ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Court reporters, Attorney fees in civil actions (House Bill 2456), Product liability and confidentiality orders (House Bill 3518), Property fraud alert system (House Bill 3672), Guilty pleas (House Bill 2569) and The Notice and Opportunity to Repair Act (House Bill 3744). More information on each bill is available below the video.

Health care attorneys in Illinois saw the need for a simpler, more user-friendly statutory form for clients to declare who would hold their health care power of attorney and how that person should proceed. Elder law attorneys objected to what they saw as "dumbed down," vague, or simplistic language that might leave the elderly vulnerable to the unscrupulous.

The Illinois legislature unanimously passed a bill to change the statutory form. The bill was originally drafted by the Illinois State Medical Society (ISMS) with input from the ISBA and other groups. It became Pub. Act 98-1113 and took effect January 1, 2015. And now, estate planning attorneys have begun to put it into place, with some caveats and wrinkles that they are finding useful in honing the new language to ensure that it serves their clients well.

Find out more about how lawyers are using the new form in the April Illinois Bar Journal.

Q. If I’m forced to sue my client for a fee, can I disclose in pleadings or in open court the services I rendered to the client or is that breaching a confidence?

A. Rule 1.6 provides broadly that a lawyer shall not reveal “information relating to the representation of a client.”   However, subpart (b)(5) of the Rule allows a lawyer to reveal such information “to establish a claim or defense on behalf of the lawyer in a controversy between the lawyer and the client.”  Comment [11] to the Rule notes “a lawyer entitled to a fee is permitted by (b)(5) to prove the services rendered in an action to collect it.” 

ISBA members can browse past ISBA Ethics Opinions, access our Ethics Hotline, and other resources on the ISBA Ethics Page.

The next ISBA Solo & Small Firm Practice Institute will be held in East Peoria on April 16. The focus of this seminar is Building Your Practice and Preparing for the Future. The program runs from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and provides 6.50 MCLE hours, including 6.50 Professional Responsibility MCLE credit hours (PMCLE credit subject to approval).

Get the best practice tips and practical tools you need to run your office efficiently and profitably with this full-day seminar! As an attendee, you will:

Review by Bradley S. Le Boeuf, Attorney at Law

“This is the story of John Hay and John Nicolay, prairie boys who met in 1851 and forged a close friendship that endured over a half century. Fortune placed them in the right place (Springfield, Illinois), at the right time (1860) and offered them a front-row seat to one of the most tumultuous political and military upheavals in American history, then or since” writes Joshua Zeitz in his fourth book, Lincoln’s Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincoln’s Image.

John Hay was reading law in his uncle’s law office in Springfield in 1859 when he first met Abraham Lincoln, who occupied the adjoining office with his law partner, William Herndon. Nicolay, a journalist, initially met Lincoln in 1856 when Lincoln was hustling around Illinois, building the Republican party, and aiming for the 1858 Senate race against Stephen Douglas.

ISBA Past President Timothy Bertschy has been appointed as a member of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. He fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Stuart R. Lefstein for a term expiring Dec. 31, 2015, and until a successor is appointed. Bertschy is the managing partner of Heyl Royster in Peoria.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. We are a 17-attorney firm in Dayton, Ohio. Several of our founding partners are retiring and we have been contemplating a merger with another law firm but are not sure where to start. I would appreciate your ideas.

A. Start by determining your merger objectives. Why do you want to merge? What do you hope to achieve? Is merger compatible with your strategic plan? What size of firm are you considering?

Once you are sure that merger exploration - in general - makes sense - you should insure that your house is in order. In other words - can anything be done to enhance the value and/or marketability of your firm? For example:

The Supreme Court of Illinois announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on March 12, 2015, during the March Term of Court. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.

The Illinois State Bar Association’s Law Student Committee would like to invite you to a "Speed Networking Event" on Wednesday, April 15 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Chicago Office, 20 S. Clark. Borrowing concepts from speed dating, the event will facilitate short, focused conversations between current law students and distinguished ISBA members in a relaxed setting. Topics that will be addressed include networking, business development, and landing your first job.  

If you would like to meet seasoned attorneys with a wealth of information about practicing law in Illinois, while gaining some insight into the forward-thinking events and services offered by the ISBA, please register for this free event at https://www.isba.org/speednetworking.