The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission will partner to educate and inform the public about the extradition hearings of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, and issues of modern day personal liberties.

The "Joseph Smith Reenactment & Discussion" will be held on Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Logal Center for the Arts, University of Chicago, 915 E. 60th, Chicago. Cost of the event is $15 and valet parking is available.

Panelists include:  Hon. Sue Myerscough, U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois; Michael Scodro, Illinois Solicitor General; Jeffrey Colman, Jenner & Block; and Jeffrey Walker, J. Reuben Clark Law School.

Visit JosephSmithCaptured.com for more information.

The ISBA Senior Lawyers Section Council will present "Computer Basics for Senior Lawyers" on Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at National Louis University, 122 S. Michigan, Rm. 4024, Chicago. Join the Senior Lawyers with assistance from Young Lawyers at this basic workshop on becoming familiar with your computer. You will become familiar with the computer workstation, using the keyboard and the mouse, menus; Basic typing/word processing; accessing the Internet-how to do searches, “google-ing” and links; and basics of e-mail and email use.

Find out more and register at www.isba.org/sections/seniorlawyers/computerbasics

For many lawyers, sending an income withholding notice after winning a child support order is routine stuff. "Secretaries or legal assistants often prepare the documents from forms that have been in use for many years," Jennifer A. Shaw and Barry T. Underwood write in the latest ISBA Family Law newsletter.

Big mistake. Things have changed in the last 18 months or so, and "[f]ailure to recognize the latest protocols could result in complaints to the ARDC or charges of malpractice as the penalties attributable to employers who fail to withhold are substantial," Shaw and Underwood continue. Ouch.

Fortunately, their excellent article recites key federal and state statutory provisions and cases and points lawyers in the right direction. Read it.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. I have just been elected as the firm's first managing partner. We are a 9-attorney firm in El Paso, Texas. After a month, I am already frustrated and wish I had declined the role. I have two partners that are simply not producing, do as they please, and I am powerless. I would appreciate your thoughts.

A. Non-productive partners always pose a challenge. They are usually the “nice – easy to get along with folks” which makes it difficult to confront and deal with them as well. However, the longer that you let such problems fester the harder these situations will be to deal with in the long term. Layout performance expectations and deal with them in real time.

Consider:

The second luncheon in a three-part luncheon series aimed at teaching law students and young attorneys practical steps in developing their legal career. Each luncheon will feature esteemed panelists discussing a variety of topics while also taking questions from the audience. This luncheon program will feature sitting judges offering tips to young lawyers on how to make a good impression in the courtroom.

Speakers:

• The Honorable James F. Holderman, United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
• The Honorable Thomas R. Mulroy, Circuit Court of Cook County, Law Division

• The Honorable Laura C. Liu, Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division

The Illinois Supreme Court announced Friday the appointment of Evanston attorney Jerry A. Esrig as Cook County Circuit Judge in the Ninth Judicial Subcircuit.

Mr. Esrig, a resident of the Ninth Subcircuit, was appointed by the Court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Allen S. Goldberg. The appointment is effective October 30, 2013 and will terminate December 1, 2014, when the position is filled by the 2014 General Election.

Justice Mary Jane Theis recommended the appointment to the Supreme Court after she announced an open application process and after the candidates were reviewed by bar associations and Justice Theis' bipartisan screening committee.

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 September 2013 ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:

Here are the results for September 2013:

• 429 phone referrals made by Lawyer Finder staff
• Most requested areas of law: Family (65), Personal Injury (54), Criminal Law (48), Real Estate (47), Employment Law (41) and Civil Disputes (22)
• 21,252 visits to IllinoisLawyerFinder.com (18,857 unique visitors)

Want to be part of the ISBA Lawyer Finder Service? Call (800) 252-8908 and ask for the Legal Department, or visit www.illinoislawyerfinder.com

Clients should call (800) 922-8757.

It is important that attorneys working in the real estate arena keep abreast of the ongoing changes and developments taking place in this important field of practice. Join us in Lombard on Oct. 31 for an update on the recently-enacted real estate-related legislation and current case law that will impact your practice! Real estate lawyers, transactional attorneys, and commercial banking/bankruptcy practitioners – with basic to intermediate practice experience – attending this program will better understand: the real estate issues that can arise during the dissolution of a marriage; the economic development incentives being offered by municipalities throughout Illinois; how the landmark Cypress Creek case has affected lien disputes; important tax issues that can affect real estate transactions; the ethical and malpractice issues to consider when representing a client during a real estate case; and much more!

The seminar is presented by the ISBA Real Estate Law Section and qualifies for 6.0 hours MCLE credit, including 1.0 hour Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval).

Click here for more information and to register.

The Illinois State Bar Association will hold its annual election in March 2014. Campaign season began on Oct. 1 for open ISBA seats including the office of 3rd Vice President, 5 seats on the Board of Governors and 22 Cook County seats on the Assembly.

The notice of election is now available.

Find out more at http://www.isba.org/elections

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the civil case In re Marriage of Earlywine and the criminal case People v. Hale.

CIVIL

In re Marriage of Earlywine

By Michael T. Reagan, Law Offices of Michael T. Reagan, Ottawa

In re Marriage of Earlywine presented the issue of whether attorneys’ fees paid to a spouse’s attorney and held in an advance payment retainer account complying with Rule 1.15 of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct is subject to a disgorgement order for payment of interim attorneys’ fees under the authority of § 501(c-1) of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.  The circuit court, finding that neither party had the financial ability or resources to pay their respective attorney fees, ordered the husband’s attorney to turn over to the wife’s attorney half of the fees previously paid. 

The appellate court affirmed, and in turn was affirmed by the supreme court.  The trial court’s opinion noted that the purpose of the Dissolution Act is to achieve substantial parity between the parties, and that that public policy should override the advance payment retainer device for protecting fees.  The supreme court endorsed that reasoning.