ISBA President John E. Thies is proud to announce Lawyers Feeding Illinois (LFI), a competitive food and fund-raising campaign among lawyers and legal organizations across Illinois. LFI will support the work of the eight member food banks of Feeding Illinois and is chaired by a volunteer steering committee comprised of members of the ISBA in cooperation with Feeding Illinois. More information is available at http://www.lawyersfeedingil.org/
Practice News
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September 24, 2012 |
Practice News | ISBA News
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September 23, 2012 |
Practice News | People
Thought you all would like to know that we just received this announcement that ISBA member Steve Baker is being honored by receipt of "The Promotion of Social Justice Award" by the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Details are below for the Nov. 9th dinner and ceremony. The award states as follows:
"A lawyer since 1978, Stephen W. Baker has served the Illinois criminal defense community for decades both in the courtrooms - as an Assistant Public Defender and later the Public Defender of DuPage County - and in the halls of the Illinois Legislature. He has worked vigorously for groups such as the Cook County Public Defender's Office, the Illinois Public Defender Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Steve has fought tirelessly for years against an unending tide of efforts to increase sentences, expand the scope of Illinois criminal laws, shrink our civil liberties, and keep the death penalty. His efforts merit his selection as the first recipient of IACDL's Promotion of Social Justice Award."
Steve and other recipients will be honored at IACDL's Annual Dinner, on Friday, November 9, 2012 at the University Club, 76 East Monroe, Chicago, IL 60603. Cocktails will begin at 6:00 P.M. with dinner to be served at 7 P.M.
Cost is as follows:
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September 21, 2012 |
Practice News | People
Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride of the Illinois Supreme Court will be honored as the recipient of the 2012 Illinoisan of the Year award from the Illinois News Broadcasters Association (INBA) during its annual Fall 2012 Convention to be held September 22 and 23 in St. Louis, Missouri.
The honor is being made in recognition of Chief Justice Kilbride’s several efforts to improve the efficiency of Illinois courts, initiating a pilot program to allow cameras in Illinois courts and increasing access to the courts for citizens.
"Chief Justice Kilbride was unanimously selected as our honoree for 2012," said Jim Gee, immediate past president of the INBA. "In addition to his work in creating a pilot program to allow cameras and microphones in Illinois trial courts, we are honoring Chief Justice Kilbride for his overall support of openness in government, including his advocacy for a commission to examine ways in which the courts can be made more accessible to the public."
The roster of previous awardees includes former Illinois Governors Jim Edgar and James Thompson; Mike Lawrence, former director of the Paul Simon Policy Institute; NBC News Anchor John Chancellor; former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald; and the late Illinois Supreme Court Justice Seymour Simon.
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September 20, 2012 |
Practice News
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the Civil cases Rush University Medical Center v. Sessions, Choate v. Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Company, Patrick Engineering v. The City of Naperville, Carter v. SSC Odin Operating Company, In re Marriage of Coulter and the Criminal case People v. Fields.
CIVIL
Rush University Medical Center v. Sessions
By Michael T. Reagan, Law Offices of Michael T. Reagan, Ottawa
1 comment (Most recent September 21, 2012) -
September 20, 2012 |
ISBA News | Practice News
ISBA President John Thies informs members that federal courts in the Northern District of Illinois could be forced to close in 2013 for one day a week or for the whole month of February. This will occur unless congressional action is taken to avoid sequestration. Please contact your elected representative and encourage them to act at www.contactingthecongress.org.
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September 20, 2012 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am a partner in a small estate planning/administration law firm in Louisville, Kentucky. We are having a hard time getting a handle on determining the productivity of our associates and paralegals. Many of our associates and paralegals work part-time and the typical metrics such as 1500-1700 annual billable hours, etc. don't work for us. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions?
A. You might want to consider using a billable/worked ratio which is the ratio of billable hours logged to hours worked. For attorneys and paralegals that are totally focused on providing client services a good benchmark is 70%-73%. If an attorney or paralegal works 30 hours a week - you would hope to see 21-22 hours billable per week. Based on 50 weeks per year this would equate to somewhere around 1050 billable hours per year. For a full-timer working 8 hours a day or 40 hours per week - 50 weeks per year this would work out to around 1400+ hours per year. Most full-time attorneys work closer to 50+ hours a week and are expected to log between 1500-1700+ hours per year. The expectation for full time paralegals is around 1400 hours.
The 70-73% ratio is ambitious - but is achievable. For paralegals this goal will not be possible if they are loaded down with administrative duties. Excellent time management and time keeping skills and practices will need to be in place as well.
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September 17, 2012 |
Practice News
The Supreme Court of Illinois has announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders entered yesterday, during the September 2012 Term of Court. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law. All information is provided by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
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September 13, 2012 |
Practice News
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers the Mechanics Lien Act, Medical Marijuana and Juvenile homicide offenders. More information on each bill is available below the video.
Mechanics Lien Act. House Bill 3636 (Burke, D-Evergreen Park; Mulroe, D-Chicago) does three things in response to the LaSalle Bank National Association vs. Cypress Creek opinion. (1) Requires that the owner or interested person’s demand for suit to be commenced or answered within 30 days must contain this language in at least 10-point, boldface type: “Failure to respond to this notice within 30 days after receipt, as required by Section 34 of the Mechanics Lien Act, shall result in the forfeiture of the referenced lien.”
(2) Defines a “lien creditor” as someone who does work or furnishes material under this Act. A lien creditor is preferred over other encumbrances except that previous encumbrances are preferred only to the extent of the value of the land at the time the contract was made for the improvements, and each lien creditor is preferred to the value of all later improvements regardless of whether the lien creditor provided those improvements.
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September 13, 2012 |
Practice News
Michael J. Tardy, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced today that Christen L. Bishop, received most of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit and is declared to be appointed to the office of associate judge.
Ms. Bishop received her undergraduate degree in 1991 from the University of Illinois and her Juris Doctor in 1994 from the University of Illinois. Ms. Bishop is currently affiliated with the Lake County State's Attorney's Office in Waukegan.
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September 12, 2012 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the owner of a five attorney firm in Chicago. Including staff we have a total of 13 people working at the firm. As we have grown our approach to handling billing and accounting has been piecemeal. We have a combination of several people handling various tasks including a couple of outsourced vendors as well. Frankly it is a mess. I want to restructure and consolidate all the tasks and responsibilities into one bookkeeper position. Do you have a job description that would help guide me in my search?
A. Here is a job description that might help get your started.
Position Summary
The primary function of this position is to perform the billing, bookkeeping and accounting functions of the firm. This position requires an experienced and accomplished person with a strong bookkeeping and computer background. The position requires skills and experience in bookkeeping, accounting, law firm billing and QuickBooks software as well as Microsoft Office Products. The position requires experience in a law or other professional service firm environment.
Reporting Relationship
This position reports to the firm owner.