Attorney Trent Bush demonstrates how to capture any part of your screen using the snipping tool in Microsoft Windows. Capture parts of documents to include in your briefs, and even share an error message with your IT staff through email.

The fifth Solo & Small Firm Practice Institute will be held on Thursday, May 14 in at the ISBA Chicago Office, 20 S. Clark. This program will focus on “Protecting Your Practice: Finances and Technology.”As a solo or small firm attorney, you have worked hard to build your practice, manage your time, and prepare for the future. Now it’s time to protect everything you’ve accomplished. Join us for this in-depth look at how you can continue building your practice, promote yourself online, and enjoy your profession – all while avoiding various ethical traps along the way. Attorneys who are new solo or small firm practitioners – and those thinking about becoming one – who attend this seminar, will better understand:The ethical issues you need to be aware of regarding client confidentiality;How to protect your retainers, fees, and income;How to properly use IOLTA accounts;The financial details involved in starting your own firm;How to network during business events;The risks associated with using social media to promote your practice;How to balance stress with a happy personal and professional life;The top causes for grievances against lawyers;And much more!Find out more and register at tinyurl.com/ok55gqe.

The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), the administrative agency that regulates licensed Illinois lawyers, has filed its year 2014 Annual Report with the Supreme Court of Illinois. The report was released to the public this morning when a copy was posted on the ARDC website: www.iardc.org.A summary of the annual report entitled Highlights from the 2014 Annual Report is available below.Lawyer PopulationThe names of 92,756 lawyers appeared on the Master Roll of Attorneys as of October 31, 2014. That number does not include 1,902 attorneys who took their oath of office in late 2014. The overall lawyer population in Illinois saw a modest increase of 1.8% over 2013. The percentage of attorneys reporting a principal address outside Illinois increased 7.4% from the year before. The number of female lawyers has slowly but steadily risen over the last 20 years. Female lawyers are 38% of Illinois lawyers in 2014, a 1% increase over the prior year. Ten years ago, women lawyers made up 32% of the legal profession in 2004 and only 25% of Illinois lawyers in 1994. There are 371 Illinois lawyers who serve on active military duty.

In April 2015, the ISBA filed an amicus curiae brief in the Illinois Supreme Court suggesting it is improper for nonlawyers to represent corporations in contested case hearings before the City of Chicago’s Department of Administrative Hearings. The case is Stone Street Partners v. Chicago, Supreme Court No. 117720. Read the ISBA’s brief. Read the Court’s opinion. ISBA Articles/Materials Quick Takes on Illinois Supreme Court Opinions (The Bar News, February 2017) Stone Street Partners v. Chicago – Nonlawyers Cannot Represent Corporations at Administrative Hearings (The Public Servant Newsletter, April 2015)