Asked and Answered

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

Q. I am the owner of a five attorney personal plaintiff firm in Wheaton, Illinois. Our practice is in its 25th year of practice and we are 100 percent concentrated in personal injury. Over the years we have been very successful, but the last three years we have been struggling. Revenues and profits have been flat. It is getting harder to get good cases and harder to settle and move the cases that we have. We need to approach our business differently. I would appreciate your ideas and thoughts.

ISBA officers including (from left) President-elect Umberto S. Davi, 2nd Vice President Vincent F. Cornelius and President Richard D. Felice represented the ISBA at the recent American Bar Association Annual Meeting in Boston. ISBA Immediate Past President Paula H. Holderman began serving a three-year term as Illinois Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. She succeeds Chicago attorney Robert A. Clifford.

United States Bankruptcy Judge Bruce W. Black of the Northern District of Illinois has applied to be reappointed by the United States Court of Appeals to a new 14-year term when his current term expires on August 12, 2015. A United States Bankruptcy Judge is a judicial officer of the United States District Court who exercises the authority of the district court with respect to any action, suit, or proceeding under Chapter 6 of Title 28 of the United States Code. 28 U.S.C. § 151. Comments are invited from the public and the bar as to whether Judge Black should be reappointed. Those comments should be in writing and sent by September 30, 2014 to:

• COLLINS T. FITZPATRICK
• CIRCUIT EXECUTIVE
• 219 SOUTH DEARBORN STREET, ROOM 2780
• CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60604

Chief Judge John T. Elsner has announced that applications for the Office of Associate Judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois, DuPage County have been received from those on the list below.

The vacancy is the result of the retirement of Associate Judge Thomas C. Dudgeon.

As part of the review process conducted by the Circuit Judges, Chief Judge Elsner invites public comment by letter before Aug. 21, 2014 to:

• Chief Judge John T. Elsner
• 18th Judicial Circuit Court
• 505 N. County Farm Road, Room 2015
• Wheaton, IL 60187

The applicants are:

Q.  What are the rules regarding communicating with an unrepresented individual?

A.  IRPC 4.3 allows an attorney to communicate and negotiate with an unrepresented individual as long as certain requirements are met. The attorney “shall not state or imply that the lawyer is disinterested” and “the lawyer shall not give any legal advice to the unrepresented person, other than the advice to secure counsel.” For more information, see ISBA Professional Conduct Advisory Opinion 14-02. 

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

Disclaimer.  These questions are representative of calls received on the ISBA’s ethics hotline.  The information provided below is meant as an educational tool to highlight potentially applicable Illinois RPC or other ethics resources that might help the lawyer answer the question posed.  The information provided isn’t legal advice.  Because every situation is different, often complex, and the law is constantly evolving, you shouldn’t rely upon this general information without conducting your own research.

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Independent examination in mental health proceedings (Public Act 98-853), Transfer on death instrument (Public Act 98-821), Common Interest Community Association Act (Public Act 98-842) and Mechanics Lien Act (Public Act 98-764). More information on the bill is available below the video.

Same-sex marriage came to Illinois by way of the Illinois Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, which took effect June 1, Chicago lawyer Richard Wilson wrote in the August Illinois Bar Journal. "Promising full marriage equality in Illinois as a matter of state law, the Act legalizes same-sex marriage, leaves in place the Civil Union Act, and provides for voluntary conversion of civil unions to marriages," he said. "Also - and remarkably - it grants the continuing jurisdiction of the Illinois courts to a same-sex marriage," he said.

"The Act mandates absolute protection for freedom of religious practice and certain protections and immunity from suit on grounds consistent with religious belief. Finally, it repeals the same-sex marriage prohibitions enacted in 1996, which lingered in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act and went untouched by the passage of the Illinois Civil Union Act three years ago," Wilson said.

But the Marriage Fairness Act left some unanswered questions as well, which Wilson explores in his excellent review of the new law. Read it and find out more.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. I am the chair of our firm's marketing committee. We are a 24 attorney insurance defense firm in Houston. While we solicit feedback from some of our larger insurance company clients at lunch and face to face meetings - the sessions are not structured, data is not really tabulated, and only a handful of clients are usually involved. We have been thinking of embarking on a more structured process. I would appreciate your thoughts.

A. Our firm recently completed client satisfaction interviews for several of our insurance defense law firm clients. Here are a few quotes and a summary of what these insurance company law firm clients told us: