Illinois Lawyer Now

Quick takes on Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions

Chris Bonjean — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:34:09 +0000

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the civil cases McFatridge v. Madigan, Standard Mutual Insurance Company v. Lay, In re Marriage of Mayfield and In re the Parentage of J.W. and the criminal cases People v. Henderson and In re M.I.

CIVIL

McFatridge v. Madigan

By Karen Kies DeGrand, Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC

The State of Illinois need not pick up the litigation tab incurred by an elected state official in defending a civil lawsuit where the claim arises from certain types of misconduct, even if he acts in the scope of employment. Accordingly, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld a circuit court's dismissal of the complaint of Michael McFatridge, a former Edgar County State's Attorney, seeking to force Attorney General Lisa Madigan to approve payment of McFatridge's legal expenses.

Board of Governors vote to accept report on underfunding of courts

Chris Bonjean — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:15:42 +0000

An Illinois State Bar Association special committee has issued a 64-page report that addresses the serious funding crisis facing Illinois courts.

“The long-term goal should be more than just alleviating the funding crisis,” said ISBA President John E. Thies, of Urbana. “Restoring courts to their proper place as a co-equal branch of government will return to the citizens of Illinois far more than the amount invested.”

In June 2012, Thies appointed a Special Committee on Fair and Impartial Courts, co-chaired by Illinois Circuit Judge Patricia P. Golden (Ret.), of West Dundee, and Illinois Appellate Court Justice James M. Wexstten, of Mt. Vernon. Their report and recommendations, which were accepted on May 17 at a meeting of the ISBA Board of Governors in Galena, will be voted on by the ISBA’s policy-making Assembly when it convenes on June 22.

According to the report, “The ability of the courts to deliver fair, timely and professional service has been degraded over the last dozen years by three trends: unpredictable budgets, cuts in real allocations, and disproportionate cuts. Funding cuts have affected all aspects of the judicial process.”

To identify the areas of special concern, the committee surveyed the chief judges of each judicial district in Illinois, as well as practicing lawyers. They then identified several problem areas and made recommendations that include the following:

Rainmaking in Dry Times

Mark Mathewson — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:57:32 +0000

How do you attract new clients and retain the ones you have in a tough economy? Law firm consultants and Illinois lawyers from different practice areas offer battle-tested marketing tips in the June IBJ.

Today is final day to make room reservation for Annual Meeting

Chris Bonjean — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:25:18 +0000

The deadline for making your room reservation for the ISBA Annual Meeting is Wednesday, May 22 at the ISBA Headquarters Hotel – Grand Geneva Resort & Spa.

To make your room reservation at the Grand Geneva, please call 855.833.5345 and reference reservation code #7524VF or indicate you are attending the ISBA Annual Meeting. The room rate is $175 (single/double) plus resort fee and tax. A deposit on first night's lodging is required. Please note: It is strongly advised that golf tee times be booked in advance of the meeting to secure a spot on the courses.

More information on the 137th Annual Meeting is available at www.isba.org/annual

Illinois Supreme Court disbars 11, suspends 25 in latest disciplinary filing

Chris Bonjean — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:48:24 +0000

The Supreme Court of Illinois has announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders entered during the May Term 2013. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.

The attached list contains the name of each disciplined lawyer, the address at which the lawyer last practiced, and a brief summary of the misconduct that led to the sanction. The announcement of the orders may be reviewed at the Supreme Court of Illinois website: www.state.il.us/court. Unless otherwise noted, the mandate of discipline issued immediately.

DISBARRED

Gregg William Bittner, Peoria

Mr. Bittner, who was licensed in Illinois in 1986, was disbarred. He converted bankruptcy costs, failed to refund an unearned fee, filed false bankruptcy pleadings, and neglected a matter and then misled his client about the status of the matter. He also engaged in a conflict of interest when he represented a married couple in a joint bankruptcy proceeding while, at the same time, he represented the wife in the couple’s dissolution of marriage proceeding. Finally, he failed to properly comply with the terms of a suspension in a prior disciplinary case.

Steven A. Brenner, Greenacres, Fla.

Mr. Brenner, who was licensed in 1991, was disbarred. He neglected six different client matters, failed to refund unearned fees, and made false statements to a client. He also failed to properly comply with the terms of a suspension in a prior disciplinary case.

Stephen Bruce Evans, St. Louis

Mr. Evans, who was licensed in 1992, was disbarred and ordered to pay certain restitution He misappropriated at least $97,000 in client funds from his trust and operating accounts, forged two of his clients’ names on settlement checks, and either failed to respond to client inquiries or responded to the inquiries with false information. He was suspended on an interim basis on October 30, 2012.

Michael Edward Fezekas, Lemont

Mr. Fezekas, who was licensed in 1978, was disbarred on consent. He pled guilty to one count of felony aggravated child pornography. He was suspended on an interim basis on February 6, 2012.

Best Practice: Law firm mergers: The importance of a timeline and project plan

Chris Bonjean — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:15:03 +0000

Asked and Answered

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

Q. We are a 4 attorney firm in Columbus, Ohio. Three of our partners are in their 60s and contemplating their exit strategies. We have a very profitable high profile practice and have been approached by a couple of very large firms concerning possible merger. We believe that this would be our best exit strategy. What mistakes have you seen other firms similar to ours make that we should avoid?

Women in the Law Committee to host "You Had Me at Hello - Using the Rules of Gender Communication"

Chris Bonjean — Wed, 22 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Andrea S. Kramer

The ISBA Standing Committee on Women and the Law will host "You Had Me at Hello - Using the Rules of Gender Communication" program and reception on Wednesday, June 12 from 4-6 p.m. Andrea S. Kramer of McDermott, Will & Emery LLP in Chicago will be the speaker for the event at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 25 E. Pearson, in the Power, Rogers & Smith Ceremonial Courtroom.

The program will be followed by a networking reception. RSVP for this free program by June 5 to Janet Sosin at jsosin@isba.org.

ISBA Statehouse Review for the week of May 21

Chris Bonjean — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:09:25 +0000

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Tort cases and settlement problems (Senate Bill 1912), Filing fee increase (House Bill 2327), Visitation (House Bill 2992), Fraudulent real estate documents (House Bill 2832), Access to Justice Act (House Bill 3111), Collection procedures (Senate Bill 1044), UM coverage (Senate Bill 1898) and FOIA (House Bill 2747). More information on each bill is available below the video.

Tort cases and settlement problems. Senate Bill 1912 (Raoul, D-Chicago; Sims, D-Chicago) amends the Code of Civil Procedure to create an enforcement mechanism for cases that settle but the defendant won’t comply with the settlement. It is limited to cases seeking money damages involving personal injury, wrongful death, or tort action. It requires a settling defendant pay all sums due to the plaintiff within 21 days of tender of all applicable documents required under this new Section.

CLE: The Intersection of Social Media and the Practice of Law

Chris Bonjean — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:20:21 +0000

Join us in Springfield on June 6^th and learn how to effectively and ethically address social media issues in your practice – from the various types of social media available and the challenging issues that can arise when incorporating it into your practice, to using social media as evidence in the courtroom and the issues that can arise when jurors use social media and the Internet during a trial.

The program, which qualifies for 3.0 hours MCLE credit, including 3.0 hours Professional Responsibility MCLE credit (subject to approval), is presented by the Illinois State Bar Association and the Sangamon County Bar Association.

Click here for more information and to register.

Two Minutes with the President: John Thies and Attorney General Lisa Madigan

Chris Bonjean — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:23:30 +0000

ISBA President John E. Thies and Attorney General Lisa Madigan discuss the mortgage foreclosure crisis and what homeowners who are facing foreclosure should do.