Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Sperry

The circuit court of Kane County entered an order declaring void a previous order of that court awarding attorney fees to plaintiff, Ford Motor Credit Company (Ford Credit). The circuit court held that because the law firm representing Ford Credit had failed to register with this court, pursuant to our Rule 721(c) (166 Ill. 2d R. 721(c)), the firm’s practice of law was unauthorized, and, accordingly, there was no valid basis upon which the court could award legal fees. A majority of the appellate court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court. 344 Ill. App. 3d 1068. For the reasons that…