Illinois Lawyer Blog

Got behind on my blogging due to some business travel last week, but back at it. First thing that caught my eye were the numerous articles about the release of the “Boy Scout Perversion Files”. The existence of the “perversion files” first came to light in 2010, when six former boy scouts filed a lawsuit in Oregon claiming a former Boy… Read More

Whistleblowing may become a cottage industry. In September, Bradley Birkenfeld received an award of $104 million dollars after his tip led UBS AG to pay the IRS $780 million in fines, penalties, interest and restitution. Now there are reports that another tax whistleblower got $2 million from the IRS after he tipped them off to a tax-avoidance scheme at Illino… Read More

Over the last few years I have been retained several times to represent people who have been injured while they were residing in nursing homes. The Illinois Nursing Home Act includes a bill of rights which guarantees residents the right to be free from abuse and neglect by staff. The Act further provides that a failure to provide “adequate medical care&#… Read More

File this one under “Really Hard to Believe…” Senators Barbara Boxer of California and Charles Shumer of New York recently advised the Asssociated Press that 5 rental car companies[Enterprise; Hertz; Avis; Dollar Thrifty and National] have agreed to stop leasing cars under safety recalls. Currently, there is NO federal legislation that prohib… Read More

Last week a jury in a Denver federal courtroom hit an Illinois company with a $7.2 million dollar verdict in a “popcorn lung” lawsuit. The plaintiff, Wayne Watson had alleged that Glister-Mary Lee Corp. failed to warn consumers that the butter flavoring on it microwave popcorn contained diacetyl. Diacetyl has been linked to a chronic condition know… Read More

Saw an interesting online article from ABC News about some legal unpleasantness at Deutsche Bank. Kelly Voelker, pictured above, had been a stellar VP in Deutsche Securities for 14 years. In 2011, Voelker filed a sex discrimination lawsuit claiming that Deutsche had a “hostile and degrading” atmosphere toward women and that male co-workers allegedl… Read More

There is a misconception out there that previous injuries sink your case. Not true. For example, suppose you suffer a badly injured right knee after a fall in 2006. You had surgery, therapy, and, thankfully after several months of treatment, were pretty much back to normal. Now flash forward to 2011. You are involved in an automobile accident and again, your r… Read More

The internet is abuzz with the story of Bradley Birkenfeld. Mr. Birkenfeld is a former employee of UBS Bank. Birkenfeld recently got out of jail after confessing that while an employee of UBS, he helped American clients avoid paying taxes to the IRS. More specifically, he pled guilty to assising one client conceal $200 million in assets and avoid over $7 milli… Read More