Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
In my March 10 post, I discussed financial implications when law firm owners and partners do not have a working knowledge or a handle on the financial side of their practice and are held “hostage” by their bookkeepers. Here is an e-mail that I received from an attorney in Chicago that offers additional insight on this topic.
“Regarding the heavy-handed bookkeeper, I read your column and it struck a nerve. I agree with your advice on this one but would add one point. If you are not happy with the person handling your firm's finances, make a change. Do it. You will be happier within 45 days and much happier within six months. If the problem is with the accountant taking control over the books and treating them as his or her personal fiefdom, then the members of the firm should sit down and determine whether the problem should be treated as an accounting problem or as an HR problem? From where I am sitting, it appeared to be the latter. If the problem is in fact an HR problem -- and this is especially true with the accounting function of a firm -- a firm should never hesitate to make a change in accountants. Doing so will be the only practical solution to what is a personnel problem, as opposed to an accounting problem.
Practice News
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April 7, 2010 |
Practice News
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April 6, 2010 |
Practice News
The Supreme Court has posted the following opening for the position of Clerk of the Supreme Court of Illinois: The Clerk of the Supreme Court is an officer appointed by the Court (Ill. Const. 1970, Art. VI, § 18 (a)), reports to the Court, and serves at the Court’s pleasure. This senior level position is the Court’s principal case processing and records manager who operates the Clerk’s main office in Springfield and a satellite office in Chicago through a staff of 14 deputies which the Clerk recruits, selects, trains, and supervises, and by planning, developing, and implementing policies and procedures necessary to execute the responsibilities of the office. As case manager, the Clerk oversees and evaluates the functioning of four distinct automated dockets, and all associated processes, to ensure compliance with Supreme Court Rules and effective tracking and scheduling of cases from initiation to issuance of mandates and final orders. Relatedly, the Clerk interprets and applies relevant rules and compiles, analyzes, and reports statistics on the Court’s case load. As records manager, the Clerk is responsible for the Court’s active and closed files and permanent records, dating to 1818. The Clerk maintains the roll of attorneys, which includes the licensing process; registers and renews professional service corporations and associations, and limited liability companies and partnerships engaged in the practice of law; files judicial financial disclosure statements required of state court judges.
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April 6, 2010 |
Practice News
"Adults risk embarrassment if their [seminude, cellphone-delivered] sext message is misdirected," Josh Herman writes in the April Illinois Bar Journal. "But when a teenager (meaning a minor between 13 and 17) creates, sends, or receives a sext message in Illinois, he or she may have committed the criminal offense of child pornography." So a 13-year-old girl who sends a naughty photo of herself to her boyfriend (with predictable passalong results) is a potential child pornographer? Not only are these ridiculously disproportionate consequences unfair to hormone addled teens, they complicate matters for parents, school personnel, and the lawyers who advise them. Josh describes the problem and proposes solutions in his informative, easy-to-read article.
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March 31, 2010 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. Our firm has been discussing the possibility of merging with another law firm of similar size. We are a 25 attorney firm. We have heard horror stories of firms that have merged and been unhappy with the experience. Why do mergers fail and what should we look out for? A. There can be a whole list of reasons for failure including poor financial performance, attorney defections, loss of key clients, and leadership and management issues. However, it has been our experience that most failures have been the result of poor cultural fit. The merging firms - after they have moved past conflict checks and excitement about new client potential - jump immediately to an examination of practice economics and the financials. They fail to perform proper due diligence on the people. It is critical that firms insure that cultural due diligence is a key component of the merger assessment process. Philosophies, personalities, and life styles should be generally compatible. The partners should like each other and the deal should make sense. Do all the due diligence that you can - start with the people - then move through the rest of the process. John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC, is a past chair and member of the ISBA Standing Committee on Law Office Management and Economics.
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March 30, 2010 |
Practice News
As the Legislature cooks up a new batch of laws, it's a good time to look at the many that took effect after the last session. In the latest Real Property newsletter, Jim Weston offers this review of recent Illinois acts that bear on real estate practice.
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March 26, 2010 |
Practice News
We hear from some quarters that legal generalists are a dying breed, that the law is too complex and voluminous for a jack of all trades. But in the latest ISBA Family Law newsletter, family-law practitioner Ross Levey writes about the involuntary jack-of-all-trades nature of his practice. "Over the past year, besides understanding the IMDMA and the Parentage Act, I have also had to research issues related to bankruptcy, social security, ERISA, guardianship, adoption, tax/financial planning, probate, real estate, immigration, contracts, personal injury, partnership, corporate and criminal law and I could go on," he writes. Chances are you're seeing the same thing. Read Ross's interesting observations about what it means and what you can do in response.
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March 24, 2010 |
Practice News
Arbitration clauses are showing up in more and more contracts, Mark Rouleau notes in the latest Trial Briefs (newsletter of ISBA's Civil Practice Section). And as Mark points out, this has largely happened "not as part of a negotiated process between contracting parties" but "as a result of boilerplate that has been inserted into one-sided, take-it-or-leave-it contracts." He offers an overview of arbitration clauses and their impact and implications, complete with ample cites to relevant case law. Read his article.
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March 24, 2010 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. Our firm, a seven attorney personal injury firm in the southwest, seems like we can never get to the next level financially. Do you find that excessive overhead (expense) is the major problem for law firms? A. Not really. In fact, in many cases I find that law firms should be making larger investments in their future and spending more money. Often monetary and time investments in marketing, talent, and technology are insufficient in many firms. The problem in most firms is insufficient leveraged fee revenue. In other words - many small firm practitioners - only think in terms of whether they have adequate work to keep themselves busy - they do not think in terms of being a net exporter of work so they can keep themselves busy plus two or three other attorneys and or paralegals. A well leveraged practice is what takes you financially to the next level. In reality - more marketing is needed - to create a sufficient volume of work to support this leverage. Once this is accomplished - attorneys must learn how to manage and supervise others - and the compensation system must shift emphasis from personal working collections to responsible (billing attorney) collections. John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC, is a past chair and member of the ISBA Standing Committee on Law Office Management and Economics.
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March 23, 2010 |
Practice News
My dad used to grumble enviously about "coupon clippers" of the inherited-wealth kind. He was using a term that goes back to the days when you needed to clip a coupon to get the interest on a bond. Today, "coupon-clipping" is a decidedly regular-folks phrase. It's about saving money, not cashing in. And in the latest ISBA Standing Committee on Government Lawyers newsletter, Lisle Stalter shares a helpful list of her favorite coupon sites for saving money on groceries and the like. Check it out.
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March 23, 2010 |
Practice News
The Special Supreme Court Committee on Illinois Evidence will hold public hearings on proposed new rules codifying Illinois evidence law at the following locations:
- Tuesday, May 18, 10 a.m.: Supreme Court Building, 160 N. LaSalle, Room C-500, Chicago
- Thursday, May 20, 10 a.m.: Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, 3101 Old Jacksonville Road, Springfield