Angela J. Rollins of Benton, a law clerk to the Honorable J. Phil Gilbert of the Southern District Illinois, U.S. District Court, is the first place winner in the ISBA’s 2014 Lincoln Award Legal Writing Contest. Angela received a cash award of $2,000, and her article, "Collateral Consequence Considerations for Illinois Practitioners after Padilla v. Kentucky," appears in the February Illinois Bar Journal. The contest is sponsored by the ISBA Young Lawyers Division and open to YLD members. Second place winner is Richard J. VanSwol, of Purcell & Wardrope Chtd. in Chicago, who wrote "Playing with Fire: Limitations on Insurance Coverage for Expected or Intended Harm." Third place goes to Jill Ausdenmoore, a law clerk to Honorable Lisa Holder White of the Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court, Decatur, for "A Practitioner's Guide to Illinois' Speedy-Trial Statute." The second place winner gets $1,000 cash prize, and the third place winner received $500.Twenty-three manuscripts were submitted in the 2014 contest. The contest judges were Justice John W. Turner, of the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District; Hon. Pamela E. Loza, supervising judge in the Paternity/Child Support Department of the Cook County Circuit Court Domestic Relations Division; Mary D. Cascinio, Senior Counsel at Handler Thayer, LLP in Chicago; Mark D. DeBofsky, with DeBofsky & Associates, P.C. in Chicago; and L. Dominic Kujawa, a sole practitioner in Belleville.Look for an announcement about next year's contest in a few weeks.

Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. Our litigation firm is located in Grand Rapids, Mich. and consists of 12 attorneys - eight partners and four associates. We started the firm six years ago as a result of several of us leaving larger law firms and wanting to start something new and different. We have been discussing our current approach to law practice and want to consider alternative business models. We would appreciate your thoughts.

Get the practical information you need to run your own law firm! Are you running your own law firm? Have you considered hanging out your shingle? Then don’t miss this comprehensive overview in Chicago on February 27th that covers the golden rules of running your own practice! Topics include: how to network and marketing yourself and your practice; understanding the financial aspects of running your law firm; recognizing the often overlooked issues when hanging out your shingle, including start-up costs, day-to-day expenses, and real estate concerns; how to properly collect money from clients and what to do with it after you have it; understanding the complexity of the client relationship, as well as the financial record-keeping process; how to use social media ethically to build your practice; and much more! For those unable to attend in Chicago, the program will also broadcast as a live webcast.The seminar is presented by the ISBA Young Lawyers Division and qualifies for 2.0 hours MCLE credit, including 2.0 hours Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval).Click here for more information and to register for the CHICAGO program.Click here for more information and to register for the LIVE WEBCAST.

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 January 2014, ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:Here are the results for January 2014: