In his bestselling book The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, physician and New Yorker writer Atul Gawande argues that checklists are essential to reducing errors and increasing efficiency. He points to the airline industry's reliance on flight-related checklists - and its remarkable safety record - as evidence of the power of checklists to make processes work, and argues that the medical profession should expand the use of checklists to save lives and improve outcomes. "The natural extension to the legal field is that lawyers must use checklists as much as possible," writes Kerry Lavelle in the June issue of The Bottom Line, newsletter of the ISBA Standing Committee on Law Office Management and Economics. "For example, why not have a definitive checklist for a residential real estate closing? A commercial real estate closing? An asset purchase agreement? Stock purchase agreement? Commercial lease review?" Nor is the value of checklists limited to transactional processes, Lavelle writes. "Imagine having a compelling and detailed checklist, or litigation handbook, specific to your firm's [litigation] 'process' encompassing the local rules where every new attorney and attorney thereafter would need to understand in the process for litigation," he writes. Find out more in the July Illinois Bar Journal.

The United States Attorney Office for the Northern District of Illinois is accepting applications for assistant United States attorney (AUSA) openings in its Criminal Division in Chicago, Illinois. The applicant selected will represent the U.S. Government as an AUSA in a wide range of unique and complex cases. The application deadline is Friday, September 1, 2017. Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least 2 years post-J.D. experience. United States citizenship is required. Preferred qualifications: Excellent academics, significant litigation experience, criminal law experience (for our Criminal Division), strong legal writing skills, and a demonstrated commitment to public service. Pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $52,329 to $136,874, plus applicable locality pay. Interested persons should send a cover letter referencing Vacancy Announcement: AUSA-NDIL-17-1 and detailed resume to: Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Stack Office of the U.S. Attorney 219 S. Dearborn Street, 5th Floor Chicago, Illinois No telephone calls please. More information is available on the Department of Justice website.

Kerry Bryson reviews People v. Ringland, handed down Thursday, June 29.  People v. Ringland By Kerry Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender In these consolidated cases, the defendants were subjected to traffic stops on I-80 in LaSalle County, with each stop resulting in the discovery of a controlled substance. Those stops were initiated by a team of special investigators appointed by then LaSalle County State’s Attorney Brian Towne pursuant to Section 3-9005(b) of the Counties Code allowing State’s Attorneys to appoint special investigators. Towne named the team the State’s Attorney’s Felony Enforcement unit (or SAFE). The specific purpose of SAFE was to act as a drug interdiction team on I-80. The defendants filed motions to suppress, challenging the investigators’ authority to conduct traffic stops, as well as the adequacy of the procedure by which they were appointed. The circuit court granted the motions on the basis that statutory procedural requirements for appointment of special investigators had not been met. The appellate court affirmed but on the basis that the investigators lacked authority under Section 3-9005 (b) to conduct the traffic stops in question. The Supreme Court agreed with the appellate court. Section 3-9005(b) provides that the state’s attorney has the authority to appoint special investigators to: (1) serve subpoenas, (2) make return of process, and (3) conduct investigations which assist the state’s attorney in the performance of his or her duties. The supreme court agreed with the appellate court’s observation that this is an exclusive list.

Asked and Answered  By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. Four of my partners and I just split off from a large law firm in Phoenix, Arizona, and started a litigation boutique firm with five associates. As we staff our nine-attorney firm, we are planning on hiring someone to handle our accounting and manage our finances. What type of position should we create and what level of experience should we be looking for?