Illinois Lawyer Blog

It was all over the news recently – the saga of “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli merifully came to an end. Shkreli became notorious for any number of things including jacking up the price of a lifesaving drug by 5,000% and for unrelenting internet snark directed at his critics. His smug appearance before Congress last year didn’t help either… Read More

I receive regular emails from certain bar associations with links to recent appellate court decisions. I clicked on a link to the Ledeaux v. Motorola Inc. decision, which referred to a lawsuit filed by multiple Motorola workers on behalf of their children. The workers are alleging they were exposed to toxic products while at Motorola and their children suffere… Read More

You don’t see this level of candor very often. Gillen Washington, a 23 year old California man, sued AETNA after the insurer denied coverage for life saving infusions that Washington needed for treatment of common variable immune deficiency(CVID). In the course of litigation, Dr. Jay Ken Iinuma, the former Medical Director for Aetna, was whistled in for… Read More

The “de minimus rule” is a great example of a how a limited legal concept gets misused and misapplied. In effect, the de minimus rule is a defense argument that is used in premises liability cases. Reduced to its simplest form, the de minimus rule says that whatever the defect was, it was too small to matter and the injured party can’t recove… Read More

Imagine a criminal trial where the defendant is charged with four separate counts of first degree murder. Then imagine that while a detective is testifying regarding some videotape evidence, defense counsel notices that the judge is ….. asleep. Sounds like the opening scenes from Law and Order. But that exact scenario played out in a Whiteside County, Il… Read More

Megan Rose, a reporter for ProPublica, had a great op-ed in the New York Times detailing how prosecutors use the “Alford Plea” to insure that people who have been wrongfully convicted of crimes – and who have often been incarcerated for decades – never get full justice. An Alford plea typically comes into play after facts or evidence co… Read More

I almost missed this article by James Podger in the ABA Magazine. Glad I didn’t. In their off hours, some lawyers like to golf. Some like to travel. And then there is Jame Pritikin. Mr. Pritikin, a Chicago divorce attorney, has a hobby as well. He fights bulls. He discovered bullfighting while a student at the University of Illinois. He wanted to get inv… Read More

Claire Bushey had an excellent article in Crain’s Chicago Business a couple weeks ago detailing the awful reality female workers endure in lower paying industries. Just a few of the dreadful statistics noted in the article: About 60% of women say they have been sexually harassed – typically at work; Minority women more likely to be targeted; Accord… Read More