Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride and the Illinois Supreme Court announced Thursday that two counties in the Second Judicial District will be added to a pilot project allowing the filing of the trial record on appeal electronically.

The Supreme Court Order authorized the Illinois Appellate Court in the Second Judicial District to begin an e-project that will allow attorneys, parties and appellate justices to view, access and work electronically from the official record of cases on appeal from DeKalb and McHenry counties for appeals filed after August 1, 2012.

DeKalb and McHenry will join DuPage and Ogle counties in the Second Judicial District to electronically transfer the official court record of cases on appeal. Other Illinois counties in the pilot project include Clinton County in the Fifth Judicial District, Rock Island County in the Third Judicial District and Adams County in the Fourth Judicial District.

In addition, the Court announced in January a pilot project for the electronic filing of motions, briefs and related documents with the Illinois Supreme Court Clerk's office. That project involves the Illinois Attorney General, the State Appellate Defender's Office and the Office of the Illinois State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor.

Chief Justice Kilbride has said making the records on appeal available electronically will bring the courts closer to eventually making e-business universal throughout the Illinois court system. Justice Kilbride has pledged to make Illinois court operations more efficient by implementing improvements in technology since becoming Chief Justice in October 2010.

Are you putting the power of membership to use?

The ISBA Member Mark^SMand Member Firm Mark^SMcan be used by ISBA active members to denote their membership in the association and distinguish themselves from other lawyers when advertising their services to the public. Though not a certification of quality, membership in a professional association shows your commitment to a higher level of standards and practices.

Who can use the ISBA Member Mark^SMand/or Member Firm Mark^SM?

The ISBA Member Mark^SMcan be used by ISBA active members* who have completed the ISBA Member Mark License Agreement process. The ISBA Member Firm Mark^SMmay be used by law firms upon certification by the firm that all lawyers in the firm are active members* of the ISBA.  (See FAQs on website for definition of active member status.) 

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ISBA President John G. Locallo uses his latest Tech Minute to discuss HootSuite, an online dashboard that manages your social media accounts. Check it out in the video below:

Asked and Answered

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

Q. Our firm represents general business clients in Cleveland, Ohio. We have 37 attorneys. Currently we have only one office at the present time. As part of our planning process we have been discussing whether we should open a branch office in another major city in Ohio. What issues should we be thinking about?

A. Branching is being incorporated into more firm strategic plans. However, often the results do not meet firm expectations considering the time, effort and investment made. Overhead increases, anticipated opportunities do not materialize, management becomes more complex, resources are spread too thin, and the firm loses sight of its common identity.

Branching can be risky due to the dollars and managerial time investment. However, there can be significant benefits as well.

The starting point is to avoid knee jerk reactions such as branching because other firms are doing it, assuming that clients want you to have a presence in another geographical area, etc. Do your homework and build a business case for the branch office. Here are ideas to get you started:

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers House Bill 5823 (Health Care Services Lien Act), Senate Bill 3171 (Medical Records of deceased family members) Senate Bill 2840 (Medicaid and estate planning) and House Bill 1263 (eavesdropping). More information on each bill is available below the video.

Foreclosure mediation helps homeowners find relief – or at least closure – in an often forbidding legal process. It also relieves pressure on an overwhelmed court system. But programs vary from county to county. Find out what’s underway in the June Illinois Bar Journal.

Smart phones such as iPhone and Droid have become ubiquitous tools tools for lawyers; with over 80% of lawyers reporting using them for business use, according to the ABA Journal Law News Now. They have also become rich sources of evidence. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers reports, Survey of Nation’s Top Attorneys Reveals Spike in Smart Phone and Text Evidence During Divorces. Forensics evidence labs are also reporting a spike in requests for retrieval of their data for discovery purposes, according to Ride the Lightning, from Sensei Enterprises.   

House Bill 5823 (Thapedi, D-Chicago; Mulroe, D-Chicago) does three things to the Health Care Services Lien Act. (1) Proportionately reduces subrogation claims or other claims of right of reimbursement for medical expenses in the same proportion that the claimant’s recovery is reduced because of comparative fault or uncollectability of the full value of the full claim because of limited liability insurance or from any other cause. (2) Requires a party asserting a subrogation claim or other right of reimbursement to bear the pro rata share of the claimant’s attorney’s fees and litigation expenses. (3) Allows petitions to adjudicate rights under this Act to be served on interested adverse parties by personal service, substitute service, or registered or certified mail. House Bill 5823 exempts any health-care provider's liens and UIM and UM cases. This bill may be voted on today or tomorrow by the House Judiciary Committee I and the House. 

Tomorrow is the scheduled adjournment for the Illinois General Assembly, and tempers are getting a little short. Representative Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) erupts on the House floor yesterday in a "Let my People Go!" speech.