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  • September 5, 2018 | Practice News
    Best Practice Tips: Law Firm Valuation - Factors that Effect Firm Value
    Asked and Answered  By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am the owner of a small estate planning firm in Kansas City, Mo. I have two associates and four staff members. I am considering acquiring a small solo practice in a nearby community. I have read some of your articles as well as your book on succession planning and valuation, and the multiple of gross revenue used to establish a goodwill value for a law firm. What are some of the factors that can impact whether the multiple is higher or lower – a firm’s potential value?
  • September 4, 2018 | Practice News
    Don’t Go There…Yet
    There are few things litigators and judges dread more than a protracted discovery dispute. Given the angst discovery misconduct provokes, siccing the Illinois Supreme Court Rules on a culprit is understandable. But a measured response may be more prudent. Penalizing bad behavior with a default judgment is rarely necessary, even as a response to perjury or defiance of court orders.  In September’s Illinois Bar Journal, appellate litigator Christopher Keleher examines discovery sanctions available for plaintiffs and defendants under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 219(c). There are good reasons the courts use default judgments against defendants and dismissals with prejudice against plaintiffs sparingly.
    1 comment (Most recent September 9, 2018)
  • September 4, 2018 | Practice News
    Spotlight on Pro Bono: Turn ‘Bored’ into ‘Board’
    If summer’s end has you feeling a little restless, consider expanding your personal and professional lives by joining a nonprofit board of directors. Illinois has over 35,000 registered charities, covering any cause you can think of – from providing job training for people with autism to promoting African dance as an agent for positive change. If you have a closely held belief or a passion for a particular purpose or mission, there is undoubtedly an Illinois nonprofit for you to support. Support comes in a multitude of ways, from financial contributions to volunteering to raising awareness. 
  • August 31, 2018 | CLE
    CLE: GDPR and BIPA – What General Counsel and Privacy Attorneys Need to Know
    Join us Oct. 3 for an online seminar that teaches you the basic principles of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), including what you should ask your client’s IT departments to ensure compliance from a technology perspective.
  • August 29, 2018 | Practice News
    IDFPR Publishes Resource on Legal Responsibilities of Condominium Association Board Members
    The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) Division of Real Estate (DRE) recently published the “Rights and Responsibilities of Association Board Members” to explain the legal responsibilities of condominium and common interest community property boards.  The publication includes general information regarding governance documents, board structure, elections, general powers, meetings, surplus and deficit, special assessments, financial disclosures, insurance, records, and disclosure.  
  • August 29, 2018 | Practice News
    Best Practice Tips: Law Firm Effective Rate Improvement
    Asked and Answered  By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am a partner with a 16-attorney firm in downstate Illinois and a member on our three-person management committee. My responsibility on the committee is overseeing the firm’s finances and supervising the firm administrator’s accounting and finance. In reviewing our financial reports, I have noted that our effective billing rates (realization rates) are not what they should be. We are reluctant to raise client rates. What other steps can we take to improve our effective rates?
  • August 29, 2018 | Practice News
    Quick Takes for Your Practice: The Basics of Intellectual Property
    Attorney Kenneth Matuszewsky, an associate at Rabicoff Law, LLC, discusses the basics of intellectual property, including the use of patents and trademarks.
  • August 28, 2018 | Member Services
    Making Time to Read in a Digital Age
    Editor’s note: This is part of an Illinois Lawyer Now series focused on resources available to ISBA members on Practice HQ, our "one-stop microsite" for practice management and technology information. This wealth of resources was designed to help you practice smarter by housing high-quality information in one place. By Jeff Schoenberger, Esq. Affinity Consulting Group Two things often in short supply for lawyers are time and money. Harried schedules chase away things lacking immediacy. One thing I sacrificed was pleasure reading. Between family, work, and other commitments, sitting down to read a book was a lost joy. Thankfully, within the last several years, books have become more accessible for people with chaotic lives. Here are some ways that you can find time to read and learn while still moving at a frenetic pace.
  • August 28, 2018 | CLE
    CLE: Navigating Your Child Client Through the Juvenile Delinquency Process
    Learn how to guide your child client through the juvenile delinquency process with this full-day seminar Sept. 27 in Chicago. Any attorney who is retained to represent a juvenile in a delinquency case needs to be aware of the process and be up-to-date on the legislative changes that may affect your client. Whether you’ve never represented a juvenile or are seasoned practitioner who needs an update on the recent changes to the law and process, you won’t want to miss this seminar that gives you all the information you need to successfully navigate the juvenile delinquency process. 
  • August 27, 2018 | Practice News
    More Bang for Your Buck
    You've just renewed your ISBA membership for the new bar year—or are about to. Either way, it’s time to consider all the benefits that come with ISBA membership, especially since the association has launched several new and improved benefits during the past few years and as recently as this summer. For ISBA members, this means access to an ever-increasing number of resources that pay for themselves several times over. Among benefits that recently have been enhanced: robust online peer-discussion communities; checklists and best practices that will help you manage your firm; in-person, online, and on-demand continuing legal education; federal and state caselaw research guided by artificial intelligence; a fully automated document assembly system tailored to Illinois law; a robust fee-sharing lawyer referral directory; and a marketplace full of professional discounts.