Power in Collaboration®
This past November 2011, I was thinking about how the law practice has changed since November, 1961, 50 years ago, when I was admitted to the law practice by the Supreme Court of Illinois. In 1961, we used manual typewriters; electric ones were just starting to come into vogue. When we needed multiple copies of… Read more »
Effective January 1, 2012, Illinois created a new planning tool for attorneys and their clients relating to the transfer of residential real estate at death. The new transfer on death instrument (“TODI”) Act (755 ILCS 27/1 et seq.) allows an individual to name a beneficiary of their residential real estate during their lifetime that will… Read more »
Lost in the recent publicity regarding the Illinois income tax relief law enacted to entice Sears and CME to remain in Illinois was a significant change to the Illinois Estate Tax that was tacked on to the law. The statute was signed into law by Governor Quinn on December 16, 2011. The Illinois Estate Tax… Read more »
As many of you know, our partner, Lin Hanson, recently celebrated his 50th year of law practice. It seems fitting to reflect on what Lin has meant, and continues to mean, to this law firm, to the practice of law and to younger lawyers, and to think about what mentorship means in the law. Lin… Read more »
When you cannot pay your bills, eventually you may be sued. Once you are sued, and a judgment is entered against you, a creditor can use the court system to seize your property and collect on the judgment. The creditor and creditor’s attorney have many legal tools in his or her arsenal to collect money… Read more »
Two law firms tracing their origins to 1924 and 1894 are combining their practices and personnel as Di Monte & Lizak, LLC effective November 1. That’s a lot of history, but what about the future? On Wednesday, October 12, the partners and associates of both combining firms met for the purpose of examining a Strategic… Read more »
EPLI coverage protects employers from liability for wrongful employment practices. Although coverage varies greatly, most EPLI policies cover claims for sexual harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination. EPLI policies became popular in the mid-1990s because of a major increase in the number of employment practices lawsuits. The surge resulted from the passage of the Civil Rights… Read more »
A number of changes to the Illinois Power of Attorney Act became effective on July 1, 2011. The changes are designed to provide greater protection to the elderly, incapacitated, and disabled persons from their agents serving under powers of attorney (POAs). There are now new statutory form POAs for property and health care, but all… Read more »
It is not uncommon for a plaintiff to obtain a judgment against a corporation but not be able to collect on the judgment because the corporation goes out of business. Typically, the debtor corporation genuinely failed because it could not generate sufficient revenue to satisfy its liabilities. However, in some instances, shifty debtor corporations attempt… Read more »
In Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. (March 2011), the U.S. Supreme Court found that an employee’s oral complaint about time-keeping practices may constitute protected activity under the Fair Labor Standards Acts anti-retaliation provision, and that employee complaints need not be written to enjoy FLSA protection. Lesson learned: Before taking adverse action against an employee,… Read more »