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  • February 17, 2011 | Practice News
    Kelly appointed associate judge in 4th Circuit
    The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that the Fourth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Jeffrey M. “Marc” Kelly as an associate judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Mr. Kelly received his undergraduate degree in 1996 from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and his Juris Doctor in 2000 from John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Mr. Kelly is currently affiliated with Burnside, Johnston, Sheafor & Kelly, PC in Vandalia, Illinois.
  • February 17, 2011 | Practice News
    Notice of withdrawal by third-party carrier, remote electronic deps
    Thanks to an amendment to Rule 13 handed down Wednesday by the Illinois Supreme Court, you can now deliver notice to withdraw by, say, Fed Ex and UPS in addition to personal service and certified mail. Also, an amendment to Rule 206 allows you to take a deposition by electronic means (phone, videoconference, etc.) simply by stating that you're doing so in the notice. The rule used to permit electronic deps only if the court ordered it or the "parties...stipulate[d] in writing." These and other new supreme court rule amendments and corrections are here.
  • February 17, 2011 | Practice News
    Best Practice: Starting a Virtual Online Practice
    Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am a partner with an 8 attorney firm in central Illinois. Last week I attended the Illinois State Bar Association web-cast that you and others presented on Building and Managing the Virtual Law Firm. I thought the program was excellent. I do have a couple of questions.
    1. I can see how such an approach might make sense for a solo - but why would a 8 attorney firm with a brick and mortar office that has been in practice for 20 years consider such a delivery model?
    2. How would we go about it?
    A. If your firm has a sufficient volume of work, does not have a need or desire to capture more commodity type legal work that it is either not doing at all now or is losing to lower priced competitors (law firms or content providers), or does not have a need or desire to extend its reach geographically a virtual delivery model make not make sense. However, if your strategic (business plan) requires you to extend your geographic reach or be competitive in a commodity practice area supplementing your brick and mortar practice with a virtual delivery model might warrant consideration. Also consider that the younger generation that is growing up using the internet to shop, bank, and pay taxes may appreciate and or expect such an option. As we mentioned during the session certain practice areas are more appropriate than others. I have some firms your size that are supplementing their brick and mortar practices with online delivery models just to service one practice area that they could not effectively deliver in the traditional manner.
  • February 16, 2011 | Practice News
    Drew Peterson hearing broadcast live
    The Chicago Tribune is streaming the Drew Peterson hearsay case live on its website. Click here to watch it. This is the first time an Illinois appellate court has allowed oral arguments to be broadcast live.
  • February 15, 2011 | Practice News
    Wilt appointed associate judge in 17th Circuit
    The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that Robert R. “Randy” Wilt, received the majority of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit and is declared to be appointed to the office of associate judge. Mr. Wilt received his undergraduate degree in 1977 from Ohio State University and his Juris Doctor in 1980 from Loyola University, Chicago. Mr. Wilt is currently engaged in practice with Sreenan & Cain, P.C. in Rockford.
  • February 14, 2011 | Practice News
    Repeal of Torrens Title System
    Senate Bill 1746 (Trotter, D-Chicago) repeals the  Registered (Torrens) Title Act on  Jan. 1, 2014. It may be found at this link.
  • February 10, 2011 | Practice News
    Jean-Baptiste appointed to Cook County vacancy
    The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Lionel Jean-Baptiste as a Circuit Judge of Cook County, Ninth Subcircuit.  This appointment fills the vacancy created by the death of the Hon. Gerald C. Bender. It takes effect March 4, 2011, and terminates on December 3, 2012.
  • February 10, 2011 | Practice News
    Salone appointed to O'Brien appellate court vacancy
    The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Marcus R. Salone, Associate Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, to the Appellate Court of Illinois, First Judicial District, Fourth Division. This vacancy was created by the retirement of the Hon. Sheila M. O'Brien. This appointment is effective March 8, 2011, and terminates December 3, 2012.
  • February 10, 2011 | Practice News
    Sheila Murphy urges Gov. Quinn to sign death penalty ban
    Retired Cook County Judge Sheila M. Murphy has written a letter to the editor published by the Chicago Tribune urging Gov. Quinn to sign the death penalty ban. Read it here.
  • February 9, 2011 | Practice News
    Best Practice: Surviving in an insurance defense firm: Reinventing the practice & staying in the game
    Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am the founding partner of a 17 attorney firm in Missouri and I serve as the managing partner. We have 12 partners and 5 associates. Our practice is entirely defense - personal injury and workers compensation. The majority of our clients are insurance companies and third party administrators. We represent a handful of self insured companies. While we have had a successful past 15 years our firm is now struggling. We have lost market share and our case counts are way down due to the economy and regulatory changes in Missouri. Our profitability has suffered as a result. We need to make some changes but are unsure where to start. Could you share your thoughts? A. The present state of the insurance defense practice presents numerous challenges to the law firm. These challenges simply cannot be ignored – they will have to be faced head-on. The solutions are complex and will require time to sort through. While solutions can come in different varieties, they will take the form of one of two general strategic approaches.
    1. Reinvent the Practice - Stay in the Game
    2. Exit or Diversify the Practice
      The remainder of this post will focus on reinventing the practice and staying in the game. For some firms the appropriate strategy may be to stay in the game. These will be firms that have a well-established reputation in insurance defense, where insurance defense represents a major source of their revenue, and where adequate leverage and profitability and leverage exist. These firms will not be firms that dabble in insurance work. These firms will be committed to this practice area and will focus on it exclusively. Some of the following actions will be required to reinvent the practice and stay in the game: