The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts has announced that the 21st Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Ronald J. Gerts as an associate judge.
Mr. Gerts received his undergraduate degree in 1968 from Brown University and his Juris Doctor in 1977 from John Marshall Law School. Mr. Gerts has been affiliated with the Kankakee County Public Defender's Office and his solo practice in Bourbonnais.
Practice News
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February 9, 2010 |
Practice News
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February 4, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled today that legislation requiring judges to reduce jury awards of noneconomic damages to victims of medical malpractice violates the separation of powers clause of the Illinois Constitution. In their amicus brief, the Chicago Bar Association and Illinois State Bar Association had urged the court to uphold its previous decisions in which the General Assembly attempted to reduce awards for noneconomic damages. ISBA President John O'Brien noted that this was the third time in the last 35 years that the Supreme Court of Illinois has considered and struck down legislative efforts to cap awards given by juries. "The Court has spoken on this issue in defense of our Constitution and the role of the judiciary and juries." ISBA brief on LeBron Illinois Supreme Court summary Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital
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February 4, 2010 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. We are a small six attorney litigation firm. We have two partners and three associates. One of the partners wants to retire within the next five years. The other partner will continue to practice for another 10-15 years. We love practicing law and consider ourselves to be very good lawyers. However, we find firm management and administration to be a challenge and we are not skilled in this area nor do we want to be. We have a good book of business and clients. Recently, we began discussing the possibility of merging with another law firm. What are your thoughts about firms like ours merging with another law firm? A. Obviously, merger or acquisition of law firms is becoming more and more commonplace. Hildebrand reported 57 completed mergers/acquisitions in 2009 in firms with five or more attorneys). However, research indicates that 1/3 to 1/2 of all mergers fail to meet expectations due to cultural misalignment and personnel problems. Don't try to use a merger or acquisition as a life raft, for the wrong reasons and as your sole strategy. Successful mergers are based upon a sound integrated business strategy that creates synergy and a combined firm that produces greater client value than either firm can produced alone. Right reasons for merging might include:
- 1. Improve the firm's competitive position
- 2. Increase specialization - obtain additional expertise
- 3. Expand into other geographic regions
- 4. Add new practice areas
- 5. Increase or decrease client base
- 6. Improve and/or solidify client relationships
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February 2, 2010 |
Practice News
These are the results from 2010. Click here for March 2012 primary results.
Illinois Lawyer Now has results for Tuesday's judicial primaries. Click the link below for the full list of Tuesday's races from Cook County with ISBA ratings for each candidate. All races are now accounted for.
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February 2, 2010 |
Practice News
Here are the results for Tuesday's judicial primaries for all circuits outside of Cook. Click the link below for the list of results from around the state with ISBA ratings for each candidate.
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February 2, 2010 |
Practice News
An important new law amends Illinois' Freedom of Information Act, Open Meetings Act, and the Attorney General Act, all with the goal of making public records more accessible. But will it work as intended? In the February Illinois Bar Journal, Alison K. Hayden summarizes -- and sometimes criticizes -- the key changes.
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January 29, 2010 |
Practice News
Lawyers can -- and sometimes must -- use technology to share and collaborate on documents. But it's essential to keep proposed versions straight and ensure that the documents' metadata, including comments and proposed changes, is viewed only as intended. Helen Gunnarsson interviews tech experts who describe how to do that in the February Illinois Bar Journal.
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January 28, 2010 |
Practice News
Even if you aren't an animal lover, you can be sure that many of your clients are. When one comes to you asking, say, whether she can make sure her pets are cared for after she dies, wouldn't it be nice to have a ready answer? If you're an ISBA member you can join the new Animal Law section (indeed, any section) for less than it costs to park for a day in downtown Chicago. Members get the section newsletter and a discount on section-sponsored CLE. Join now. Not a member of ISBA? Take care of that, too.
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January 27, 2010 |
Practice News
Interesting article in the February ABA Journal about the long-rumored new version of Westlaw (launch date February 1), a coming-soon revamp by Lexis, and a new legal research product by Bloomberg. Bottom line: everyone is trying to make searching easier and more Google-like. Here's a passage that might resonate with ISBA members: "Ed Walters, CEO of Fastcase, a 10-year-old legal research and information provider in Washington, D.C., says his company has thrived because it already addressed the problems that LexisNexis and West are now trying to correct. 'In the old way of doing legal research you get this long list of results and the results are undifferentiated. It’s one-size-fits-all,' he says. 'That’s a huge problem.'” If you're an ISBA member and you haven't taken advantage of your free subscription to Fastcase, there's no time like the present.
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January 27, 2010 |
Practice News
The political "debate" on health-care reform is a lesson for advocates. Regardless of your views on the merits of the issue, I think the proponents did a dismal job in promoting it. This weekend I read two different opinion columns that concluding this as well--that the proponents' lack of clarity dragged the bill down. Although I don't think every advocate should argue using a marketing theme similar to beer commercials, your story or argument must have a theme or synopsis that your reader or listener immediately grasps. Justice Scalia and Bryan A. Garner in Making Your Case (2009) also discuss the multiple benefits of clarity: "Clarity is amply justified on the ground that it ensures you'll be understood. But in our adversary system it performs an additional function. The clearer your arguments, the harder it will be for your opponent to mischarcterize them." (emphasis added) Garrison Keillor's Sunday column entitled "Get real and consider the basic question." "The problem for Democrats right now is that nobody can explain health-care reform in plain English, 50 words or less. It's all too murky. . . . like all murky stuff, it is liable to strike people as dangerous or unreliable." Ever had a judge ask you what's this case all about--and you coudn't tell them in 30 seconds or less? Frank Rich's Sunday column: "Worse, the master communicator in the White House has still not delivered a coherent message on his signature policy.