Zombie nouns flourish in legal writing. They smother lively verbs and suck the vitality and clarity right out your prose. Bryan A. Garner believes that they are a bigger problem in legal writing than incorrectly using the passive voice.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the owner of a 12 attorney firm in Dallas. We have 26 people including attorneys and staff. I founded the firm 20 years ago. While we have an Accounting Manager - I am responsible for the management and direction of the firm. While we have done okay over the years - I often feel deficient as a manager and am not always sure that I am covering all of the bases. Is there such thing as management 101 for guys like me?
A. Mention Management 101 and I think of the five functions of management. Each of these roles must be performed by someone in every law firm and business if it is to be successful. In a small firm such as yours you must perform each of these functions and be reasonably good at all of them.
Here are the five functions:
The law school experience tends to program lawyers to think cases and nothing but cases, but more and more it’s statutes and administrative rules where the action is. In Illinois, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) publishes the weekly Flinn Report that is a summary of the rules being proposed by State agencies. It is a PDF usually four to ten pages long.
The Flinn Report allows interested persons or parties an opportunity to give written comments on the proposed rules before they are accepted and published. These rules can significantly affect some of your practices.
It’s not a bad idea to skim the weekly Flinn Report much as you would skim case summaries in ISBA’s E-Clips or in the advance sheets.
Background information on JCAR and the link for the Flinn Report are here.
The Illinois State Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division is kicking off its Professional Development Luncheons (PDLs) with a session titled “Getting Your Foot in the Door.” The program will be on Wednesday, Sept. 12 at noon at the Chicago Regional Office, 20 S. Clark Ste. 900.
The four part series is aimed at teaching law students and young attorneys practical steps in advancing their career. The first luncheon program features three esteemed panelists who will discuss how to get your first job or new job in the legal profession whether you are interested in working at a small firm, large firm, or for the government.
Cost: $10 includes lunch (If you require a specific dietary lunch, contact Janet Sosin)
Registration required by Sept. 7 at http://www.isba.org/sections/yld/pdl/09-12-2012
No MCLE credit is available for this program.
For general inquiries, please contact Matt Coleman at mcoleman@ridgeassoc.com; Jessica Durkin at jessica@mdr-law.com; or Heather Pfeffer, at heather.pfeffer@gmail.com.
The Fall Semester of Fred Lane's ISBA Trial Technique Institute begins Sept. 4 at the ISBA's Chicago Regional Office. Listen to Fred discuss the class and find out more below the video.
More information is available at www.isba.org/cle/trial
Register online at www.isba.org/cle/trial/registration
The Illinois State Bar Association's 8th Annual Solo & Small Firm Conference returns to Chicagoland Sept. 13-15 at the Westin Northwest Chicago in Itasca. Register by Aug. 20 for the Early Bird discount -- a savings of $75. Earn up to 15 hours of MCLE credit, including all 6 hours of PMCLE credit.
ISBA Immediate Past President John G. Locallo has been named to the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP).
The NCBP was founded in 1950 to provide information and training to state and local bar association leaders. Included among its many distinguished past presidents are former ABA Presidents Chesterfield Smith, Leonard Janofsky, George Bushnell, Bill Paul and Steven Zak, as well as current ABA President, Laurel G. Bellows.
The current organizational members of NCBP include state and local bars from 53 states and territories. The Executive Council consists of recent bar presidents who want to share their experiences and perspectives with current bar leaders.
The NCBP provides high-quality programming to current bar leaders at two meetings held each year contemporaneously with the annual and midyear meetings of the ABA.
For more information, click on: http://www.ncbp.org/index.cfm
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the Civil cases Jane Doe-3 v. McLean County Unit District No. 5 Board of Directors and Santiago v. E.W. Bliss Company.
By Karen Kies DeGrand, Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC
