ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers perjury, interest on child support, the Disposition of Remains Act, the Condominium Property Act, foreclosure in cities of more than two million residents, post-judgment changes,and the Open Meetings Act.

Perjury. House Bill 914 (Bennett, R-Pontiac) extends the statute of limitations for perjury to seven years. Current law is three years. House Bill 914 was assigned to House Criminal Law Committee.

Attorney Erica Minchella discusses what real estate lawyers need to know about the new 7.0 Multi-Board Contract.

Applications are now being accepted for judicial vacancies in the Thirteenth Subcircuit, Seventh Subcircuit, and First Subcircuit of Cook County, according to an announcement made by the Illinois Supreme Court.

The vacancy of the Thirteenth Subcircuit judicial position was created by the resignation of Circuit Judge Margarita Kulys Hoffman. Judge Kulys Hoffman had served as a judge since 2006. Her resignation took effect Dec. 31, 2017. 

The vacancy of the Seventh Subcircuit judicial position was created by the retirement of Circuit Judge Marianne Jackson. Judge Jackson had served as a judge since 1997. Her resignation took effect Dec. 31, 2018. 

The vacancy of the First Subcircuit judicial position was created by the death of Rhonda Crawford on April 26, 2018.

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 January 2019 there were more than 800 referrals given.

Here are the results for January 2019:

Update your knowledge on a number of important workers’ compensation issues with this full-day seminar Feb. 18 in Chicago or O’Fallon. Labor and employment attorneys and workers’ compensation practitioners attending this seminar will better understand: how orthopedic injuries intersect with workers’ compensation; the caselaw updates affecting your clients; the jurisdiction (and dual jurisdiction) of a workers’ compensation claim; how to prepare your case for trial; what to expect when presenting your case during arbitration; and your ethical obligation to ensure the security of your electronic files.

Research suggests we tap only a small fraction of our brain’s cognitive powers. Same with our computers and the internet. If only we could exploit more of the immense computing power of our laptops and smartphones. But who has the time to explore all the features buried deep in our manuals and menus? The February Illinois Bar Journal’s cover story gets you started by providing easy-to-use tips for getting more out of the technology at your fingertips. The story, “18 Quick and Easy Tech Tips for 2019,” also is a sneak preview of a larger set of tips provided by Affinity Consulting partner Barron Henley’s one-hour ISBA CLE webinar available in ISBA's Free On-Demand CLE catalog.

Every year, the Illinois State Bar Association presents awards to recognize individuals for their commitment and service to the profession, their communities, and the association. Award recipients are selected through a nomination process, and members are encouraged to nominate persons who meet the criteria for each award. Please submit the online nomination form, available following the links below, for the following awards no later than March 1.

On Thursday, Jan. 31, the Illinois Supreme Court amended its order on criminal and juvenile e-filling through eFileIL. The amendment reiterates the court’s approval for permissive e-filing of criminal case types (CF, CM, DT) and juvenile case types (J, JA, JD) through eFileIL, but now also provides for the initial case initiation to be e-filed through eFileIL at such a time as each court chooses. The previous order only provided for subsequent e-filing of criminal and juvenile cases through eFileIL after the case had been initiated and been assigned a case number.

The Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) has announced the names of eight law student interns who will work at public interest law agencies in Chicago during the spring semester.

Interns work 200 hours part-time during the semester, with PILI providing a living stipend, as well as ensuring quality supervision by experienced attorneys and providing extra educational, networking, and advising opportunities.  

Asked and Answered 

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I am the administrator with a firm in Buffalo, New York. We have 14 attorneys – seven partners and seven associates. We are an eat-what-you-kill law firm. All the partners have to weigh in and agree on any and all management decisions. Our management team consists of “all partners.” While I have been hired as the administrator for management the firm, I have very little authority to do anything. The partners all have the freedom to do as they please, and there is very little accountability to each other. Recently we have been discussing the pros and cons of why we might want to change our governance and overall structure. I would be interested in your thoughts.