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How do you react when someone mentions the Socratic method? Are you immediately transported back to law school, cowering at your desk in hopes you aren’t the professor’s next victim? Or do you miss the lively and challenging debate the method facilitated?
Whether it’s law school, CLE, or generic education settings, the term “Socratic method” is thrown around as a catch-all for any learning event where an expert is delivering content, primarily in a lecture format.
We’ve all heard of it, but what is the Socratic method, really? And why is it the go-to format for educating lawyers?
Before we…
Continue Reading Are We Using the Socratic Method the Right Way?

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The Illinois State Bar Association is recruiting law students and newer attorneys to rural Illinois.
Its Rural Practice Fellowship Program is designed to address the shortage of lawyers in the less-populated regions of Illinois by connecting rural and small-town law firms with law students and newer attorneys who are interested in practicing in this setting.
The disappearance of rural lawyers in Illinois has been well-documented. According to the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission, of the 65,723 active and inactive lawyers in Illinois in 2020, almost 87% were located in the state’s six most populous counties (Cook, DuPage, Kane,…
Continue Reading Interested in Practicing in Rural Illinois? Apply for an ISBA Fellowship!

There has been a significant change brought about by a new law called the Electronic Wills and Remote Witnesses Act, which allows video streaming or chatting to fulfill the witness requirements of executing wills and witnessing wills under Illinois law, previously under Illinois law for a will to be valid, the testator had to sign the will in front of the witnesses, this requirement is now eliminated for all wills executed in the state of Illinois, including living wills. | O’Flaherty Law – Learn About Law Legal Articles, Videos & Podcasts with O’Flaherty Law
Continue Reading Recent Changes to Illinois Living Wills Laws 2022 | O'Flaherty Law

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Want to improve attorney well-being? Start by capping billable hours at 1,800, making sure lawyers take all of their vacation time, and standardizing virtual hearings.

These recommendations, in addition to requiring that law students study well-being, were a few of the changes proposed by the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Attorney Well-Being and approved by the House of Delegates on Oct. 30.

The recommendations stem from an October 2020 survey of 3,089 New York attorneys that explored how well-being impacts lawyers.

“We owe it to the next generation of lawyers, to our clients, to the justice system,…
Continue Reading To Improve Well-Being, NYSBA Recommends Capping Billable Hours at 1,800

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The public wants remote hearings to continue when COVID-19 subsides, according to the National Center for State Courts’ (NCSC) “State of the State Courts” survey.

And, while respondents said public trust in the courts and other institutions is waning, they indicated that courts could build trust by expanding online resources and remote options, which can help address core inequities in the justice system.

The annual survey of public opinion polled 1,000 registered voters using a mixture of telephone interviews and online surveys between October 12-16, 2021.

“We have been measuring public attitudes toward state courts for the NCSC…
Continue Reading NCSC Survey Finds Public Wants Remote Court Hearings to Continue Post-Pandemic

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Photo courtesy of Apple TVDon’t deny it. There are lessons lawyers can learn from Lasso. Ted Lasso that is. If you don’t know who this is, stop what you’re doing, turn on Apple TV, and watch this show immediately.
The show follows a fictitious English soccer team named AFC Richmond that is now coached by an American from the Midwest who knows little about soccer (or football as it’s known in England).
The antics and stories that ensue are funny and I would even argue they’re hilarious at times. Yet the reasons this show has touched the hearts of so…
Continue Reading Lessons for Lawyers from Ted Lasso

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals can hear an appeal of a final circuit court decision or order following the filing a notice of appeal with the clerk of the circuit court for the county where the judgment or order was entered. | O’Flaherty Law – Learn About Law Legal Articles, Videos & Podcasts with O’Flaherty Law
Continue Reading How Do I File an Appeal in Wisconsin? | O'Flaherty Law

When two or more people have a partnership agreement in Wisconsin and are struggling to work together through a business dispute it can be difficult, if not impossible, to remain productive. If work disagreements eventually become an insurmountable roadblock the partners inevitably ask what they can do to get out of the situation. | O’Flaherty Law – Learn About Law Legal Articles, Videos & Podcasts with O’Flaherty Law
Continue Reading Resolving Business and Partnership Disputes in Wisconsin | O'Flaherty Law

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In this episode of Reimagining Law, we talk to Trisha M. Rich, a Partner at Holland & Knight and a Commissioner at the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, and Melissa A. Smart, Director of Education at the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC).

Trish and Melissa discuss the difference between being a client advocate and overly aggressive, how aggressive behavior impacts legal outcomes and the bottom line, and how the ARDC is addressing acts of incivility that don’t rise to the level of discipline or an ethical violation.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date…
Continue Reading Reimagining Law: Client advocate or overly aggressive? How incivility can impact your case.

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On Wednesday, the Illinois Supreme Court swore in 1,269 new attorneys during a virtual bar admissions ceremony. These lawyers join the almost 95,000 attorneys who are registered to practice in Illinois.
If you were sworn in, or just happened to watch the ceremony, you heard Chief Justice Anne M. Burke and Justice David K. Overstreet discuss the importance of mentoring in laying the foundation for a successful legal career.
The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism’s attorney mentoring program was launched in 2011 to do just that.
Why mentoring?
Mentors can set the tone for your career, turning legal…
Continue Reading Are You a New Illinois Lawyer? Kickstart Your Career With Mentoring!

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The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice (ATJ Commission) has published a cannabis expungement suite of forms. The forms are required to be accepted at all Illinois courts.

The cannabis expungement forms, which can be found here, include:

…
Continue Reading Illinois Supreme Court Releases Cannabis Expungement Court Forms

Wisconsin is a “no-fault” divorce state. What no-fault means is that in order to obtain a divorce you simply have to let the court know that the marriage is irretrievably broken and you no longer want to be married. Adultery is certainly a reason to get a divorce but it is not a factor the court considers when granting a divorce or when ordering alimony. | O’Flaherty Law – Learn About Law Legal Articles, Videos & Podcasts with O’Flaherty Law
Continue Reading Does Adultery Affect Alimony and Divorce in Wisconsin? | O'Flaherty Law

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New data from the National Association of Law Placement (NALP) found that first-generation law students who don’t have at least one parent with a bachelor’s degree or higher have a harder time securing jobs after graduation than their peers.

Moreover, first-generation students, who are often racial minorities, earn less than their peers and aren’t as likely to secure coveted private practice jobs or judicial clerkships.

NALP’s Class of 2020 Employment Report and Salary Survey explored the impact of parental education on employment outcomes for the first time.

Overall, 22.5% of the class of 2020 graduates were first-generation college students. However,…
Continue Reading First-Generation Lawyers Face Fewer Jobs and Lower Pay Than Peers, NALP Data Says