Practice News

The Illinois Supreme Court announced Thursday that Justice Rita B. Garman will be its next Chief Justice, continuing her remarkable and unprecedented journey to the top of the state's judiciary.

Justice Garman was chosen unanimously by her fellow justices to succeed Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride, who will leave a notable legacy of achievement when his term as Chief concludes October 25. Justice Garman will become the 119th Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court when she assumes the position beginning a three-year term on October 26.

She will become the second woman in Illinois to be Chief Justice and the second woman to head one of the three branches of government in Illinois. Her selection as Chief Justice on the seven-member Court culminates her long service to the people of Illinois. There are more than 950 judges in Illinois, and Justice Garman has served in the judiciary longer than all of them--except one.

She first wore the judicial robe in 1974 as an associate judge in Danville in the 5th Judicial Circuit, and will mark her 40th anniversary as an Illinois judge next January 7.

ISBA President Paula H. Holderman interviews Judge Diane Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit about issues facing the court. Judge Wood will become the first woman to serve as Chief Judge of the 7th Circuit when she assumes the post on Oct. 1. Watch the video below to hear what Judge Wood had to say.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. I am the managing partner in an eight attorney firm in Chicago. We are having problems with office staff members getting along. Office conflict is rampant. Any suggestions?

A. You should begin by identifying some of the causes. Poor communications often can be the root cause of such problems. Interview each of your staff members individually and probe. What do they think? Is communications a problem? Are roles, duties, and responsibilities clarified? Lack of clarity can in these areas can lead to turf wars. You may want to design job descriptions for each employee and clarify roles, duties, and responsibilities for each employee. Conduct short weekly staff meetings to enhance communications. Use agendas. Take and publish notes of the meetings. Advise every one of your expectations including all members working together as team members. Let them know that working together as a team is a performance factor that will be considered in performance evaluations and reviews. Conduct periodic performance reviews. Counsel and take action against problem employees.

Maybe it is time to hire a firm administrator or business manager and let them deal with it.

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Other initiatives for non-English speaking persons include website now available in 71 foreign languages; bi-lingual signage

In an effort to bridge the gap between language barriers, the Circuit Court of Cook County is installing an over-the-phone interpretation service for persons who speak little or no English as part of its new Court Access Initiative (CAI). The service will help people navigate through the Circuit Court in a variety of ways: helping people without lawyers find courtrooms or linking them with a court-based legal self-help desk are just two examples. In conjunction with the Access to Justice Commission of the Illinois Supreme Court, the Circuit Court’s goal of the CAI is to improve the overall experience for non-English speaking people attending court.

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced starting today, the CAI will begin at the Richard J. Daley Center information desks and then will ultimately be installed in all courthouses in the coming months. Illinois JusticeCorps volunteers already are stationed at the Daely Center information desks and over-the-phone interpretation services will be provided by LanguageLine Solutions which was selected through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process.