Asked and Answered

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

Q. Our firm is a 17-attorney firm is San Diego. We are a boutique business litigation firm and we represent companies of all sizes. We represent several Fortune 500 companies. I am a member of our three-member marketing committee and during our last meeting one of our members suggested that we consider a formal survey of our clients. What are your thoughts regarding client satisfaction surveys? Is this something we should consider?

Volunteers are needed for the 2018 ISBA High School Mock Trial Invitational, which is co-administered by the ISBA and the Illinois Trial Team of the University of Illinois. It will be held at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign on March 24-25.

This program provides an opportunity for students to learn what it is like to prepare and present a legal case before the Illinois Courts. Participating students gain a better understanding of the justice system and improve their knowledge, skills, and ability to articulate in a reasoned, thoughtful manner.

Don’t miss ISBA’s annual Federal Tax Conference in Chicago or via live webcast on February 2, 2018, which features a wealth of information and updates for tax lawyers, business law attorneys, and trusts and estates practitioners. Attorneys with basic practice experience who attend this conference will obtain a better understanding of: the tax issues to be aware of for non-profit organizations and tax exempt entities; the statutory and regulatory changes to individual tax laws; the ethical issues to consider when representing clients during an IRS inquiry; how a plan structure within an estate can impact income and estate taxation; how to spot potential tax protesters prior to accepting them as clients (and the hazards you may face if you are retained by this type of client); changes to the partnership audit regulations; corporate and partnership tax issues; and much more!

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down four opinions on Friday, Jan. 19, including the highly-anticipated Bogenberger v. Pi Kappa Alpha Corp., in which the court considered who can be held liable for a fraternity pledge's alcohol-related death during an initiation ritual. The court also addressed the deadline to timely file a motion to quash service in a residential mortgage foreclosure action in Bank of New York Mellon v. Laskowski, reversed and remanded the appellate court's decision to overturn a defendant's first degree murder conviction in People v. Carey, and determined whether the one-act, one-crime rule prohibits multiple convictions arising out of the defendant's single act of gun possession in People v. Coats. Leading appellate attorneys review these cases below.

Bogenberger v. Pi Kappa Alpha Corporation, Inc.

By Karen Kies DeGrand, Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC
 
Here the Illinois Supreme Court addressed the civil liability ramifications of excessive alcohol consumption at a fraternity pledging event. The court addressed whether the national organizations of a fraternity, a local chapter of the fraternity, its officers, pledge board members and active members, along with non-member sorority women, owed a legal duty to a prospective pledge who died from alcohol poisoning during a pledge event. The court ruled that all but the national entities owed a duty on the allegations of the complaint.  

ISBA has added fully-automated estate plan drafting system to IllinoisBarDocs, the document assembly system  built around a library of Illinois-specific legal forms. You can create will- or trust-based plans or, if you are unsure what is best for your client, run the complete system to be guided through questions that result in a custom plan.

Attorney Brittany B. Kimble discusses the rules of evidence that could make the difference between winning and losing your case.

As the January Illinois Bar Journal cover story makes clear, good referrals serve the interests of lawyers and clients alike. In her column in the January issue, ISBA assistant counsel Bailey Felts enumerates the key ethics rules you'll need to consult before heading down the referral road.

The Supreme Court of Illinois has issued four orders in response to mandatory e-filing extension requests from DeKalb, DuPage, Madison, and McHenry counties. DuPage County was granted an additional year to transition to the state's new electronic filing system.

Join us from the comfort of your home or office on Feb. 1 for two live webcasts that were developed for general practitioners who do not ordinarily advise clients on issues involving environmental law, but who need an introductory look at these topics.