ISBA honors winners of Lawyers Feeding Illinois Competition

ISBA President John E. Thies and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan presented plaques today to winners of the ISBA Lawyers Feeding Illinois food and fundraising campaign during an awards ceremony at the ISBA’s Chicago Regional office. During the ceremony, checks were presented to representatives of Illinois’ eight regional food banks (see list below).

The campaign, whose goal was to raise at least one million meals, surpassed its goal and raised more than 3.7 million meals with the help of lawyers, lawyer teams and more than 2,000 donors for the benefit of Illinoisans facing hunger in a statewide campaign held February 18-March 1.

This latest figure takes into account the announcement of Attorney General Madigan that her office would distribute $500,000 in funding from several legal settlements to food banks across Illinois to help feed families and people in need. Madigan said the money will make food available to local food pantries that serve each of Illinois’ 102 counties.

“With this contribution, the total number of meals provided through Lawyers Feeding Illinois will be more than 3,780,635,” said Thies. “The participation of our state’s chief legal officer demonstrates the strong commitment of the legal profession to this important cause.”

As an attorney working in the mental health law arena, you need to stay up to date on the legislative and procedural changes taking place throughout Illinois. Don’t miss this opportunity on May 17^th to examine basic mental health issues and explore the new developments in this field. Mental health lawyers, disability law practitioners, family law attorneys, and those working in the health care industry attending this seminar will better understand: the clinical and legal definitions of “mental illness”; how the proposed changes to the MHDD Confidentiality Act work with the Health Information Exchange and HIPPA; how specific litigation has impacted mental health law in Illinois; the nuances of access to care and access to medication under a modified Medicaid plan and “Obama Care”; the ethical issues that can arise during a mental health law case, including the protection of  mental health records; and much more! For those unable to attend the live program in Chicago, this seminar is also available as a live webcast!

The program is presented by ISBA’s Standing Committee on Mental Health Law and qualifies for 5.75 hours MCLE credit.

Click here for more information and to register for the CHICAGO program.

Click here for more information and to register for the LIVE WEBCAST.

Vincent F. Cornelius has been elected third vice president of the Illinois State Bar Association. He will serve one year in each of three vice presidential offices and then become president of the statewide organization in 2016. Cornelius is the principal of The Law Offices of Vincent F. Cornelius, with offices in Wheaton and Joliet, where he concentrates in civil and criminal litigation.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. Our firm is a personal injury plaintiff firm in Topeka, KS. Until two years ago we had two attorneys (both partners) and two support staff members. In early 2012 we added an associate attorney, increased our marketing investment, moved our offices and took on additional space, added five additional support staff members, and implemented a case management system. We currently have 500 open cases - up from 200 cases 2+ years ago. Revenues are up - but the two partners are each taking home $40,000 less than they were before the expansion. Our home-grown office manager runs the office. What should we be doing differently?

A. My first thought is that your revenues have not caught up with the overhead and the growth investments that you have made. (You should review your reports and verify this) Personal injury cases have a much longer revenue lag than does work that gets "time-billed" monthly. Some cases may be in progress for two years or so. So be patient, but don't be complacent.

More than 600 new attorneys will be admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday, May 9 with Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court presiding and administering the attorney’s oath at five separate locations.

All of the candidates have passed the Illinois state bar examination, an ethics examination, and have been certified by the Committee on Character and Fitness.

The largest group, 467, will be admitted in the First Judicial District during ceremonies starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Arie Crown Theatre. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman will preside, with Justices Anne M. Burke and Mary Jane Theis participating.

Appellate Court Justice Maureen E. Connors from the First Judicial District will make the motion to admit the class.

The 668 men and women were certified as candidates and will be sworn in as Illinois attorneys Thursday at ceremonies in the five Supreme Court judicial districts.

Here are the time and locations of Thursday’s ceremonies:

The Illinois State Bar Association's Lawyer Finder service connects consumers to Illinois lawyers - by phone Mondays through Fridays, and around the clock at illinoislawyerfinder.com.

Here are the results for April 2013:

• 683 phone referrals made by Lawyer Finder staff
• Most requested areas of law: Family (117), Employment Law (75), Personal Injury (78), Criminal Law (68), Real Estate (66), Civil Disputes (51)

• 24,285 visits to IllinoisLawyerFinder.com (21,431 unique visitors)
• 635 clicks to Find a Lawyer (from campaign landing pages only)
• 898 unique calls to Find a Lawyer
• Top 3 online topics: Employment Law, General/Find a Lawyer, Divorce

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.

ISBA Executive Director Robert E. Craghead (left) presents Jacksonville Detective Brad Rogers with the ISBA’s Law Enforcement Award at a ceremony on May 1 at the Illinois State Police Training Academy in Springfield. Also pictured is Morgan County Circuit Judge Chris Reif, who nominated detective Rogers for the award.

The ISBA’s Law Enforcement Award was created to recognize sworn law enforcement officers for conduct that promotes justice and to distinguish those individuals whose service to the public brings honor and respect to the entire criminal justice system.

Don’t miss this opportunity on May 15^th to update your knowledge on a number of key professional conduct areas, including: trust account requirements and complying with Rule 1.5 of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct; what to include on retainer agreements; avoiding sexual misconduct and knowing which conduct has been disciplined by the ARDC; how other states define sexual misconduct; and sexual harassment in the workplace. The program will be held in Chicago and via live webcast (for those unable to attend onsite).

The program is presented by ISBA’s Standing Committee on the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commissionand qualifies for 2.75 hours MCLE credit, including 2.75 hours Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval).

Click here for more information and to register for the CHICAGO program.

Click here for more information and to register for the LIVE WEBCAST.