Clerk of the Circuit Court Keith S. Brin is proud to announce the Public Access System developed by his office has gone live today. They Public Access System can be accessed through the Clerk of the Circuit Court's Website www.lakecountyil.gov/CircuitClerk/Pages/default.aspx or directly at circuitclerk.lakecountyil.gov/publicAccess/jsp/common/index.jsf 

Part-one of a two-part initiative developed by Brin who just marked his first hundred days in office, the Public Access System provides a secure way for individuals to obtain basic information on any court case in Lake County -- from checking on a future court date and amounts due, to parties involved in a case. The second of Brin's two-pronged initiative, Electronic Filing, will be launched for public use this fall.

"It's not an 8:30 to 5:00 world anymore, we live in an age of technology and information." said Brin. "In the private sector companies implement technology to remove barriers and make doing business easier, less expensive and more efficient for the customer -- this is exactly what my office has done with the implementation of the Public Access System," the Circuit Clerk explained.

More than 600 new attorneys were admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday 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) was admitted in the First Judicial District at the Arie Crown Theatre. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman presided, with Justices Anne M. Burke and Mary Jane Theis participating.

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

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

The other ceremonies included:

In 2008, if a person wanted to study at the John Marshall Law School, she'd have to navigate her way to downtown Chicago, lugging heavy books and wearing something a little more formal than pajamas, to attend live lectures in a classroom setting.

Five years later, JMLS offers more online LL.M. degrees than any other accredited U.S. law school, allowing lawyers anywhere in the world to expand their legal educations from the comfort of their own homes, day or night, wearing whatever clothing feels best.

Loyola University Chicago School of Law also offers an online LL.M. degree and, according to National Jurist, Loyola is the only school in the country with an online degree in health law. Find out more in the May IBJ.

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.