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The Illinois State Supreme Court announced new rules of professional conduct for lawyers practicing throughout the state. The rules were announced Wednesday.

The process to change the rules began in 2002. It is the first complete revision of the standards since 1990.

The rules were formulated by legal scholars, judges, ethicists and members of the Illinois State Bar Association and Chicago Bar Association.

The new rules touch on areas ranging from attorney-client relationships to e-mail advertising. The new rules expand attorneys' responsibilities regarding the disclosure of corporate fraud and other fraud issues.

"They are an important step forward in the Supreme Court's ongoing regulation of the legal profession in our state," said Steven Pflaum, a Chicago attorney who is chairperson of the Supreme Court Committee on Professional Responsibility. The committee has been working on the revision of the rules since 2005.

Pflaum was quoted in the Supreme Court's press release on the topic.

"The new rules are especially noteworthy for providing additional clarity regarding lawyers' ethical obligations, and for addressing aspects of the modern practice of law, such as the increased use of alternate dispute resolution procedures, that were

Q: I'm still in high school and trying to understand all this. step dad is trying to keep my mom from getting money from our old house which she bought and made morgage payments on that we moved out of. He refuses to move or sell it yet is still there after a year and a half while also trying to get spousal support (hes a lazy sleazebag out of work). The lawyer are stalling after realizing there is not much money involved and constantly cancelling deposition dates, and billing rediculous things. How can we get them to move things along? Can we force them to do anything? Please help I want to go to an Ivy for college and see family in Europe which is very expensive.

A: he best way would be to get your family to settle and not need the lawyers. Then they won't have to bill your family on all the time they're spending on your case. The more combative the two parties are, the more things will get stalled and the more work the attorneys will have to spend on the case. They do a lot of work outside of the courthouse and appointments. Legal research and preparing documents takes up the majority of a lawyers time if they have a difficult case so the chances are they are not overbilling. Just have your parents ask for a detailed accounting of the bill.

If you were a lawyer and you spent your time and expertise helping someone, you would want to be paid for your work, wouldn't you. They might seem ridiculous to you but you probably don't realize how tedious and time consuming legal work can be.

Hi all,

I am trying to sue my apartment management company since their employee (my on-site apartment manager) got into my apartment without my permission and stole lots of my personal and financial information and committed lots of fraudulent charges.

My question is: How do I find a good lawyer who specializes in this case? I would also like to know how/where I can find lawyers who are willing to take on a case for a portion of the reward rather than an upfront fee. I am living in the bay area, California.

Any help/information is greatly appreciated! Thanks.