Congratulations to Joseph Fisher, John Castaneda, Bradley Wilson, R. Samuel Postlewait, Marquita Trotter, Lori Levin, John O'Halloran, Melanie Fairman, John Cesario, Donald Nathan, James Hoey, Donna Henderson, Edward Burt, Janice Boback, Michael Schiffman, Kim Chanbonpin, Jacob Mihm, William Stanton, Michael Saken, Stephanie Lieberman, Cary Stein, Kenneth Michaels, Angela Riccio, William Gebis, and Michael Lucas for winning the 25 ISBA Mutual brief bags. To show its appreciation in honor of Member Appreciation Month, ISBA Mutual gave away 25 goody bags, which includes a brief bag with supplies for when you are on the road. Members were invited to enter the drawing to win the following items: Power Bank to Charge Your Phone USB Drive to Save Files The Fundamentals of Loss Prevention Handbook Supplies: Notepad, Pen & Post-It Cube

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation of interest to ISBA members. This week, he summarizes some of the more important bills that have been sent to the governor, or will be sent this summer. Once he receives it from the General Assembly, he has 60 days to sign, veto, or amendatorily veto it. If he takes no action, it becomes law as a “pocket signature.” For context, please note that the House introduced 4,063 bills, and the Senate introduced 2,212 bills. The number of bills passing both chambers was 296 House Bills and 194 Senate bills. More information on each bill is available below the video.

People love their pets. However, sometimes things go wrong. In particular, dogs bite people, causing significant injuries. In Illinois, and nationwide, dog-bite claims are on the rise. According to the Insurance Information Institute, dog bites and dog-related injuries accounted for more than one third of homeowner insurance liability claim dollars paid out in 2015 (http://bit.ly/21OVQJQ). In Illinois, this is due, in part, to the Animal Control Act (510 ILCS 5/1, et seq.). In some jurisdictions, there is the "one free bite rule" - a dog owner may not be liable for damages caused by a dog bite if the dog has never bitten a person before. Not so in Illinois. The Act creates heightened liability for dog owners. It provides that if a dog or other animal attacks, attempts to attack, or injures a person without provocation, then the owner is liable for the full amount of any injuries sustained (510 ILCS 5/16.5). This heightened liability is designed to "encourage tight control of animals in order to protect the public from harm." Hayes v. Adams, 2013 IL App (2d) 120681, ¶ 12. This heightened liability naturally leads to more dog-bite claims. According to State Farm, it paid out $14 million across 323 dog-related claims in Illinois in 2016 (http://bit.ly/2qweL3l). Illinois ranked second only to California on the company's Top 10 list for dog-bite claims. Find out more, including what the "reasonable dog" standard is, in the June Illinois Bar Journal.

Asked and Answered  By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am the managing partner of a nine-attorney general practice firm in the Chicago suburbs. We practice in the areas of estate planning/administration and family law. While our estate planning and uncontested family law work is done on a flat-fee basis, our estate administration and contested family law work is billed by time. We collect initial retainers for these matters, but we fail to ensure that the retainers are replenished. We are having accounts receivable collection problems as a result. I would appreciate your thoughts.