Lower shipping costs and a $25 gift card…just another way that ISBA and UPS can help you improve your bottom line.

 It pays to be a member of Illinois State Bar Association, and we’re proud to bring you another opportunity to save.

• Save up to 34%¹, plus 50%¹ off select services for up to four weeks after you enroll through the UPS^® Savings Program.
• Receive a $25 Visa gift card² just by enrolling and sending three qualifying air shipments or one qualifying international shipment on your account before October 31, 2015. New customers only.

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Explore the basics of operating agreements with this half-day seminar in Chicago or via live webcast on September 3, 2015 that’s designed to help newer attorneys gain a general understanding of how LLCs work! Attorneys representing business clients will often be called upon to form limited liability companies and to draft operating agreements for those entities. As such, it is important for you to understand the basic structure and key issues of operating agreements, which serve as the governing instrument between the members and managers of limited liability companies. Attorneys attending this half-day seminar will better understand: the statutory default rules of an operating agreement; what should and shouldn’t be included in the agreement; capital contributions; tax provisions, special allocation rules, Section 754 election, and alternatives to partnership tax treatments; the restrictions (if any) that are placed on the transfer of a member’s LLC interests; and much more!

The program is presented by the ISBA Business & Securities Law Section and qualifies for 3.50 hours MCLE credit.

Click here for more information and to register.

A U.S. federal judge has dismissed a closely-watched lawsuit that challenged New York rules that ban non-attorneys from investing in law firms. The decision supports the established ISBA position and rejects the challenge to Rule 5.4, which prohibits non-lawyer ownership of law firms.

Read the full decision Jacoby & Meyers

Read the BNA article here

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Court security fee (Public Act 99-265), Consular notification of foreign nationals (Public Act 99-190), Speeding and supervision (Public Act 99-212), Juvenile sentencing (Public Act 99-69), Juvenile justice transfer (Public Act 99-258), Juvenile justice detention (Public Act 99-254) and Juvenile justice incarceration (Public Act 99-268). More information on each bill is available below the video.

Court security fee. Public Act 99-265 (Haine, D-Alton; Moffitt, R-Galesburg) allows a court security fee to exceed $25 to be imposed on civil litigants and convicted defendants if it is set according to an acceptable cost study under the Counties Code. Effective January 1, 2016.

Consular notification of foreign nationals. Public Act 99-190 (Drury, D-Highwood; Raoul, D-Chicago) requires that a law enforcement officer in charge of custodial facilities must ensure that a foreign national is advised within 48 hours of booking or detention that he or she has the right to communicate with the appropriate consulate as required by the Vienna Convention. Effective January 1, 2016.

Speeding and supervision. Public Act 99-212 (Walsh, D-Joliet; Mulroe, D-Chicago) does the following:

Asked and Answered

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

Q. I am the managing partner of an eight attorney general practice firm in Chicago's western suburbs. We have five partners and three associates. For years, it was just the five partners who started the firm together. In the last three years we added our associates. We are not making money from our associates and wondering what we need to be doing differently. One associate is logging 925 billable hours, one is logging 1,200 billable hours, and the other 1,400 billable hours. You thoughts are welcomed.

We get it. Everyone needs authentic and reliable technology to turn to at the office, home and on the go. Whatever the task, Lenovo has a product that's got you covered.

Which is why we're excited to announce the ISBA Lenovo savings program. ISBA members can now save up to 30% off the everyday public web price of Lenovo's entire product line.

Take advantage of great deals on everything you need for your office and home, including laptops, tablets, desktops, all-in-ones, workstations, servers, and accessories.

This includes savings on a wide range of top products offered by Lenovo, including the award-winning ThinkPad notebooks.

ISBA members also receive:

The Illinois Pension Reform Act was recently struck as unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court, which will have a significant effect on government efforts to address the state’s pension obligations. Attorneys with advanced levels of practice experience working in the labor/employment, government, administrative law, and state tax arenas won’t want to miss this opportunity on September 10^th to hear opposing counsel from the In re: Pension Reform Litigation case as they examine the arguments each made in court, why these arguments were made, and the reasoning behind the landmark ruling. An explanation of the Pension Protection Clause and the Contract Clause is also included.

The live webcast is presented by the ISBA Labor & Employment Law Section and qualifies for 1.0 hour MCLE credit.

Click here for more information and to register.

The Illinois Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Illinois State Bar Association, has added five members to its Board of Directors.

Newly-elected members are Christopher W. Niro, a senior associate attorney at Niro, Haller & Niro in Chicago; Chantelle A. Porter, a senior associate attorney at A. Traub & Associates with offices in Arlington Heights and Lombard; Gregory L. Shevlin, a partner in the Belleville law firm of Cook, Ysursa, Bartholomew, Brauer & Shevlin, Ltd.; Rory T. Weiler, a partner in Weiler & Lengle, P.C. in St. Charles; and Sonni Choi Williams, Deputy Corporation Counsel for the city of Peoria. Weiler and Shevlin will serve two-year terms and the other board members will each serve a one-year term.