There is federal legislation pending affecting disclosing information about state business entities such as LLCs and partnerships. S. 569 (Levin, D-MI) is entitled the "Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act of 2009." This Act is supposed to combat money laundering, tax evasion, and terrorist financing.
It requires states to maintain beneficial ownership information and make it available to law enforcement. Other requirements include making lawyers "formation agents" if they are involved in forming a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, trust or other legal entity.
This bill is in the Senate Homeland Security Committee where it has had two hearings. If it passes out of this Committee, it will still have to be sent to the Senate Banking Committee.
Thanks to the American Bar Association Government Affairs Office for alerting us to this bill.
Practice News
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November 15, 2009 |
Practice News
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November 12, 2009 |
Practice News
In the latest In the Alternative, newsletter of ISBA's Section on ADR, Bob Wells writes about three U.S. Supreme Court cases of the last term that "generally (but not universally) continues its trend favoring arbitration." He continues: "These cases follow the reiterated federal policy favoring alternative dispute resolution, in general, and arbitration, in particular. However, unanimity is not a mainstay of the opinions...." The cases are Vaden v. Discover Bank, 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, and Arthur Andersen LLP v. Carlisle. Read the article.
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November 12, 2009 |
Member Services | Practice News
Our handy soft-cover book includes full coverage of DUI decisions through June 2009! This update of our popular book of digested traffic court decisions brings you the latest cases in print, beginning with 1986, and is conveniently categorized to help you find what you're looking for quickly.
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November 11, 2009 |
Practice News
It's slowly but surely sinking in that new ethics rules take effect January 1. (It is sinking in, yes? January 1 is a few short weeks away.) And Illinois lawyers are starting to look closely from the vantage of their particular practice areas at the new RPC, speculating about what impact they might have on the most common, or perhaps most nettlesome, ethical issues they face as divorce lawyers or real estate lawyers or what have you. In that spirit, Marilyn F. Longwell has written a helpful article for the latest ISBA Family Law newsletter about how the new rules are likely to affect family lawyers and the special confidentiality issues they face. ("The first time my client related to her husband my advice on tactics in a custody dispute, I realized I was in uncharted territory," she wryly observes.) It's a meaty article with lots of good advice drawn from cases and the language of the rules. Here's a small sampling from her conclusion. "Refrain from being complicit in crimes or fraud perpetrated by your clients, report information where reasonably certain death or serious injury is likely to occur, but err on the side of confidentiality every time. Being on the 'cutting edge' of the law is fine in some circumstances, but in areas of client confidentiality it rarely pays." Read the rest here.
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November 11, 2009 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John Olmstead Q. I am a solo attorney in private practice. I have been practicing for two years. The bulk of my practice is in the wills, trusts and estates area. I occasionally handle real estate transactions as well. I work from a home in office and meet clients in their homes at night. I have given thought about moving to an office outside the home, but even if I did I think I would still end up meeting clients in their homes at night. My clients seem to really appreciate this and as a result I have yet to walk away from a potential client's home without a signed retainer agreement. What are your thoughts on home offices? A. Sounds like working from home has worked well for your practice and it has caused you to deliver personal attention to your clients which is so necessary in your practice area. I opened my consulting practice 25 years ago and had the overhead of an office and staff from day one. So much has changed since then. Now I have both - a small office in St. Louis and home offices that the rest of us work from remotely - less staff - and less space. We have downsized our office dramatically over the years and now primarily use it for client meetings/presentations when needed. Our infrastructure - phone systems, files, copiers, file servers, and people are primarily housed out of remote home offices. More and more of our work is being delivered remotely/virtually using GoToMeeting and other such tools. Take a hard look at your purpose and cost for the office and then go from there. Also, consider that sometimes we have to spend money to make money. Does the increased visibility that the office may give you generate more revenue than its cost?
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November 10, 2009 |
ISBA News | Practice News
[caption id="attachment_5578" align="alignright" width="144" caption="April Troemper"][/caption] Cynthia Cobbs, Director of Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced today that April Troemper received a majority of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the Seventh Judicial Circuit and is declared appointed to the office of associate judge. Ms. Troemper, a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Board of Governors, received her undergraduate degree in 1995 from Eastern Illinois University and her Juris Doctor in 1998 from Southern Illinois University. Ms. Troemper is currently affiliated with the law firm Sorling, Northrup, Hanna, Cullen & Cochran in Springfield.
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November 10, 2009 |
Practice News
The November Illinois Bar Journal should have landed in your mailbox already. If you haven't seen the cover story by Helen Gunnarsson, it's a plain-language primer on the SOS process, including some of the unwritten rules about how to help your client not only get the best possible outcome at a hearing but also confront his or her alcohol problem. Check it out.
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November 9, 2009 |
Practice News
In an opinion bound to disappoint victims of childhood abuse, the Illinois Supreme Court has held that the legislature cannot amend a statute of limitations so as to revive causes of action that had already become time-barred by a prior version of the statute. The opinion is Doe A. v Diocese of Dallas, 2009 WL 3063427 (Ill Sup Ct). Read about it in the November Illinois Bar Journal.
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November 9, 2009 |
Practice News
You may already know that Fastcase automatically tracks your last 10 searches. But have you ever wished that you could access even older searches? How about naming your searches and organizing them in folders by topic? You can easily accomplish all of these tasks using your web browser. 1. While on the Results screen, press Control + D. (Mac users, use Apple + D instead). This will cause a small window to appear on your screen.
- In IE: "Add a Favorite."
- In Firefox: "Page Bookmarked."
- In Chrome: "Bookmark."
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November 6, 2009 |
Practice News
You must always follow court rules for citation of authority, but consider this idea: To increase readability, place your citations in footnotes instead of in the text of your brief or memorandum. Do not use footnotes for any other purpose. Why make your reader jump over nonsubstantive interruptions? (Bryan A. Garner is the moving force behind this idea. Count me in on that crusade.) I know that this is not how the Illinois appellate courts write their opinions, and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 341(a) states that “Footnotes are discouraged, but, if used, may be single-spaced.” But I think that this Rule is addressing substantive (“talking”) footnotes as opposed to citation to authority. Which of these two identical opinions are more readable? The first puts citations in text and the second in footnotes. We hold that review of a grant of a directed verdict is de novo. City of Mattoon v. Mentzer, 282 Ill. App. 3d 628, 633, 668 N.E.2d 601 (1996). While we recognize that there is authority to the contrary in Illinois (Boatmen's Bank v. Dowell, 208 Ill. App. 3d 994, 1001, 567 N.E.2d 739 (1991); Johnson v. National Supermarkets, Inc., 257 Ill. App. 3d 1011, 1015, 630 N.E.2d 934 (1994); Cohan v. Garretson, 282 Ill. App. 3d 248, 256, 667 N.E.2d 1325 (1996); NWI International, Inc. v. Edgewood Bank, 291 Ill. App. 3d 247, 261, 684 N.E.2d 401 (1997)), we nevertheless find that de novo review is proper because the standard of review on appeal should be the same as that applied by the trial court, which, as City of Mattoon states: "fits the definition of de novo: '[a]new; afresh; a second time.'" (Emphasis in original). City of Mattoon, 282 Ill. App. 3d at 633.