Family Law and Practice

PRMCLE Meeting

DuPage Judicial Center - ARC

February 18, 2020

11:40 AM – 12:00 PM Welcome/Introductions

Henry Kass – Family Law Section Chair

Case Law Updates - Presented by Leah Setzen, Grunyk Family Law

A few words from Dale Noble of The Money Store - Today’s Lunch

Sponsor

12:00 AM – 1:00 PM Program

Can We Talk? The Do's and Don'ts of Civility in the Legal System

Joseph P. Glimco, Law Offices of Joseph P. Glimco III

Speaker’s Bio

Joseph Glimco was admitted to practice law in Illinois in November

1985 and is focused on family law. He is a long-standing member of

the DuPage County Bar Association and a former President of the

Justinians of DuPage County.

Presentation Summary

From a young age, we learn about manners, but for some reason,

those manners have escaped some lawyers. Seasoned attorney, Joe

Glimco, will be giving a rundown of some of the worst (and best)

situations of lawyer (in)civility. He will give tips for dealing with

difficult opposing counsels and clients.

Next Meeting: March 17th – No Meeting

April 21st – Domestic Relations Judges Panel – 5 Hot Questions

DCBA Events: February 20th – DCBA Unwind – Smoky Joe’s Bar at Weber Grill,

Lombard

February 28th – 45th Annual Judges’ Nite – COD McAninch Center

Earn CLE Online!

DCBA OnDemand CLE is Now Powered by IICLE The Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal

Education (IICLE®) and the DuPage County Bar Association (DCBA) are excited to offer a new

IICLE®Share collaboration to provide DCBA members a high quality and reliable online

learning experience. Members can find the link to The Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal

Education (IICLE) on the DCBA website under “Legal Community”→OnDemand CLE →Online

CLE Catalog. You must be logged into your DCBA Membership Profile in order to view courses

for free or at a reduced price.

View & Print All CLE Certificates through the DCBA Website:

Manage Profile -> Professional Development (under content & features) and choose the icon to

the left of each meeting to print your certificate directly or choose to have them emailed to you

to save to your computer (you MUST be logged in to view this feature)

FLYING TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN

The DuPage County Bar Association presents The 45th Annual Judges’ Nite

Friday, February 28, 2020Cocktails and Heavy Appetizers at 5:30 pm Show at 7:00 pm

The Belushi Auditorium at the College of DuPage

A DuPage Legal Assistance Foundation Fundraiserdirected by NICK NELSON music by JUDGES’ NITE BAND stage manager PAM TROJAN

produced by CHRISTINA MORRISON artwork by ANNA PIRO DESIGN

To purchase tickets go to dcba.org or call 630-653-7779

2/17/2020

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Joseph P. GlimcoLaw Offices of Joseph P. Glimco III

�Introduction – I Know What You’re Thinking

�Pop Quiz

�The Dos and Don’ts List

�You Lost Me at “Dear Joe”

�Discussion and Questions

Outline

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The Do’s and Don’ts - Suggested Guidelines Attorneys:

Don’t take the case personally Don’t believe or act like everything your client says is the truth and everything the

adverse party says is a lie Do tell the other attorney you are going to be late for court Don’t enter an order with the court if the other attorney has checked in with the clerk If the other attorney repeatedly fails to appear in court, do call their office to see if there

is a problem or a misdiary Don’t engage in trial by ambush or fail to disclose relevant information/documentation Don’t unreasonably contest or argue against the other attorney fees Don’t lie to the other attorney or engage in dishonest practices Do return phone calls and emails in a timely manner even if you don’t have the answer

the other attorney is seeking Don’t swear at the other attorney Don’t be rude to the other attorney in any fashion or manner Don’t engage in name calling with the other attorney or adverse party. Don’t talk directly to the adverse party whether it is in the presence of the litigant’s

attorney or not Don’t jump to the front of the agreed order line with a contested matter Don’t assume something the other attorney says was meant to be offensive - if unsure,

ask the other attorney to explain what they meant If someone needs additional time to respond, be reasonable; don’t make them file a

motion just for the sake of filing a motion Do be reasonable when someone needs a continuance for family matters, personal

reasons, or a conflict Don’t refer to female attorneys as:

o Sweetheart o Darling o Babe o Honey/Hun o Dude o Dear

o Young Lady o Bro o Toots o Love o Doll o Miss

Don’t be condescending to younger attorneys by telling them that are inexperienced, haven’t been practicing long enough, or don’t know how to practice law yet

Don’t call a younger attorney “kid” Do be respectful of all attorneys, especially the older ones because you will get there one

day yourself Don’t use the word disingenuous when referring to the other lawyer

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Do treat the other lawyer the way you would like to be treated Don’t do the “I know this is not before the court right now, but I would like to address

this issue” When arguing in front of the court, do always say it is the litigant’s position, not the

lawyer’s o Ex: “Mr. Smith’s (litigant) position is without merit because…” instead of “Mr.

Glimco’s (attorney’s) position is without merit because…” Do avoid intentional or unintentional physical contact with the other lawyer Don’t ask the other attorney, “Do you have any children?” Humor isn’t always funny or appropriate Being polite isn’t a sign of weakness If your goal is to win at all costs, you have already lost Manners never go out of style Never do anything you would be ashamed to share with a close family member or friend

GAL:

Do send all of the orders and pleadings to the GAL Do tell the GAL if a hearing is being continued Do tell the GAL if they have been discharged and/or if an Allocation Judgment was

entered

Mediator:

Do tell the mediator if case was settled and mediation services are no longer needed

Judge:

Do always address the court as “Judge” or “Your Honor” Don’t say “with all due respect” Don’t argue with the Judge after the ruling has been made Don’t argue with the other attorney in front of the Judge - address the Court only Don’t yell at the Judge or disrespect the court in any fashion Don’t make deliberate misrepresentations to the court If you don’t know the answer, say you don’t know Don’t deflect from the issue before the Court If the Judge asks you a question which requires a yes or no response, answer the question Don’t interrupt the other attorney in front of the Court Don’t interrupt the Judge when the judge is talking Don’t talk in the courtroom since it makes it difficult for the Judge to hear

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Do turn your cell phone on silent inside the courtroom

Self-Represented Litigants:

Don’t argue or engage in name calling with self-represented litigant If you are having difficulty with a self-represented litigant, do ask the Court for

assistance such as all discussions being in the presence of the Judge or court personnel Don’t personally attack the self-represented litigant despite whatever the provocation

may be

Clients:

Don’t feed into your client’s drama Don’t create unrealistic expectations Do be friendly but not friends Don’t engage with a client on social media while you are representing the client Do always maintain the separation of attorney/client relationship

Additional Do’s and Don’ts:

Do think about the contents of an email before hitting send. With emails, it’s easy to type out exactly how we feel. Sometimes, emails come off way harsher than they need to be.

On that same note: Don’t hide behind a keyboard and be a “keyboard warrior.” Your over the top email or text message is just a click away

Do stick to the facts when you respond to an email/text/letter Don’t send text messages at an unreasonable hour and expect an immediate response Do call your opposing counsels-while email may be convenient, sometimes things come

across poorly in an email Do apologize when warranted Do become self-aware: we have been in situations where there is a sexist joke or a rumor

being spread-Don’t continue bad behavior Do confront bad behavior Do celebrate good behavior Don’t fail to act (allows inappropriate behavior to continue) Don’t deliberately be unprofessional to get your way-creating delays, frustrating the

adverse counsel by not responding Don’t go back on an agreement

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Mock Letter:

February 18, 2020 Dear Joe, This correspondence is to advise you that despite the misconduct of your client and his continued harassment of my client, we are forwarding you this settlement proposal. I have advised my client that I think this offer is overly generous and she would do better at trial. Your client has needlessly increased the costs of litigation in this matter with his frivolous motions and ridiculous positions on the pending issues. He obviously cares more about money than the wellbeing of his children. With that said, this offer is more than fair, and my client is not willing to change any of the terms of her offer. If your client does not accept this offer in total by close of business this Friday, this offer is withdrawn, and my client will take her chances at trial where she obviously will do better. My client will also be requesting that your client pay all her attorney’s fees since it is his fault that the marriage broke down and his unwillingness to reasonably resolve this matter. My client’s final offer is as follows: Very truly yours, Meyers, Krueger, and Voorhees Law Firm