ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers: Funding for legal services, Rules on Medicaid eligibility under Deficit Reduction Act and Senate Bill 1694 on medical records for veto session.
Don't be without this handy hard-copy version of Gino L. DiVito's color-coded analysis of the new Illinois Rules of Evidence, which is otherwise available only on the web. The guide compares the new Illinois rules with the FRE and provides insightful commentary. DiVito, a former appellate justice, is a member of the Special Supreme Court Committee on Illinois Evidence, the body that formulated the rules and presented them to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Published August 2011, 134 pages
Price: ISBA Member, $35; Non-member $50
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced today that Marcy L. Buick received most of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit and is declared to be appointed to the office of associate judge.
Ms. Buick received her undergraduate degree in 1986 from the University of Illinois in Urbana, and her Juris Doctor in 1990 from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Ms. Buick is currently engaged in practice with The Foster & Buick Law Group, LLC in Sycamore,
Illinois.
According to the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, “[b]efore a person is admitted to a facility…a written contract shall be executed between a licensee and [a patient or patient’s representative].”
That's the letter of the statute. Not surprisingly, though, not every admittee signs on the dotted line. "Sometimes signatures cannot practically be obtained prior to admittance," write Laura A. Elkayam and Lawrence J. Stark in the latest ISBA Health Care Law newsletter. Or sometime patients won't sign. Or the nursing home just fails to get the signature.
So let's assume a patient who didn't sign, rang up a big tab and didn't pay. Is the nursing home left holding the bag because it failed to get the signature and thus didn't comply with the act?
Yes and no, Elkayam and Stark write. They discuss a recent first district case holding that nursing homes can seek relief under quantum meruit but "public policy, as expressed by the Act, required dismissal of breach of contract claims predicated on these unsigned documents." Read their analysis of the case and the possible impact of a recent Illinois Supreme Court decision.
The Circuit Judges of the 18th Judicial Circuit, DuPage County, unanimously elected Judge John T. Elsner to the position of Chief Judge. Judge Elsner's term as Chief Judge will commence on Dec. 5, 2011. He succeeds Chief Judge Stephen J. Culliton.
John T. Elsner is a graduate of Lewis University College of Law. He was appointed as an associate judge in 1991 and was elected a Circuit Judge in 2000. Prior to his selection as Chief Judge, he had served in teh Law, Domestic Relations and Criminal divisions of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court.
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that the Twelfth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Victoria M. Kennison as an associate judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit.
Ms. Kennison received her undergraduate degree in 1991 from Illinois State University and her Juris Doctor in 1996 from John Marshall Law School. Ms. Kennison is currently affiliated with the Law Offices of Edward R. Jaquays in Joliet.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am a solo practitioner located in the Chicago suburbs. I have one staff member. I am 53 and have been practicing law for over 25 years. I try to limit my practice to estate planning and estate administration. However, I do have to take on other general practice type matters to stay busy. Practicing law by myself is beginning to take its toll on me - it gets lonely practicing alone, coverage and backup for clients is difficult, and I have the full burden of the worry 24/7. What do I do with the practice when I get older and reach retirement age? I have not taken a vacation in years. I have been thinking about the pros and cons of joining another firm? What are your thoughts?
A. One option would be to grow your practice internally. You could add a younger associate attorney. However, it sounds like you currently don't have the business that would support the position. Then you would have to train the mentor the assoicate and pray that once they become productive - two or three years down the road that they stay with you and don't leave for greener pastures.
Another option would be to bring in a more senior lateral attorney with experience and a book of business.
A third option would be to look around for another solo or small firm that is looking for someone to carry the firm into the next generation as a part of their succession strategy.
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The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For the month of August 2011 ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:
These numbers do not include additional referrals made through the online Lawyer Finder service.
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.
The Family Defense Center will be hosting its Third Annual Benefit Event on September 25, 2011 form 4-7:30 at Hotel Allegro.
The event is a cocktail party with hors d’oeuvres and dessert and both a silent and a live auction. Ticket for professionals is $125, with reduced rate tickets available for not-for-profit organizations. Registration is available by emailing events@familydefensecenter.org or by calling (312) 251-9800 x10.