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  • May 21, 2018 | Practice News
    Sixteen New Associate Judges Appointed in Cook County

    The names of 16 new associate judges, selected in a vote of Cook County Circuit Court judges, were announced today by Marcia M. Meis, director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts. With respect to the 17th vacancy, a tie prevents a winner from being declared. As such, a runoff is necessary.

    Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 39, "[where] a tie prevents a winner from being declared, reballoting shall proceed in the manner provided above for the first balloting except that ballots shall include only the names of those candidates whose tied voted prevented a winner from being declared." Consistent with the rule, the following candidates will be placed on the runoff ballot:

    • Levander Smith Jr. 
    • James Adolph Wright

    Ballots listing the names of 34 finalists, chosen from 272 candidates, were distributed to 252 circuit judges. Ballots were due May 16, 2018.

  • May 16, 2018 | Practice News
    Law Firm Client Surveys: How to Collect and Report the Data

    Asked and Answered 

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

    Q. We have a 16-attorney firm in Chicago. Our marketing committee has been discussing implementing a client survey program. We are not sure where to start or how best to collect and report the data. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

  • May 14, 2018 | Practice News
    More than 400 New Illinois Lawyers Admitted on May 10

    New attorneys were admitted to practice in Illinois on May 10, with Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court justices presiding and administering the attorney's oath to 401 new attorneys at five separate locations across the state. 

    All of the candidates passed the Illinois State Bar Examination and a required ethics examination and were certified by the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness. They bring the total number of licensed attorneys in Illinois to approximately 96,500.

    The largest group, 275, was admitted in the First Judicial District during three ceremonies at the James R. Thompson Center Assembly Hall, located at 100 W. Randolph St., in Chicago. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke presided over the first ceremony, Illinois Appellate Justice Cynthia Y. Cobbs presided over the second ceremony, and Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis presided over the last ceremony.  

  • May 10, 2018 | Practice News
    Quick Takes for Your Practice: Emergency Planning for Your Practice

    Lisa M. Nyuli, partner at Ariano Hardy Ritt Nyuli Richmond Lytle & Goettel P.C., discusses how to plan for when a practicing attorney with your firm becomes disabled or dies.

  • May 9, 2018 | Practice News
    Of Counsel Arrangement as a Law Firm Exit Strategy

    Asked and Answered 

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

    Q. I am the owner of a solo real estate practice in Merced, California. I have two staff members that work for me. I am the only attorney in the firm. I am sixty years old. While I am concerned about the long-term exit from the practice, I am also concerned about office coverage in case something would happen to me in the short term. I appreciate any recommendations that you may have.

  • May 8, 2018 | Practice News
    Over 400 New Illinois Lawyers to Be Admitted on Thursday

    New attorneys will be admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday, May 10, with Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court justices presiding and administering the attorney's oath to 401 new attorneys at five separate locations across the state. 

    All of the candidates set to be sworn in have passed the Illinois State Bar Examination and a required ethics examination and were certified by the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness. They will bring the total number of licensed attorneys in Illinois to approximately 96,500.

    The largest group, 275, will be admitted in the First Judicial District during three ceremonies at the James R. Thompson Center Assembly Hall, located at 100 W. Randolph St., in Chicago. The ceremonies will be at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 2:30 p.m. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke will preside over the 9 a.m. ceremony, Illinois Appellate Justice Cynthia Y. Cobbs will preside over the 11:30 a.m. ceremony, and Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis will preside over the 2:30 p.m. ceremony.  

  • May 4, 2018 | Practice News
    US Attorney's Office Seeks Attorney for its Civil Division

    The United States Attorney's Office (USAO), Central District of Illinois is seeking an experienced attorney to serve in the Civil Division. The USAO is responsible for representing the federal government in litigation involving the United States in the Central District of Illinois, which includes criminal prosecutions for violations of federal law, civil lawsuits by and against the federal government, and actions to collect judgments and restitution on behalf of victims and taxpayers. The Civil Division handles a variety of cases including affirmative litigation to recover public funds which have been wrongfully obtained by fraud, civil rights enforcement, defensive matters involving government agencies and employees, asset forfeiture, and collections.

    This position is located in Springfield, Illinois.

  • May 2, 2018 | Practice News
    Law Firm Overhead and Profit Margins

    Asked and Answered

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

    Q. I am an attorney in New Orleans who has been in practice for ten years. I practiced with a small firm for eight years as an associate and then opened my own firm two years ago. I primarily work from home supplemented with a virtual pay-as-you-go office. I do not have any staff employees. I have been approached by a 14-attorney firm that would like me to join their firm as a partner. Their offer includes a salary that I feel is low and a bonus based upon a percentage after covering my salary, other direct costs, and indirect firm overhead. The overhead allocations seem extremely high to me. In my practice, I am bringing in around $100,000 in gross fees and my overhead averages $10,000-$15,000 per year. My profit margin is around 90 percent. I feel like I am better off building up my practice rather than accepting their offer. What are typical overhead and profit margins for law firms?

  • May 1, 2018 | Practice News
    Land of Lincoln Seeks Staff Attorneys

    Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, a non-profit organization which provides free legal services to eligible individuals in central and southern Illinois, is looking to hire two staff attorneys at its Central Regional Office in East St. Louis.

    Foreclosure Staff Attorney

    Responsibilities for this opening include representation of clients in foreclosure. Responsible for giving presentations to members of our client population about their rights.   

  • April 26, 2018 | Practice News
    Grants Help Circuit Courts Serve Pro Se Litigants

    As more and more litigants choose to represent themselves, Illinois courts continue their effort to adapt to this "new normal" (see the October 2017 IBJ cover story.) One such adaptation is a program launched by the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice late last year that gives grants to 13 judicial circuits to help them better serve pro se litigants and manage their impact on the justice system.

    1 comment (Most recent April 27, 2018)