Section Newsletters

Articles From 2005

Energy Policy Act of 2005—Summary of Electricity Title By William J. Harmon Energy, Utilities, Telecommunications, and Transportation, December 2005 The following is a summary of the provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 relating to the electric industry and the bill’s tax provisions, other than the bill’s renewable energy tax provisions, which are covered in a separate article.
Epilogue: Arts lawyer Patricia Felch headed ISBA section council Intellectual Property, June 2005 Chicago intellectual property attorney Patricia A. Felch, a past president of Lawyers for the Creative Arts, died March 24 at age 58 of cancer in her Evanston home.
Estate and gift tax changes for 2006 By Mike Drone Agricultural Law, November 2005 Editor's Note - here is the annual general information update from Mike Drone, a long-time supporter and member of this Section. Always a pleasure to have members who can be counted on to help us all get the new information before we actually have to put it into practice.
Estate and gift tax update By Franklin S. Mitvalsky Federal Taxation, May 2005 Here are some recent developments which have occurred in the areas of marital deduction planning, estate administration, will construction and charitable deduction planning which the estate and gift tax practitioner will hopefully find useful.
Estate and gift tax update By Joseph P. O’Keefe Federal Taxation, March 2005 With the recent re-election of President Bush and the aggressive agenda he has put forward, it looks like our estate and gift tax system is headed for further reform.
Estate tax repeal By Robert J. Krupp Federal Taxation, August 2005 The debate surrounding the estate tax focuses on eliminating the tax in total or reforming it by increasing the exemption level and lowering the top rate.
Estate taxation of IRA distributions: Two unique (yet unsuccessful) arguments taxpayers have tried to reduce their estate tax liability By Gina Usechek Trusts and Estates, March 2005 This article reviews two unique approaches where taxpayers have attempted to reduce estate tax liability with respect to retirement plan distributions.
Ethics corner: Discipline of public sector attorneys: some recent dispositions of interest from Illinois and other states By Rosalyn B. Kaplan Government Lawyers, February 2005 Recent cases of interest.
Evidence deposition testimony complies with Supreme Court Rule 213’s duty to supplement By Michael J. Marovich Civil Practice and Procedure, September 2005 With the adoption of Supreme Court Rule 213 regarding the duty to disclose opinion witnesses and their opinions, every decision is important for the litigating attorney.
An excellent program on international commercial arbitration By Shannon M. Shepherd International and Immigration Law, December 2005 The International & Immigration Law Section co-sponsored a complimentary program titled “Current Issues in International Commercial Arbitration” on Friday, November 11, 2005 at the ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
Exceptional client service in law firms: Analyzing and reporting your client satisfaction survey results By John W. Olmstead Law Office Management and Economics, Standing Committee on, September 2005 You have completed your telephone or mail client survey campaign. Completed questionnaires are everywhere.
Exceptional client service in law firms: Developing your client service improvement plan By John W. Olmstead Law Office Management and Economics, Standing Committee on, September 2005 Nothing is more important to your firm's future than exceptional client service. An effective client service improvement program is one of the most important marketing initiatives that a firm can undertake.
Exceptional client service in law firms: Tips for rewarding and recognizing employees By John W. Olmstead Law Office Management and Economics, Standing Committee on, December 2005 By regularly rewarding and recognizing your attorneys and staff when they exhibit positive client service behaviors, rather than only noticing and commenting when they do something wrong, you help motivate them to keep up the good work and internalize the behavior.
Exceptional client service in law firms: Tips on creating a client-focused culture By John W. Olmstead Law Office Management and Economics, Standing Committee on, December 2005 Why don’t lawyers embrace client service and realize that exceptional client service may be the most effective way of differentiating themselves from other lawyers and maintaining a competitive advantage?
Excerpts from the minutes of the March 11, 2005, meeting of the Real Estate Law Section Council By Ted M. Niemann Real Estate Law, June 2005 Larry Johnson called the meeting to order. 
Excerpts of Minutes of meeting of the Real Estate Law Section Council, February 11, 2005 Real Estate Law, March 2005 Larry Johnson called the meeting to order at approximately 9:30 a.m. on February 11, 2005 in Burr Ridge, Illinois.
Exhaustion revisited By Patti Gregory-Chang Administrative Law, October 2005 The First District recently ruled in a series of appeals from administrative review actions under the caption Illinois Health Maintenance Org. Guarantee Ass'n v. Shapo.
Family law update By Anne M. Martinkus General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, April 2005 In a dissolution of marriage case, a law firm claimed that the disgorgement statute, (750 ILCS 5/501(c-1)(3)), that authorizes a law firm to be required to disgorge interim fees paid by its client to the opposing party's attorney is unconstitutional.
Family law update By Anne M. Martinkus & John T. Phipps General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, March 2005 Recent cases of interest.
The family lawyer’s guide to bankruptcy reform By Paul Osborn Family Law, October 2005 The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (“BAPCPA”) makes the most substantial changes to the Bankruptcy Code since its enactment in 1978.
Favorites Legal Technology, Standing Committee on, October 2005 Favorites is a new feature of the newsletter that highlights those programs, utilities, gizmos, gadgets, etc., that we love.
Federal and state banking law cases By Timothy J. Howard Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, December 2005 Sklodowski brought this class action against the defendant mortgage company for alleged breach of mortgage note, breach of fiduciary duty and violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act.
Federal Budget for FY 2006 Education Law, June 2005 The House Committee on Appropriations' Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education marked up its FY 2006 budget on June 9, 2005.
Federal caselaw update By David R. Shannon Employee Benefits, June 2005 The National Pension Lawyers Network, which is administered by the Pension Action Center at the University of Massachusetts (Gerontology Institute), provides referrals to employee benefits lawyers.
Federal caselaw update By David R. Shannon Employee Benefits, March 2005 "Sandbagging": LTD claimant was not provided access to independent medical examiner's report, which served as basis of denial of benefits, until after plan's decision.
Federal concealed weapons law creates more liability for municipalities By Paul N. Keller Local Government Law, February 2005 Congress recently enacted a federal law which authorizes active and retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed weapons anywhere in the United States, preempting all State and local laws.
Federal individual income tax update By Michelle L. Heller Federal Taxation, October 2005 Passing the House and Senate on September 21, 2005, this Act provides $6.11 billion in tax incentives to aid or encourage donations to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Federal legislation exempts utility drivers from hours of service regulations By Michael S. Pabian Energy, Utilities, Telecommunications, and Transportation, September 2005 Last month, Congress passed and President Bush signed a six-year highway program funding reauthorization bill.
A few tips on litigating non-competition agreements: An employee’s perspective By Patrick M. Kinnally Civil Practice and Procedure, December 2005 Some pointers that may help when representing employees in litigation involving non competition contracts.
Final regulations on GST Elections-Even more taxpayer friendly By Katarinna McBride Trusts and Estates, August 2005 IRS has issued Final Regulations that provide guidance for making IRC Section 2632(c)(5)(A)(i) election to not have the deemed allocation of unused generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption apply for certain transfers to a GST trust (IRC Section 2632(c)(1)), and the Code Section 2632(c)(5)(A)(ii) election to treat a trust as a GST trust.