Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am a partner is a small family law firm in Tucson, Arizona. There are two partners in the firm and two associates. We have an office manager/bookkeeper, a receptionist, and two legal assistants. The office manager was hired one year ago. The other partner is retiring next year, and I am purchasing the practice from him. I became a partner last year. I am new to the management side of the practice and have been relying on the office manager who also serves as our bookkeeper. I am at my wit’s ends with our office manager and I believe that she is not suited for the position. She has no organizational skills, she misses deadlines, vendor bills are not paid on time, and client bills are not sent out accurately and timely. I have counseled her on numerous occasions to no avail. I believe we need to replace her, but I am reluctant since no one else here knows what she does or how she does it. A new billing and accounting system was implemented last year and she was the only one trained to use the system. What do we do if we terminate her or she quits? We are hostages. I would appreciate any ideas or thoughts that you may have.
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January 9, 2019 |
Practice News
2 comments (Most recent January 11, 2019)
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January 8, 2019 |
CLE
Alternative dispute resolution methods—such as arbitration and mediation—can be very useful in resolving intellectual property disputes by giving parties the flexibility to choose a decision-maker with a technical background, tailor the scope of disclosure to the nature of the case, and have experts communicate with one another. Join the ISBA on Feb. 5 for an online seminar that offers an introductory look at the alternative dispute resolution methods that are available in intellectual property cases. Attorneys working in the intellectual property arena with basic practice experience who attend this program will better understand: the advantages and disadvantages of arbitration; the different approaches to mediation; how alternative dispute resolution methods are currently being used in intellectual property cases; the different programs available outside the courtroom; what to expect during an alternative dispute resolution case from filing through resolution; and how to prepare for this type of case.
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January 7, 2019 |
Member Services
The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For the month of December 2018 there were more than 500 referrals given. Here are the results for December 2018:
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January 7, 2019 |
Practice News
Finding an agreed-upon methodology to calculate child support can become litigious when a supporting spouse’s income is variable. But basing support calculations on gross income and percentages of income is a good start. In his January 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Taming the Guessing Game: Child Support and Variable Income,” Bryan D. Sullivan explores the benefits of using predetermined percentages of gross income for additional child-support orders under the income shares model and provides practical advice for legal practitioners when drafting such orders. Sullivan’s article also includes links to extensive tables that show how various child-support calculations discussed in his article play out.
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January 7, 2019 |
Member Services
Social media is a valuable tool that can drive traffic to a firm’s website. For solos and small firms, the goal of social media—and Facebook in particular—is lead generation and business development. To do this, attorneys need to build targeted relationships, create and share valuable content, and consistently add value.
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January 3, 2019 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. Our firm is a 17-attorney commercial litigation firm in Atlanta, Georgia. I am a member of our firm’s management committee that decides raises and bonuses for non-equity partners and associates. Currently our non-equity partners are paid a salary and a discretionary bonus. We would like to stay with this approach; however, we have had complaints that our system is totally arbitrary. We would like to be able to provide more transparency— a general list of the items that we consider when making our decisions on salary and bonuses. Your thoughts would be appreciated.
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January 3, 2019 |
CLE
Whether it’s a copyright, patent, or trademark, intellectual property is an important component to a business’s overall value. Learn how to define and understand these types of assets, as well as how to compute a valuation for them, with this intermediate-level online seminar on Feb. 7. A discussion on how to set up the transfer of these assets during a succession plan is also included.
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January 2, 2019 |
Practice News
The Property Tax Appeal Board has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have prohibited lawyer-legislators from practicing before the board. At its Nov. 13, 2018 meeting, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted to object to the rulemaking and prohibit its filing with the Secretary of State. The committee's reasoning is that since the Property Tax Appeal Board has no statutory authority to take the action embodied in this rulemaking, such rulemaking represents a threat to the public interest.1 comment (Most recent January 5, 2019)
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January 2, 2019 |
Practice News
Ruth Schneider, an attorney with RCJ Law, LLC, discusses three low-cost steps attorneys should take to protect client data. Tips include using long, unique passwords for accounts, utilizing two-factor authentication, and sending important documents securely.
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January 2, 2019 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court handed down four opinions on Friday, Dec. 28. In Sienna Court Condominium Ass'n v. Champion Aluminum Corp., the court addressed the question of whether a purchaser of a newly constructed home could assert a claim for breach of an implied warranty of habitability against a subcontractor that had no contractual relationship with the purchaser. In Stanphill v. Ortberg, the court reviewed a jury verdict hinging on the foreseeability of a depressed person’s suicide. The court considered whether five monetary charges were fines or fees in People v. Clark and determined there was no probable cause to execute a search warrant in People v. Manzo.