Practice News

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman administered the oath of office to Matt Sullivan on July 9 at the Edgar County Courthouse in Paris. Pictured at the ceremony are: (seated) Circuit Judge Matt Sullivan; (standing, right to left) Judge James Glenn, Judge Teresa Righter, Justice Steven Garst, Justice Garman, Judge David Lewis, Chief Judge Tracy Resch, Judge Gary Jacobs, Judge Brien O'Brien, and Judge Mitch Shick.

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am a solo attorney and have had my practice for 15 years. I have one secretary that has been with me 14 years. I have heard you and others state that solo and small firm practitioners need to work on getting to the next level. What is the next level? A. The next level is when your practice begins to build synergy – when one plus one equals three or four rather than two. It is when you have a sufficient consistent volume of work that you are able to add additional layers of attorneys and staff. When lawyers start out their practices, most support themselves on their own work or time production. However, eventually there must be others in the firm who generate more profits than they consume and thus provide additional income to the owners. This is leverage. Leverage can come from junior level owners, associates, paralegals, and legal assistants. The important takeaway here is eventually a structure must exist within the firm whereby each owner can make a reasonable income but not have to provide all of it himself or herself. This must come to pass if the senior lawyers are to spend more time on firm investment activities (non-billable matters) such as generating new business, training and mentoring new associates, or managing the firm. While the getting to the next level can improve profitability if done right – new challenges and frustrations come into play as well. You must now manage others – motivate them, hire and fire, and retain quality lawyers and staff. You are now a manager as well as a lawyer – like it or not! John W.

In an opinion written by the U.S. Supreme Court's newest justice, Sonia Sotomayor, the Court held last term that attorneys who provide bankruptcy advice to assisted persons are debt relief agencies under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), the Illinois Bar Journal reports. As the National Law Journal notes, this was one of "an unusually large number of cases last term involving how lawyers do their jobs."

The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Robert G. Gibson as Circuit Judge in DuPage County. Gibson replaces the Hon. Perry R. Thompson, who is retiring. The appointment is effective Aug. 2 and terminates on Dec. 3, 2012.