The Amata Brief — October 2026

Welcome back to The Amata Brief — your monthly connection to the Chicago legal community and everything happening across our locations. From court developments to cocktail hours, we cover what keeps your practice sharp and your network strong.

Chicago’s Lateral Market Keeps Getting More Crowded

Something happened in August that I’ve been thinking about since. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett – one of the most prestigious names in American corporate law, with roots going back to 1884 – opened a Chicago office by pulling a five-partner team directly out of Kirkland & Ellis. The managing partner of the new office, Ryan Harris, was Kirkland’s private investment and family office practice lead. That’s not a soft launch. That’s a statement.

It’s the third or fourth time this year a major out-of-market firm has used Kirkland as its Chicago entry point. Crain’s 2026 rankings tell the rest: Willkie Chicago has grown to 126 lawyers — over 22% year-over-year. Law360 named both Willkie and Mayer Brown 2026 Illinois Regional Powerhouses.

The moment being: launching their own practice, on their own terms, without waiting to see how the reorganization shakes out. I’ve watched this happen enough times to say it clearly – lateral disruption at the top of the market generates solo and small firm formation at the middle and bottom of it. The partners leave, the infrastructure changes, and some people stop looking for the next big firm to absorb them.

If you’re in that position – or you know someone who is – fall is historically when those decisions get made. The fourth quarter has a way of concentrating minds. And Chicago right now is one of the more dynamic legal markets in the country to be stepping out into independently.

Sources: Legal Business, August 2026 · Crain’s Chicago Business 2026 Largest Law Firms · Law360 Regional Powerhouses, September 2026

New Rules for New Attorneys Are Now in Effect

Amendments to Illinois Supreme Court Rules 793 and 795 took effect October 1. Starting with attorneys admitted on or after January 1, 2028, the Basic Skills Course – already required for new admittees – must include at least 0.5 hours of instruction specifically on unmet legal needs, pro bono, limited scope representation, or access to justice topics.

The Illinois Supreme Court proposed the change as part of its initiative to address “legal deserts” – rural counties where practicing attorneys are effectively absent. The numbers are striking: of the 8,327 Illinois resident attorneys admitted between 2020 and 2024, more than 91% practice in Cook County or the surrounding collar counties. Thirty-three Illinois counties registered zero new attorneys in that same four-year window.

For those who mentor associates or supervise new attorneys, this is worth knowing. The training expectation for the attorneys you’ll be bringing along is evolving – and the profession is putting more weight on access to justice as a foundational value from day one. That’s a conversation worth having early, and frankly, it’s one our community is well-positioned to lead.

Source: Illinois Supreme Court Rules 793 & 795, effective October 1, 2026 · ISBA, April 2026 · NPR Illinois

🏆 Awards Luncheon

2026 LAP Awards Luncheon – Thursday, October 22

📍 Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St., Chicago · 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM

Presented by the Lawyers’ Assistance Program (LAP). This year’s theme: Beyond the Practice: The Courage to Connect, The Commitment to Care. A meaningful afternoon celebrating attorneys and legal professionals who exemplify commitment to the well-being of the profession.

Register Now

📅 Coming Up

CBA & CBF Pro Bono Week – October 26–30

The Chicago Bar Association and Chicago Bar Foundation host their annual week of events celebrating pro bono work across Chicago’s legal community. Over 500 attorneys and legal professionals participate each year.

Details at chicagobar.org

Featured Contributor

About Our Legal News Contributor

This section is contributed by Sarah, a New York–licensed attorney based in Chicago. She holds an LL.M. from Chicago-Kent, a Master’s in Law from France, and is bilingual in French and English. Sarah provides fractional paralegal and legal support to Amata member firms across litigation, family law, and corporate matters.

Safiya Fatima: Inside the Life of a Fractional Paralegal Powering Multiple Law Firms

Clio’s benchmark data puts the average attorney’s utilization rate at 38% – about three billable hours out of an eight-hour day. Most of the other five hours is work that has to get done, but does not have to be done by a lawyer. In this episode, Safiya Fatima – a paralegal at Amata and a 2L at UIC Law School – pulls back the curtain on what fractional paralegal support actually looks like from the inside: the filings, the trial prep, the emergency motions, and the trust that makes delegation possible.

In This Episode

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About the Guest

Safiya Fatima – Paralegal, Amata Law Office Suites

Safiya has spent four and a half years in the paralegal seat and the past year working fractionally, supporting multiple firms simultaneously across different practice areas. She holds a degree in criminology, law, and justice from UIC, and is currently in her second year at UIC Law School. She is one of our own – and this episode is a rare, honest look at the work that keeps law firms running.

New from Amata

Two Paralegals. One Team. Your Firm’s Email.

Over the past year, I’ve watched the same pattern play out with firms in our community. They hire a remote paralegal through an outside vendor, and it works fine until something has to happen in person. Then they call us for the Daley Center run, the courtesy copies, the trip to the Recorder of Deeds. Or that paralegal takes a week off, and the work simply sits.

So we built something better. Amata’s Staffing Services pair a full-time near-shore paralegal with one of our Chicago paralegals, both working from your firm’s email domain. When one is out, the other keeps things moving. Your Chicago paralegal handles filings, court runs, and trial support at $61.20/hr — 32% off our standard rate — no minimum, starts when your conflict check clears.

We also place full-time executive assistants and recruit directly for firms that prefer to hire. Either way: 90-day replacement guarantee, and if someone on our payroll isn’t the right fit, we replace them for as long as you’re a client.

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A professional podcast and video recording studio built for attorneys. Sit down once and walk away with studio-quality footage for video, podcast, and social. You bring the talking points — you leave with a month of content.

The 1958 Lawyer records here every week. Members book through the Community Hub. Non-members call 312.924.0200.

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📊 Included with Your Amata Account

The Amata Marketing Lab

The Marketing Lab is the marketing team your firm doesn’t have to hire. Amata builds your SEO/AEO playbook, develops your strategy, and sets up monthly measurement — included with your account.

Interested? Reach out to Elias at [email protected] or call 312.924.0200.

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