," he wrote.
Hannigan, who has been following the issue closely, share's his insider's perspective on what did and didn't happen in the veto session and what may be coming in the months ahead.
Practice News
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January 26, 2011 |
Practice News
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January 26, 2011 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am a legal administrator in a 20 attorney firm in southwest Texas. My partners have been expressing concern about loss of several key clients and wants to know what we can do determine why this happened and what we can do to improve client service? I have been thinking about doing a client survey? What are your thoughts? A. Much can be learned by talking to your clients. Structured telephone interviews and other forms of surveys conducted by a neutral third party can provide many surprises as well as answers. Client satisfaction surveys can be the best marketing investment that you can make. Our law firm clients have found their clients to be impressed that the firm cares about their opinions. It is good business to listen to your clients. Understanding what bugs people about your services and those of your competition can be the most valuable input to strategy development you can get your hands on. Find out what bugs your clients and you will learn to out-think and out-service your competitors. Before you invest any time, money, or effort in developing an overall strategy for service improvement, you must survey your clients to understand what your clients want and expect from your firm. An initial survey helps you identify the starting point for your service improvement journey. Planning The Survey The type of survey that your firm chooses depends on your purpose for doing the survey. Are you looking for some insight into why you’ve lost clients? Are you interested in getting a general idea of how your clients feel about your firm?
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January 25, 2011 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court has issued an emergency motion that orders Rahm Emanuel's name back on the ballot for Chicago mayor while it considers his appeal. Click here to read the order. Lawyers for Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emauel filed a PLA today with the Illinois Supreme Court. Click here to read the PLA. The Illinois Supreme Court website has a page with all the relevant documents to the Emanuel residency case.
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January 21, 2011 |
Practice News
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Friday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in in civil cases Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services v. Wiszowaty, First American Bank v. Henry, Thompson v. Gordon, Uldrych v. VHS of Illinois, and criminal cases People v. Alsup, People v. Kitch, People v. Gonzalez, People v. Williams, People v. King, People v. Garcia and People v. Lindsay.
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January 20, 2011 |
Practice News
By Julie K. Katz
Have you ever thought about how many legal issues arise when there is a natural disaster? No one ever thinks that a catastrophe will occur to him or to loved ones but, unfortunately, disasters strike without warning and no one is immune. For that reason, the ISBA’s Standing Committee on Delivery of Legal Services is preparing a disaster assistance handbook that will help victims of catastrophic occurrences with the legal problems that inevitably result from them.
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January 20, 2011 |
Practice News
A legal-writing blog that I follow recommended Matthew Butterick's Typography for Lawyers. (Ray Ward's blog is called the (new) legal writer.) One of the publishing conventions that lawyers don't follow is to put one space between sentences. Every magazine that you read and all the authorities recommend using only one space instead of two. Our habit of putting two spaces after a sentence is a dated typewriter practice that creates rivers of of white space when using a computer. Compare some of your work with one space and see if you can tell the difference.
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January 20, 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
- Dave Ellis Compton, Chicago
- Forrest David Laidley, Libertyville
- Eric Tyrone Tolen, St. Louis, Mo.
- Bradford Francis Wisniewski, Chicago
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January 20, 2011 |
Practice News
After a 2009 4th District appellate court case, it looked like employers no longer had to prove they were protecting a "legitimate business interest" to make an employee non-complete provision stick. As long as they could show that the length and geographic scope of the provision were reasonable -- that they weren't stopping ex-employees from competing for too long or from too far away -- that was enough. Then the 2nd District decided the Reliable Fire case last month. And there the court wasn't quite ready to cast the legitimate-business-interest test aside. So what did they decide? Well, that's where things get complicated. Bottom line, though as Michael P. Tomlinson observes in the latest issue of The Corporate Lawyer (newsletter of the ISBA's Section on Corporate Law), "the appellate court is now fractured severely regarding how to analyze whether a restrictive covenant is reasonable in scope." He explains the details.
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January 19, 2011 |
Practice News
[caption id="attachment_17174" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Jerold Solovy"][/caption] Former Jenner & Block chairman Jerold Solovy passed away Wednesday at the age of 80. Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride issued this statement on Solovy's passing: “We’ve lost one of the finest lawyers in the history of Illinois. If you say that, where do you stop the accolades.” Solovy began his career at Jenner in 1955 after graduating from Harvard Law. He became chairman in 1990 and was known for championing pro bono cases. Solovy also chaired the "Solovy Commission," which cleaned up the Cook County justice system after Operation Greylord. Read more about it in the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune and Crain's Chicago Business. The Tribune also published an article on Solovy's legacy in 2007.
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January 19, 2011 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. Our firm is in its second generation. While we are proud that we have been in business for over 60 years we also believe we need to re-examine our practice and embrace changes that may be needed for the firm to move forward and remain competitive. We are a 16 attorney firm located in Wisconsin. We have 12 partners and four associates. A. More and more law firms are re-examining their business models and approaches and running the practice as a business.