Q. I want to send an email announcement of my new office address to all the businesses in my community. Do I need to include the words “Advertising Material” on the email?A. Rule 7.3, governing “Direct Contact with Prospective Clients,” includes a requirement to include the words “Advertising Material” on envelopes or recorded or electronic communications soliciting professional employment from a prospective client known to be in need of legal services in a particular matter. Comment [7] to that Rule provides that “General announcements by lawyers, including changes in personnel or office location, do not constitute communications soliciting professional employment from a client known to be in need of legal services within the meaning of this Rule.” See also ISBA Professional Conduct Advisory Opinion 12-04.ISBA members can browse past ISBA Ethics Opinions at www.isba.org/ethics
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February 19, 2014 |
Practice News
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February 19, 2014 |
Practice News
Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. We are a 16-attorney insurance defense firm in Central Illinois. We have 8 partners and 8 associates. We are in second generation, have inherited our existing clients from the original founders, and currently have no rainmakers. We need to bring some rainmakers into our partner ranks and have been discussing the possibility of merger. I would appreciate your thoughts.
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February 19, 2014 |
Events | ISBA News
ISBA 3rd Vice President Vincent F. Cornelius was honored by the Black Bar Association of Will County at the group’s Annual Barrister’s Ball on Feb. 15 at the Bolingbrook Golf Club. On hand for the event were (from left) President-elect Richard D. Felice, President Paula H. Holderman, Cornelius and 2nd Vice President Umberto S. Davi.
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February 18, 2014 |
CLE
Don’t miss ISBA’s 13th Annual Illinois Environmental Law Conference in Chicago on March 6-7, 2014! Once again, this premier conference features annual updates on agency activities and priorities in Illinois and the Region presented by top representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, and other state agencies.
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February 14, 2014 |
Practice News
Remaining 10th Circuit counties will join in 60 daysThe Illinois Supreme Court announced on Friday that news cameras and microphones will be allowed in trial courtrooms in Peoria County in the 10th Judicial Circuit. Peoria County becomes the 36th county in Illinois to participate in the pilot project allowing cameras in trial courtrooms.Under Local Rule 15, the remaining four counties in the Circuit will also join the pilot project in 60 days, bringing the grand total of participating counties in Illinois to 40 and the total number of participating circuits to 14. The 10th Judicial Circuit consists of Marshall, Peoria, Putnam, Stark and Tazewell counties in central Illinois.
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February 14, 2014 |
Events | ISBA News
The ISBA Young Lawyers Division hosted its third Professional Development Luncheon on Feb. 11 at the Chicago Regional Office. This luncheon, focused on alternative careers for attorneys, featured (from left) speakers Tarek Fadel of AdaptiGroup LLC, Michael Negron of the Chicago Mayor’s Office and Elizabeth Ellis Simek of the City of Chicago Law Department, ISBA President Paula H. Holderman, YLD Chair and ISBA Board member Jean Kenol, program organizer George Schoenbeck and program moderator Heather Pfeffer.
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February 13, 2014
Angela J. Rollins of Benton, a law clerk to the Honorable J. Phil Gilbert of the Southern District Illinois, U.S. District Court, is the first place winner in the ISBA’s 2014 Lincoln Award Legal Writing Contest. Angela received a cash award of $2,000, and her article, "Collateral Consequence Considerations for Illinois Practitioners after Padilla v. Kentucky," appears in the February Illinois Bar Journal. The contest is sponsored by the ISBA Young Lawyers Division and open to YLD members. Second place winner is Richard J. VanSwol, of Purcell & Wardrope Chtd. in Chicago, who wrote "Playing with Fire: Limitations on Insurance Coverage for Expected or Intended Harm." Third place goes to Jill Ausdenmoore, a law clerk to Honorable Lisa Holder White of the Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court, Decatur, for "A Practitioner's Guide to Illinois' Speedy-Trial Statute." The second place winner gets $1,000 cash prize, and the third place winner received $500.Twenty-three manuscripts were submitted in the 2014 contest. The contest judges were Justice John W. Turner, of the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District; Hon. Pamela E. Loza, supervising judge in the Paternity/Child Support Department of the Cook County Circuit Court Domestic Relations Division; Mary D. Cascinio, Senior Counsel at Handler Thayer, LLP in Chicago; Mark D. DeBofsky, with DeBofsky & Associates, P.C. in Chicago; and L. Dominic Kujawa, a sole practitioner in Belleville.Look for an announcement about next year's contest in a few weeks.
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February 13, 2014
Effective January 1, Illinois employers can seek orders of protection not unlike those available in the family-law setting, David Krchak writes in the most recent ISBA Labor and Employment Law newsletter. The Workplace Violence Prevention Act "extends to employers the right to petition the court for an order of protection similar in most ways to the order of protection provided in Article 3 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986," he wrote. "The Act explains in simple terms when an employer may attain such an order of protection and how law enforcement is required to respond." Read his article and find out how it works.
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February 12, 2014 |
Practice News
Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. Our litigation firm is located in Grand Rapids, Mich. and consists of 12 attorneys - eight partners and four associates. We started the firm six years ago as a result of several of us leaving larger law firms and wanting to start something new and different. We have been discussing our current approach to law practice and want to consider alternative business models. We would appreciate your thoughts.
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February 11, 2014 |
Events
The Illinois Bar Foundation will host the annual Lawyers Rock Legends on Thursday, Feb. 27. This evening of Rock, Motown, Jazz & Blues will take place beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Buddy Guy's Legends, 700 S. Wabash.Proceeds from this event benefit the charitable programs of the IBF.Tickets and sponsorship packages are now available!Learn more and register at www.illinoisbarfoundation.org or by calling the Illinois Bar Foundation at 312.726.6072.Special accommodations will be granted to those with disabilities, please call ahead.