ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers IMDMA and temporary relief (House Bill 1004), Integrative Family Therapy (House Bill 1018), Family law and false allegations of child abuse or neglect (House Bill 1019), Child support and payor’s fee (House Bill 1041), Income-withholding notices (Senate Bill 1169) and Uniform Collaborative Law (House Bill 1029). More information on the bill is available below the video.

IMDMA and temporary relief. House Bill 1004 (Pritchard, R-DeKalb) allows party to request and the court to grant temporary relief that includes the following: (1) require a party to surrender to the court or the petitioner's attorney any United States or foreign passport issued in the name of a child; (2) require a party to place the name of a child in the Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program of the United States Department of State; or (3) enjoin a party from applying on behalf of a child for a new or replacement passport or visa. Recently introduced.

The website AVVO.com, famous for its lawyer-rating system, has launched a new service that allows prospective clients with traffic tickets to receive "bids" for representation from nearby lawyers. Shortly after the program debuted in mid-December 2012, the ISBA's criminal law e-discussion group lit up with comments that the system degrades the practice of law and creates ethical pitfalls for the lawyers who use it. But AVVO.com founder and CEO Mark Britton defended the new service as merely taking the next technological step forward in making connections between attorneys and potential clients. Find out more in the February Illinois Bar Journal.

President John E. Thies discusses the ISBA's Special Committee on Law School Debt. The committee recently completed the final of five hearings held around the state. The group heard testimony on the significance of law school debt on the long term delivery of legal services and found the impact of this crisis is being felt far and wide.

The ISBA Senior Lawyers Section and the ABA Retirement Funds Program will co-host a program titled "Retirement Readiness" on March 6 from noon-1:30 p.m. at the ISBA's Chicago Regional Office.

Nominating petitions for the 2013 ISBA Election are due by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 31, 2013 at either the Illinois Bar Center, 424 South 2nd Street, in Springfield or the ISBA Chicago Office at 20 S. Clark Street, 9th Floor, Chicago. Petitions must be physically submitted with original signatures. Petitions submitted via email or fax will not be accepted. (See Election Policy Para. 3.4.)

More information is available at www.isba.org/elections

Asked and Answered

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

Q. I am sole owner of a law firm in Western Kentucky. My practice consists of myself, a legal assistant, a part-time bookkeeper, and a part-time contract attorney. The practice is limited to employment law - both plaintiff and defense side. Approximately 80% of my business is contingency fee and 20% is time-billed and or retainer. While the practice has done OK over the past 15 or so years, worrying about paying bills (cash flow) is a constant source of stress for me and my family. I do no marketing - all of my business comes from lawyer referrals. Do you have any suggestions?

Master the basics of administering a guardianship estate with this informative full-day seminar in Bloomington on February 15^th! Discover the various issues surrounding guardianship estates for disabled persons as respected estate planning practitioners guide you through a number of topics, including who qualifies as a disabled person and why a guardian may be necessary; types of guardianship estates and who may serve as a guardian; the guardianship appointment process; requirements for opening and closing the guardianship estate; the powers, duties, and limitations of the guardian; investment requirements and fiduciary accountings; contested guardianships and how to avoid and/or settle them; the roles of the Public Guardian and Office of State Guardian; and the ethical issues to consider when acting as Power of Attorney.

The program is presented by the ISBA Trusts and Estates Section and qualifies for 6.5 hours MCLE credit, including 1.0 hour Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval).

Click here for more information and to register.

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Friday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the civil cases Poris v. Lake Holiday Property Owners Association and Bjork v. O'Meara and the criminal case People v. English.

CIVIL

Poris v. Lake Holiday Property Owners Association

By Jay Wiegman, Office of the State Appellate Defender

ISBA President John E. Thies reports that the ISBA's new, free and fast CLE courses are now available for members. Topics range from Discovery, Foreclosure and Family Law to Legal Writing and Ethics Issues.

Join us in Chicago on February 1^st to get the information you need to effectively counsel your clients on important sentencing issues in felony, misdemeanor, and traffic law cases!Attorneys attending this program will better understand the statutory and non-statutory factors in aggravation; the collateral consequences of guilty pleas, including immigration status, and the 6^th amendment ineffective assistance of counsel issues identified in several recent U.S. Supreme Court Cases; the differing good-time credit of various offenses; recognizing the various fees and  fines that  impact the defendant at sentencing; how to search the Illinois Criminal Code to pull up specific statutes using the ICJIA database; issues in sex offender sentencing, including registration requirements and social limitations/restrictions on the sex offender; and the new Evidence Based Sentencing in DUI cases and the 2012 DE Evaluation format.

The program qualifies for 6.0 hours MCLE credit and is presented by the ISBA Criminal Justice Section.

Click here for more information and to register.