Helpful Articles

5 Common Misconceptions About Filing Bankruptcy

1.       If I file for Bankruptcy I will lose all of my property.   This may be the biggest misconception surrounding filing for bankruptcy.  Every person who files for bankruptcy can protect a certain amount of property while still eliminating all or a portion of their debt.  Depending upon the state in which the person lives, there are state and/or federal exemption laws that permit a person to shield a certain value in propert...

USCIS COMPLETES 2017 H1B LOTTERY

SCIS announced on May 2, 2016, that it has completed data entry of all fiscal year 2017 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in our computer-generated random process. USCIS will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected. Due to the high volume of filings, USCIS is unable to provide a definite time frame for returning these petitions. USCIS asks petitioners not to inquire about the status of submitted cap-subject petitions until they receive a receipt notice or an ...

Inside the Minds: Strategies for Family Law in illinois

Published 2013...

10 STEPS TO MAINTAIN YOUR U.S. TRADEMARK (SERVICE MARK) - Registered or Not

CONGRATULATIONS! You are the proud owner of a trademark or service mark registration from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A trademark or service mark is property that belongs to your business and can be valued as a business asset. A registered mark is a more valuable business asset because the registration with the USPTO confers added rights and benefits such as: • Nationwide rights in the mark; • Presumption  of  ownership  and  validity  of  the &nb...

What is “INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY?”

Intellectual Property (“IP”) typically refers to four main types of property rights based upon our “intellectual” efforts. These are 1) patents; 2) copyrights; 3) trademarks; and 4) trade secrets. A catch-all, miscellaneous type of intellectual property exists in the form of being able to sue another for “unfair competition” when one believes their business has been injured but the source of that injury is not considered an infringement on one of the above-referenced forms...

Management Issues in Cooperative Buildings

Management Issues in Cooperative Buildings...

3 Common Disabilities Cause by Chicago Car Accidents

Car accidents can result in a wide variety of injuries varying in degree of severity and impact on the victim’s life. While minor injuries such as bruises or simple sprains may not require much attention, more serious ones often require extensive treatment and may have a lifelong effect on the individual. Even seemingly minor injuries such as an arm fracture can leave a person disabled for a certain time period. After a Chicago car accident, disability can prevent a person from att...

St. Louis Auto Accident Attorney - Compensation for Dashboard Injuries

Car accidents can make an individual susceptible to numerous injuries. The extent of injuries differs depending upon the direction and speed of the crash. One of the most common injuries car accident victims complain of is a knee injury. For the driver and passengers sitting in the front of the car, the dashboard is placed right above their knees, which increases the chances of a knee injury if the knees get smashed against the dashboard due to the impact of the collision. Dashbo...

What is an Alibi Defense and How Can I Use It?

In any criminal proceeding, there are two general defense strategies that can be employed. The first strategy is to challenge and attack the prosecution’s evidence and argue that the evidence is insufficient as a matter of law to convict the defendant of the crime with which he or she is charged. This strategy generally does not result in the defense putting on any witnesses or evidence of its own: rather, through cross-examination the defense attorney will seek to expose holes and weak...

Can I Be Convicted of Burglary Without “Breaking” Anything?

The penalties for burglary in Illinois can be very serious. The law on burglary in Illinois is 720 ILCS 5/19-1, and it states that a burglary occurs whenever a person:   (1) knowingly, and (2) without authority (3a) enters into or (3b) remains within (4) a building, watercraft, railroad car or other prohibited structure or item (5) with the intent to commit a (a) theft or (b) felony inside.   This is a deceptively-simple crime: when...

Can Police Search My Home or Office Without My Permission?

Having a police officer show up at your home or place of employment unexpectedly can be terrifying, especially if the officer is demanding that he or she be permitted to search through your belongings. Many individuals are intimidated by an officer’s presence and feel as if they have no choice but to acquiesce to whatever the officer indicates he or she wants to do. However, you do not necessarily have to allow an officer to rummage through your belongings just because he or she demands...

How an Employer Can Avoid Sexual Harassment Liability

During the past decade, I've defended many employers in sexual harassment claims and lawsuits. Whether a Fortune 500 corporation or a small business, the same mistakes/issues seem to occur prior to the claims (and usually before I'm called.) Based on my experience, I believe any business will be less vulnerable to sexual harassment claims if these three steps are followed: A Written Sexual Harassment Policy is Crucial If a claim is made, the first thing the EEOC or other finder of fact ...

Five Tips to Keep New Businesses Out of Trouble

Although my practice focuses on employment law, I am often asked to assist small businesses with other issues. Unfortunately, it's usually after the business is already in quite a pickle -- often having been served with a lawsuit. In mulling over what went wrong for these new businesses, I've come up with a list of five rules for new business owners to follow: Get professional help with entity formation Setting up your own "simple corporation" online may work for some, but selecting the be...

Doing Time: White-collar sentencing has varied since 2005 ruling.

Before the mid-1980s, sentences for so-called “white-collar” crimes tended to be lax, with no formal or generally accepted rules or guidelines for judges to follow. But a series of events, including several high-profile insider trading scandals, prompted Congress to pass the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, which enacted the guidelines for crimes committed after 1987 and abolished parole for federal offenses. The guidelines, as passed, were mandatory and applied to all federal sentences, ...

How to Become Successful in Compliance

First, find the right environment. Many regulated companies are "reactive," meaning that they do not anticipate issues but wait for issues to arise and then act or "react." Many of these companies are short-sighted, looking at the near-term and not focused on long-term goals. "Proactive" organizations are forward looking, not only in anticipating issues that might arise, but in having clear directions and goals. The compliance staff has the best chance of being successful in a proactive organiza...

Combating Government Corruption: Suing the Federal Government Via a Proposed Amendment to the Civil RICO Statute

Valparaiso University Law Review Volume 46 Number 1 pp.169-210 Fall 2011 Combating Government Corruption: Suing the Federal Government Via a Proposed Amendment to the Civil RICO Statute Arie J. Lipinski This Notes is brought to you for free and open access by the Valparaiso University Law School at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Valparaiso University Law Review by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staf...

Does Garden-Variety Employee Owe Fiduciary Duties of Loyalty to Employer?

I’m going to answer with a (soft) “yes.”  Its a soft yes because the duty owed by a “regular”, non-officer employee is more limited than that owed by a corporate officer.  There also aren’t many published Illinois cases that discuss an employee’s duties to his erstwhile employer. By contrast, cases are legion that catalog, in painstaking detail, the manifold duties owed by corporate officers to their corporate employers.  The case law is replete with mult...

What is the Cost of a Liquor License in Chicago?

I get this question all of the time.  The answer depends on a lot of things. For example, an applicant may qualify for one type of license, but not another. Similarly, certain licenses may be appropriate for one applicant, but not another. So, your individual circumstances can dictate how much the City will charge you. Here's the current City of Chicago pricing list. The fee is due with the application and is nonrefundable. If the application is approved, the license fee is good for two y...

What you should know about insurance company surveillance and your workers' compensation claim.

It is well known that workers' compensation and liability carriers take drastic measures to mitigate claims costs. Often times, their mitigation strategy will come in the form of an Independent Medical Examination (IME) where an insurance carrier’s doctor will render an expert opinion as to causality of an injured worker’s medical condition in an attempt to suspend benefits or reduce damages. Under certain circumstances, however, insurance companies will employ more invasive measures....

Driverless Cars and Your Legal Rights

They are all over the news. They have already hit the road. The big tech giants from Apple to Google to Uber have invested heavily in their use. Driverless cars are here to stay. What's more, the companies investing in these technologies have also developed and tested driverless freights trucks. The downside to this exciting technology rests in its potential for accidents. A handful of driverless car accidents have already been reported in California. So, this begs the question: What...