Briefs

Tri-State Reciprocity Update

The Idaho Supreme Court on April 10 approved the Idaho State Bar's proposed reciprocity admission rule with Oregon and Washington. The Idaho court's order, which goes into effect Oct. 1, is posted online at www2.state.id. us/judicial/ISB20201.htm.

Oregon's proposed reciprocity admission rule is pending before the Board of Bar Examiners. Washington has already approved a rule allowing reciprocity with any other state that offers reciprocity to Washington lawyers.

Adobe Acrobat Gives Bar Member Discount

Adobe is providing a discount on the Acrobat software program for any bar members (state, local or national) through June 30. Adobe Acrobat is the program that creates and converts documents into PDF format.

To receive the discount, phone (888) 502-5275 and have your bar member number handy. To view a free sample, go to http://createpdf.adobe.com.

Tax Audits Way Down

The number of civil suits filed by the IRS against recalcitrant taxpayers plummeted from 2,519 in 1992 to 641 in 1999. Criminal tax fraud prosecutions - mostly by the IRS - dropped by more than half, from 1,550 at its peak in 1987 to 632 in 2000.

TRAC of Syracuse University documents a decline in IRS enforcement involving almost every tool in the agency's arsenal, from fact-to-face audits, to computer-generated warnings of potential discrepancies. TRAC posts comprehensive data about federal tax enforcement and the taxpayer services offered by the IRS at http://trac.syr.edu/media. The impact on taxpayer behavior as a result of declining enforcement is unknown, partly because Congress eliminated an IRS program designed to measure how well taxpayers were meeting their obligations.

ABA Annual Meeting

Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer will be the ABA Annual Meeting's keynote speaker at the opening assembly. The meeting will be held Aug. 2-8 in Chicago. Registration deadline is July 12. The deadline for housing is June 28. For more information visit www.abanet.org/ annual/2001/home.html or telephone Cassandra Lee at (312) 988-6134.

Surveys, Surveys, Surveys

The ABA Task Force on E-Commerce and ADR has created four online surveys to assist in gathering input from a broad range of parties. The task force is charged with drafting workable guidelines and standards that can be used by parties to online transactions and online dispute resolution providers. The surveys are aimed at three distinct audiences: consumers, e-businesses and providers of online dispute resolution services. A fourth general survey seeks comments from government and other organizations interested in policymaking. The surveys can be completed online at the task force's website, www.law.washington.edu/aba-eadr/surveys/index.html.

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Altman Weil has released it is 2001 Managing Partner and Executive Director Survey for law firms. It examines managers' responsibilities, time spent in firm management and reveals specific compensation and benefits information (salaries, cash bonuses and benefits).

Firm size matters: In firms with 100 or more lawyers, managing partners spend 60 percent of their time on firm management, 12 percent on public relations or developing business and 28 percent of their time practicing law. Managing partners of firms with 15-29 lawyers spend 32 percent of their time on firm management, 11 percent on public relations and 57 percent of their time practicing law.

The complete report is available for $295, plus shipping and handling. For more information visit http:// store.altmanweil.com or phone (888) 782-7297.

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Kelly Services found that more money and greater challenge are the reasons why 41 percent of legal professionals expect to make a job change in the next three years. Despite the economic slowdown, 74 percent of all legal professionals surveyed are confident they can find other jobs with pay and benefits equal to or better than their current positions. Research results are available online at www.kellyservices.com.

Not So Many Of Us, After All

The ABA has calculated the ratio of people to lawyers nationally and state by state. Using national population statistics based upon year 2000 projections from the Statistical Abstract of the United States (2000), there is one lawyer per 273 people in the country.

Oregon has somewhat fewer attorneys than that - one per 349 people. To really have trouble finding a lawyer, go to North Carolina (1:510) or North Dakota (1:500). On the other hand, consider Washington, D.C. - one lawyer for every 14 people.