Did You Know?

When we started our Illinois lawyer referral and legal guidance website in 2001, we promised to be direct, blunt and honest. We feel that is how lawyers should be because clients and potential clients need to know the truth and know that we can help them by being straight with them. Some people love it. I like direct people that get to the point. Not everyone feels that way and some people truthfully don’t like it. That’s OK. We are not for everyone. In fact, we’ve had people choose to not work with us because they didn’t like how to the point we are. That’s also OK.

When talking to a lawyer for the first time, you should be evaluating if that’s someone you feel is the right fit. That includes asking them whatever questions you have about the case, their experience, how they’d approach things etc. You don’t need to become friends with them, but should feel that they are someone you are alright talking with.

A little secret is that lawyers are evaluating you too, especially ones that are experienced and successful. And for many of them, they are using the PITA factor to decide if they want to get involved or not.

What is the PITA factor? It stands for “pain in the ass.” The bigger a PITA you seem to be, the less likely they’ll want to work with you and/or the more likely they will ask you for a lot of money to take the case on.

Take for example a recent caller to my office. He had an agreement with his ex-wife that she’d sign the house over to him in what is a quit claim deed. He’s been paying the mortgage at around $1,100 a month for over a year, but she won’t sign the house over and won’t leave. He wanted to know if he had a case.

I let him know it was a straight forward situation. What the contract says and what their divorce decree says will determine the outcome. The solution, since he’s stopped returning his calls and texts, is to sue her. That forces her to respond and if she doesn’t he gets what he’s looking for. I let him know that the attorneys who handle that type of case would charge him $1,500 up front.

He wanted guarantees he’d win and got a bit aggressive about it. I let him know that nobody honest could give a guarantee because we don’t have all the facts and don’t know her side of the story. She might say there is no contract and he forged her name. She might say that they signed a second document after the one he’s talking about. The divorce decree may have given her the house or ordered them to sell it. Or he could be 100% in the right.

The only way to know for sure is to sue and see how she responds. I get why he wouldn’t want to risk $1500 on attorney fees, but alternatively he’s spending almost that much every month for a house he doesn’t even own or live in.

He kept on being hostile so I ended the call as he was not someone I’d want to work with. Truth be told, lawyers would have more tolerance for someone like this if they were hit by a bus and had a case that could be worth $10 million. But most good attorneys aren’t going to get involved in an hourly fee case with someone who is rude and won’t listen to their advice.

So fair or not, I highly recommend to people that they put on the best impression possible when you first talk to them. You wouldn’t hire a jerk, so don’t act like a jerk. Lawyers are there to help you and while we might not tell you what you want to hear, we will tell you the truth.

For Illinois lawyers, no matter what area of law you focus on, it is your job to represent your clients based on what Illinois law is. While there are times when “new law” is created through the courts, the reality is that most law is settled even when it has a grey area.

In other words, lawyers aren’t law makers. We don’t make the law. We don’t usually change the law. We deal with the law as it is and advocate for clients based on what it is. If you come to us with good facts, we can help you. If you come with bad facts it will be much harder.

For example, if you are charged with speeding 27 miles an hour over the limit, a good lawyer can usually make it so that ticket either goes away or doesn’t cause you to lose your license. But if you are like the teenager who called me recently and was going 120 in a 55, those are bad facts and getting a Judge to let that kid keep his license would be a big challenge for any law firm.

When you call us (312-346-5320) to speak with an attorney for free, one thing we promise is straight talk, even if that means telling you that you don’t have a case. So about once a week we’ll hear from someone that can’t be helped and they’ll respond by telling us the law stinks and it needs to be changed. They will often ask for our help in changing it.

For example, a woman called me who sadly lost her husband due to what she believes is medical malpractice. The problem is that case needs to be filed as a wrongful death lawsuit. There’s, generally speaking, a very strict two year time limit for suing. She called me about three years after the death. There’s no way for me or anyone to help her.

She didn’t like the answer and I get it. Her explanation as to why she waited so long was that she was grieving. That makes perfect sense to me, but unfortunately the law doesn’t carve out an exception to the time limits for people who aren’t emotionally ready to sue. I wish they did.

It’s not our job to tell you what the law should be or even agree with you on what you think it should be. It’s our job to offer a legal analysis based on what the law is. That’s all we can do.

This woman said to me, “Someone really needs to change that law.” I hear a version of that once a week or so. I often agree with it. So what can you do if you want a law changed?

You have to go to the legislature. Illinois State Senators and Representatives write and make laws. They often do so after hearing from concerned citizens like yourself. Often they aren’t thinking about how an existing law can have unintended consequences.

Does that mean that if you go to them the law will be changed? No. But it is the logical first step and how many laws get change or come into existence in the first place.

Yeah, I know it’s not really called Comiskey any more, but if you grew up in the 80’s like I did, you are going to still call it Comiskey. I’m a Cubs fan, but my most memorable White Sox moment is when a father and son were arrested for storming the field and assaulting a Kansas City Royals coach. It was disgusting and they fortunately were criminally charged. It does make for good fun when I tease my White Sox fan friends.

Since that happened, it seems not a major sporting event goes by where a fan doesn’t try to run on the field. Some do it as a goof. Some do it because they want to meet a player. I can’t even count how many have run to Messi and Ronaldo over the years. Some are drunk idiots. And some, of course, have bad intentions.

Since that wonderful White Sox event, a law was passed that makes running onto the field at a sporting event in Illinois a felony. These events mostly take place in Chicago, of course. I can’t recall one time that anyone has been charged with a felony since. That all changed Saturday night.

During the Cubs-White Sox game, two “fans” stormed the field in the 9th inning. One appears to have hurt himself and both of them got arrested. It seems to be separate events and who knows if one inspired the other.

The reason these events are felonies is to discourage anyone else from doing the same thing. But much like our gun laws, if prosecutors don’t enforce the laws, people won’t be deterred because they think nothing will happen.

We are a long ways from the funny days of Morgana The Kissing Bandit. People shouldn’t run on the field at sporting events. Until the general public is aware of what the consequences are it will keep happening. This is the best way to stop it.

Imagine this happens to you. And it won’t be hard to imagine as it happens to thousands of people every year.

You live out of state and are looking for a new job. You interview with an Illinois based company (could be anywhere though) and eventually they offer you the job. The job requires relocation so you and your spouse sell your home, pack up your stuff and move to Illinois. You spent thousands on movers and just signed a lease for an apartment in a city where you don’t know anyone. But you are optimistic the job is going to work out and things will be great.

A week into the new job, your boss pulls you aside and lets you know that there has been a change of plans and they have to let you go. Maybe it’s because they realized you aren’t qualified. Maybe they don’t think you fit in or you did something that was a red flag. Perhaps the company had a financial downturn or found a better candidate. Now you have a lease, no friends or family around and no job.

A caller who had this exact scenario wanted us to sue because he felt that there was an implied contract that he’d have a job. Unfortunately for him there wasn’t a written contract that actually would have shown a meeting of the minds. Illinois is an “at will” employment state which means you can be let go at any time for any reason. And this is true even when you’ve up rooted your life to move here.

While an argument can be made that the employer should reimburse some moving expenses as he relied on their promises, even that is a stretch. But beyond that, it’s really hard to prove an implied contract exists. That’s because those types of situations don’t lay out an actual agreement, actual terms, how to resolve disputes or anything else that an actual written agreement does.

This situation sucks for this worker and it’s why we recommend that before you make this type of move, you ask for some guarantee as to compensation and/or employment length. Your new employer may not give it, but it’s worth at least asking the question.

Now this isn’t to say that implied contracts could never exist. They do. For example if someone tells you they want you to mow their yard every Monday and will pay you $100 a week to do it, if you mow the lawn four times and they won’t pay, they probably owe you $400. Or if a boss tells you that you’ll always have a job if the company exists. But generally speaking, if it’s not in writing you are looking at a battle to win your case.

I was sitting at a sporting event recently, talking to a friend. Her teenage daughter who is about to graduate was there and somehow the topic turned to “What do you wish you knew when you were younger?” That led to us discussing legal advice people that call us wish they knew. Here is some legal advice for the Class of 2024 and everyone else too.

Never co-sign a loan for someone – If you do and they don’t pay, you are just as responsible for the loan as they are. In 23+ years of running this website, we’ve talked to hundreds of people who have done this and see it go sideways. A typical call is something like: “My boyfriend couldn’t get a car on his own so I co-signed for him, but the vehicle is in his name. We broke up and now he’s not making payments. The finance company is coming after me. What can I do?” The answer is to pay off the debt and go after the ex.

It’s not just romantic partners. We see this issue with parents and kids, other relatives, best buddies and even casual acquaintances. The people who co-sign are usually well intentioned, but as they say, no good deed goes unpunished.

Don’t drive a car you are not insured on or let someone use your car who isn’t insured on it – If you do this it could blow up your life financially. Basically you risk being on the hook for an uninsured accident. If that happens, the Secretary of State could suspend your license until you pay off the damages. That could be tens of thousands you owe out of pocket. In other words, if you are at a party and your friend is too drunk to drive, if you drive their car for them, you could be screwing yourself. Call an Uber or find someone sober who’s on the insurance to drive.

We see this happen a lot where a friend or relative borrows a car and they aren’t thinking anything bad could come of it. The reality is that if you borrow a car, it’s similar to buying a car and not getting insurance on it. And if you loan someone your car, you can be personally responsible potentially if they drive negligently.

Get a pre-nuptial agreement – Nobody thinks their marriage is going to end in divorce, and hopefully it won’t. Some people think a pre-nup isn’t romantic and is only for rich people. What it really is, is a contract to decide how things will get handled if the marriage goes sideways. It can save you both a lot of heartache and money if a divorce does happen. It’s much better to negotiate the terms of a divorce when you are loving each other than when you are hating each other.

Move over one lane or drastically slow down if you see an emergency vehicle on the side of the road – Those who fail to do this get what is called a Scott’s Law violation, named after an emergency responder who was killed on the side of the road. It requires you to move over a lane or slow down in these situations. Those who don’t risk a suspension of their license and a fine up to $10,000. Many people who get these tickets actually do so in a sting operation where there’s a second police car up the road waiting to pull you over.

Get a will and health care power of attorney done even if you have no kids or spouse – The power of attorney form is especially important. It dictates what will happen if you can’t make medical decisions on your own. And you can do the same with your finances. This isn’t for old people, it’s for everyone. You are one bad accident or illness away from needing it. Be prepared.

Don’t sign a birth certificate if you aren’t 100% sure you are the father and even then you might want a paternity test – If you do and later learn you aren’t the father, you likely will still be on the hook for child support payments.

It’s very hard to find a free lawyer, but there’s one tip for doing so – While there are great organizations in Illinois who provide free legal help, they seem to be hard to get. My advice is that if you can’t find a free lawyer is to Google, “What are the 20 biggest law firms in Chicago?” Most of them have a pro-bono department where newer attorneys will represent you for free under the supervision of more experienced attorneys.

Your cousin, friend, neighbor, etc. who is a lawyer probably isn’t right for you – When hiring a lawyer, think of hiring a doctor to do a surgery. You want to hire someone who makes that area of law their main practice focus. Too often, especially in personal injury cases, lawyers with no experience in a subject area take on a case they aren’t qualified for. You go to them because you know them. They should tell you that it’s not their area of expertise or that they’ll refer you to someone who is better suited to help you. We get a couple of calls a month from someone who got screwed over by someone they trusted and it’s usually because that lawyer thought they’d make an easy buck. Look out for yourself by getting an attorney in your corner that clearly knows what they are doing.

Get it in writing – It’s not that verbal contracts can’t be enforced. They can, but they are also open to interpretation. When you have a well written agreement, it takes away all of the ambiguity and spells out what to do if there is a problem. So if you lend your friend $5,000 and they don’t pay it back, a contract will prevent them from lying in court and saying it’s a gift. If the place you are buying a car from says they’ll give you free tune ups for a year, but it’s not in the contract, you don’t really have it. If you start a business with someone and they tell you that you will be a part owner, a contract proves it. Get agreements in writing. It’s the safest and smartest thing to do.

I hope these tips help. If you have any questions or need help finding a lawyer, contact us any time at 312-346-5320.

Baseball is back! Hope spring eternal and Cubs fans can dream of winning our first World Series since 2016. And White Sox fans can dream of not losing 100 games.

When I was in law school, a professor pointed out to us how everything around us could potentially be a legal issue. It’s really changed the way I think. With that in mind and in celebration of the new season, here are the top ten legal issues that will happen at and around Wrigley Field this year.

1. Workers’ Compensation – We don’t think of professional athletes as employees, but they are. Injuries are a part of baseball and when a Cubs player gets hurt or a visiting player gets hurt, it can lead to an Illinois workers’ compensation claim. In recent years, players such as Chris Bosio, Jason Adam, Allen Webster and others have filed cases. So have park employees who get injured in a variety of ways.
2. Trespassing – You can bet at some point, some drunken idiot is going to run onto the field. There’s actually a law that can make this a felony after a father and son attacked a Royals coach years ago at Comiskey. Stay off the field.
3. Public Urination – There’s going to be a theme here that baseball games lead to a lot of criminal charges. I used to live across the street from Wrigley and can tell you by experience that there aren’t enough bathrooms for people out in the street. The drunk and desperate ones will pee anywhere.
4. Battery – Baseball should be joyous, but there are a lot of jerks and people who can’t handle their liquor around. I’ve seen double digit fights over the years, usually from opposing fans and Cubs fans getting into it.
5. Prostitution – You wouldn’t think it happens, but it’s definitely out there and around the ball park. While I personally think it should be legal, it’s not and every year people get caught. There are so many tourists and business people that get targeted and often arrested for solicitation too.
6. Counterfeiting – It’s not as common as it used to be, but there are still fake tickets floating around and being sold on the streets.
7. Personal Injury – Getting hit by a foul ball is a risk of being at a game. But getting hit by a ball that a player throws into the stands isn’t. Neither is getting trampled by fans trying to get that ball. And we’ve seen people hit by cars because drivers don’t know how to drive in a crowded area. And of course there is the risk of injuries due to defects in Wrigley itself.
8. Divorce – While I’ve seen a handful of marriage proposals at stadiums, I’ve also seen a lot of (usually drunk) couples fighting in a way that signals the marriage is over. The baseball game might not be the primary cause of a divorce, but you’ll see a lot of evidence of marriages that need to end.
9. Theft – There are people who hang out by the games with one purpose in mind. To steal your stuff. Drunk people and out of towners are easy marks. Even as someone who has been to hundreds of games, I don’t take a lot of cash with me and make sure my phone and wallet are really secure. Getting out of Wrigley is a huge challenge as the corridors are packed tightly. Watch your stuff!
10. Child Endangerment – Taking a kid to a ball game is a great idea. They’ll remember it forever. Hopefully it’s not because you left them at the seats for an hour while you were smashing drinks or getting high.

Hopefully it’s a great baseball season. Go Cubs!

With the caveat that there are exceptions to this, generally speaking in life, if you want to have an enforceable agreement with someone, you get it in writing and you both sign off on it. So if someone says they’ll sell you their car for $5,000 and you say sure, it’s not really an agreement. If push came to shove and they wanted to back out, they could, as could you.

A written contract shows a meeting of the minds. A well-written contract makes clear the rights and responsibilities of each party. It’s why so many housing contracts are really long.

When hiring an attorney, you can’t know for sure you’ve hired them or what they are getting paid without a written contract. In law terms, this is called a retainer agreement. No smart attorney would take on a client without one because it protects them and you. It will lay out what they are going to do for you and what they aren’t going to do for you. Most importantly it will make clear what their fees are. If it’s a contingency case it will tell you what percentage they will receive. If it’s an hourly fee, it should make clear what they can bill for, what it will cost if staff is doing the work, how often you will pay them, etc. It should also outline how expenses will be covered and reimbursed. For example, in Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits, costs can be in the six figures. You need to know upfront if you’ll be asked to pay for it if the case doesn’t succeed.

When agreements with a lawyer are only verbal, it leaves open to interpretation what the charges will be or what you are getting from them. In fact, it leaves open to whether they are even your lawyer at all. If an attorney won’t give you a fee agreement, it really would make me question if they know what they are doing or if they are the right fit for you.

These agreements, unlike housing contracts, don’t have to be long. Most are 1-3 pages and essentially the same no matter who the client is with just names and dates changed. In areas of law like workers’ compensation, the State of Illinois has actually created the agreements that every attorney must use.

One strange thing is that most lawyers aren’t taught how to create retainer agreements in law school. So if you are working with a young lawyer (or really anyone) you’d be wise to make sure it discusses fees or anything important to you.

Bonus tip. I know of one law firm in Chicago that implies in their retainer agreements that they can’t be fired. That is simply illegal and not enforceable. A retainer agreement is a contract, but I’ve never seen one that legally requires you to stick with your attorney if you think they are doing a bad job. And in the same way, a lawyer can also fire a client if they choose. Retainer agreements are contracts, but they only detail what will happen when each party wants to work together. It doesn’t bind you together forever.

Second bonus tip. Many lawyers say that if it’s not in writing, it didn’t happen. Having a retainer agreement should give you peace of mind and you should insist on one.

See also: Are You Really Hiring A Chicago Law Firm?

When you hire an attorney in Illinois, you will pay them in one of three ways:

• Flat fee – Typically traffic or misdemeanor criminal cases
• Hourly – Divorces, most civil law suits, commercial litigation
• Contingency – Paid if they win on injury cases, suing for owed life insurance money, class actions, some employment wage cases

It’s up to you and the law firm to agree on what type of fee arrangement to enter in to. No matter what you agree on, your contract with them will likely have a clause that says that they get reimbursed for their expenses. For example, if they have to issue a subpoena for your medical records or take a deposition as they prepare for trial, those things cost money.

Typically the law firm will front the expenses and get reimbursed by you. On contingency cases that happens when the case settles. On hourly cases that would be when you get your (hopefully monthly) bill. There aren’t usually expenses on flat fee cases, but if there were the attorney would have to ask for them since there wouldn’t be a bill.

While being able to get reimbursed for expenses is standard, some law firms in Chicago are doing something that is not standard lately. They are asking for interest on the expenses they pay out on your case. In other words, if they advance $50,000 in costs, which is not unusual for something like a medical malpractice case, they want to get 8% or so interest back on that money.

In the end, that could mean an extra $10,000 or more in their pocket depending on how long the case lasts. To me, while it is allowed, it’s really just a money grabbing exercise and a bit greedy. Fronting expenses is the risk of being an attorney and taking on a case. To try and get interest on those expenses is comparable to “resort fees” at hotels or “convenience charges” by Ticketmaster. It’s just taking more money because you think you can get away with it.

Unlike with the hotel and Ticketmaster, you do have a choice here. You can object and ask that this clause be removed. You can also hire one of the many great firms that don’t do these things to their clients. Whether or not they are allowed to do it isn’t the issue. The issue is should they charge interest and to me the answer is clearly no.

Beyond all of that, I really question how accurate the interest charges are. It’s not like they spend all the expense money at once. It happens over time and they aren’t allowed to charge interest on money that isn’t spent yet. Unless you’ve got a CPA on staff that has years of experience with this, I’d be worried about mistakes in calculating interest.

Finally, some of these firms are not only charging interest, but they are also claiming as expenses petty things like postage stamps, photo copying charges (even when it’s just a couple of pages), gas money, etc. To me those things are the cost of doing business and clearly separate from items like deposition fees, subpoena fees, expert witness pay, etc.

We highly encourage you to read and question any other items in whatever legal document you are given before signing it. If you have any questions about this you can call us any time to speak with a lawyer, at no cost, at 312-346-5320.

There are some areas of law that have thousands of attorneys who handle those types of cases. For example, if you need an attorney for a divorce, DUI or personal injury case, you will see a lot of profiles out there of various firms and attorneys. And finding these lawyers is not hard even if you are in a more remote area.

Other areas of law are more niche and there are many parts of Illinois where finding an attorney who has experience and is local to you is impossible. This is really true for cases before the Illinois Department of Professional and Financial Regulations (IDFPR).

The IDFPR licenses most professionals in Illinois including nurses, doctors, real estate agents, accountants, barbers and many others. If you get a notice from them of a possible violation your career and livelihood is on the line. So getting an experienced attorney is not only smart, it’s a must.

You will find that the best and most experienced IDFPR lawyers are in Chicago. That is because the IDFPR itself is in Chicago and that is where hearings take place. So if you are an attorney who is going to handle defending these cases, it would make sense that you’d be in Chicago.

In other words, if you are a nurse in southern Illinois or a realtor in Rockford, the best attorney for your IDFPR case is not going to be a law firm up the street. The good news is that you won’t have to travel to Chicago to hire one of these law firms. Every attorney we know who handles these cases is happy to talk to you by phone and/or Zoom. And everyone we recommend offers a free consultation.

It’s also important to note that even in Chicago, there are maybe 5-6 attorneys who make IDFPR defense just about 100% of their daily legal work activity. There are a lot of other attorneys who dabble in it, but mainly focus on other areas of law. In other words, you don’t have a lot of qualified, experienced choices. The good news is that we’ve met the ones who do this work all day every day and have seen them obtain incredible results for their clients, even those who were in dire circumstances and feared losing their license.

If you would like a free consultation to get the best IDFPR attorney for your case or just to see what your options are, you can call us any time at 312-346-5320. You will speak with an experienced lawyer right away and all calls are confidential.

We talk to hundreds of people a week about all sorts of Illinois legal issues. While the cases may be different, it’s not uncommon for someone to start off the call by saying something like:

I want to know if I even have a case at all.

To get answer to that question there is one really important factor involved. You have to be willing to accept that you might not have a case. Now it sounds like that would be easy to do when you are just inquiring, but in reality that is not always the case.

Going through a legal issue can be really personal and emotional. You always want to believe there is hope. You want justice if you feel you’ve been wronged. The truth though is that you might have been wronged, somebody might be at fault and there still might not be a case. Or something may be unfair or unjust, but also not a case.

For example, you could go to a doctor’s office with complaints of chest pain and be told it’s just anxiety. Later that day you could have continued pain and go to the ER who diagnosis you with a heart attack and performs surgery on you.

While that sounds like malpractice, it’s possibly and likely just a case of a bad doctor. But because you were smart enough to get a second opinion, you prevented yourself from having damages that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. In other words, the heart surgery was likely to happen anyway. So the first doctor’s negligence didn’t cause any harm. You cant’ sue because something bad could have happened.

That example is in many ways a reflection of the bad health care system we have in the USA. But there are other examples too. You could be let go from your job because your boss wants to hire their friend or relative. That’s totally unfair, but also very legal in most cases. So if you tell me “that isn’t right” I would agree with you, but also tell you there’s nothing we can do.

The benefit of a good lawyer is that we can take the emotion out of a situation and look at it objectively. We are motivated for you to actually have a case as it could make us money. But we don’t lie to people to give them false hope or to make them momentarily feel good. We view it as our job to tell you the blunt truth, even if you don’t want to hear it or believe it can be true.

I encourage you to always seek a second opinion as we are not the Judge and we of course can be wrong. But I also encourage you not to drive yourself crazy doing so. If you talk to multiple lawyers who all tell you the same thing, there’s likely a good reason for that. At some point you have to accept that nothing can be done even if that makes you mad to think about.

We get so many great questions from people who are looking for an Illinois attorney to speak to for free. Some of those questions we turn into a blog post. Others we save up and put in one big post every few months. Here are some of the interesting questions we’ve received recently. If you have a question you can call us any time at 312-346-5320.

What is the lawyer fee on medical malpractice lawsuits in Illinois? Is it different for trial vs. settlements?

It’s 1/3 of what is recovered. That is an Illinois state law. An attorney can’t charge you more if the case goes to trial.

Can I get more alimony if my spouse cheated?

Illinois is a no fault divorce state. While sub-consciously a Judge might think about awful things your spouse did like cheating, there is no law that punishes them for doing it and it certainly won’t increase your maintenance (alimony).

Is it true you can’t expunge a felony?

No, this is not true. In Illinois, you can expunge or seal some felony convictions, but not all. You may be eligible to expunge or seal a Class 4 felony conviction if it is your first offense and you have completed all the terms of your sentence. You may also be eligible to expunge or seal certain non-violent Class 3 and Class 4 felony convictions. More serious violent crimes typically can not be expunged. Every case is different and you should call to see if you are eligible. Note that if you were charged, but not convicted, that arrest can be expunged or sealed.

I got fired with no warning or notice. Is that legal?

Assuming you aren’t in a union or don’t have an employment contract, the answer is yes. Illinois is an at will employment state which means you can be let go any time, for any reason, without warning, unless it’s for an illegal reason. Unfair or unjust isn’t illegal.

I’m worried I’m going to get fired. If that happens does my company have to give me a severance?

They don’t. It happens often for good will and to get you to waive your rights to sue them for anything. But it’s not required by law. That said, if there’s any indication that you are being let go illegally, we often can get one for you.

If I’m worried about treatment of my grandma in a nursing home, but she’s not injured, is there anything I can do?

Yes. Call the Illinois Department on Aging. They will investigate bad treatment in those care facilities.

Why can’t I be defended on a contingency basis? What if I win the case and get sanctions or lawyer fees awarded to me?

This doesn’t happen because there’s no realistic expectation that you are going to be recovering money when you are being sued.

Is it legal to spank my kids?

It’s not and why would you want to do that? It’s physical child abuse. You are a giant person to them. You might think it’s a good idea because it happened to you, but I promise you it’s not. And it could lead to a DCFS investigation and/or criminal charges.

We are Illinois attorneys who since 2001 have given free legal guidance to more than 500,000 people. If you’d like to speak with a Chicago lawyer for free, call us any time at 312-346-5320.

We get a lot of great questions from readers and callers. Here are some of the best ones that we’ve received over the last few months that we thought you might enjoy.

Can my doctor stop seeing me?

Generally yes. They can’t ignore an emergency situation, but just as you can stop seeing them, they can choose not to see you. They should give you notification in writing and a reasonable amount of time to find a new doctor.

I have my will mad and would like to register it to make things easier for my executor. Where should I go to register it?

While there have been talks about creating a State registry and it is a great idea, as of now it does not exist. The best thing you can do is to let your loved ones know that a will was created, who made it for you and where a copy can be found.

Can the police lie to you?

Yes they can and it happens all of the time. They aren’t generally looking out for you and it’s not their job to look out for you. This is why lawyers advise people not to talk to the police and certainly not to trust them in most situations.

My wedding got cancelled after my fiance and I ended things. The event planner and venue won’t give me a refund. Can I sue them?

The real question is can you sue and win? The answer comes down to what the contract you signed with them says. Typically it’s written in their favor so while you still have to look at the contract, I’m not optimistic.

With Covid and everything being closed, is that a way to get around not filing a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expired?

It’s not. The courts were open and lawyers were working even if most things were being done remotely. So generally speaking, Covid is not an excuse for waiting too long to sue.

My son was shot and killed outside of his apartment in the streets of Chicago. I’m sick of the violence here. Can we sue the City of Chicago over his death?

We are all sick of the violence and this is a sad situation. That said, there is no basis for suing the City over the acts of some criminals. They can’t police every block at every moment. There may be a lawsuit against the scum bag who did the shooting or potentially whoever supplied the gun. In some cases we can sue property owners if they let this behavior happen. But I’ve never seen a successful lawsuit against the City due to the amount of crime.

If you have any questions about anything related to Illinois law or want our help in finding the best attorney for your case, please contact us any time.

See also: An Illinois Lawyer Who Will Talk To You For Free

We are experienced Illinois attorneys. Since 2001, we have helped thousands of nurses find the best attorney for their case. If you would like to speak to a lawyer for free, please contact us any time at 312-346-5320.

There probably isn’t a more honorable, salt of the earth job out there than being a nurse. The nature of just about every nurse we meet is so kind, caring and selfless. They help people every day and really make the lives of so many people better.

Legally, nurses face unique challenges at times. Due to the nature of their work, many legal issues can arise. We’ll get calls asking us, “Who is the best lawyer for nurses in Illinois?”

The answer is nobody is “the best.” It depends on what legal situation you are facing.

If you need a lawyer to defend you before the Illinois Department of Professional Regulations, the right attorney for you will be someone who has many years of experience and a track record of helping nurses in those cases. These are niche cases that not many lawyers handle. So if you are accused of drug theft or your license is at risk because you got arrested for a DUI or if a patient has accused you of something, you need to know that there are probably around ten attorneys in Illinois who exclusively handle IDFPR cases. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t other attorneys out there who dabble in these cases. It means that the best ones are a limited amount of people. Those are the lawyers who increase your chance of success because odds are nothing you are going through they haven’t seen before.

On the other hand, if you injure your back lifting a patient, you need a work comp lawyer which is a completely different attorney that IDFPR. There are hundreds of Illinois workers’ compensation attorneys, but you want one who has been doing it for at least ten years and knows the ins and outs of what nurses face on their jobs. This is important in making sure you get all the benefits you are entitled to and that you get the maximum settlement possible. Them truly knowing your job and understanding what you have to do will protect you when it comes to returning to work after medical care.

And if you are at risk of being fired, you need a labor lawyer that understands what nurses go through. Why you are being let go is important. Often we see nurses retaliated against for reporting Medicare fraud or other illegal activities. You might need not just a labor lawyer, but someone who can protect you as a whistleblower. Other times nurses are asked to do things that they are not allowed to do by law such as sign off on charts that have false information. They need an attorney in their corner who can protect them and won’t have to learn the law as they go.

And while these are the three most common legal situations for nurses, there are of course others. The bottom line is that you want the best attorney for what you are going through. If you’d like our free recommendation as to who you should work with, please get in touch any time. We help everywhere in Illinois.

We are experienced Illinois attorneys who have helped hundreds of thousands of people with their legal issues. If you’d like to speak with an attorney for free, you can contact us any time at 312-346-5320.

We started our legal guidance and lawyer referral service way back in 2001. A big motivation for it was seeing so many cases where clients hired the wrong attorney for their case. We saw divorce lawyers handling car accident cases because they thought they could make a quick buck. We saw inexperienced attorneys taking on traffic and criminal cases. Not every one of these scenarios went bad, but it was our belief that if we could get people with the right kind of attorney for their case, more cases would end up with clients getting the result they deserve.

In one of our first calls, we heard a question that we still get multiple times a week. It’s a variation of this:

I know I need a lawyer, but I don’t know which type I need. Can you help me figure that out?

The answer is yes and it’s one reason why we still exist almost 22 years later. We don’t know an attorney for every situation, but we can tell you what type you should be looking for and clarify what different practice areas actually mean.

The most common clarification we give is when people say that the need a civil attorney. What most don’t understand is that every lawsuit is a civil lawsuit, so by definition, pretty much every attorney who goes to court in non criminal cases is a civil lawyer.

What we advise people to do is find a lawyer who has handled many similar cases to what you are going through. If your spouse’s life insurance policy isn’t getting paid upon their death, you want an attorney who has handled those cases hundreds of times. If you are trying to get commissions from your old job, you need a labor lawyer with a real track record of success. If you want to sue your neighbor because they damaged your property, there are not lawyers who “specialize” in that, but plenty who do what we call general civil litigation.

The general civil litigation attorneys can handle all sorts of cases, but are usually best for odd litigation that doesn’t happen all of the time.

Our strength is that we constantly network and try to identify great lawyers who do a great job for their clients. That doesn’t guarantee you a result, but it does, in our opinion, increase your chances of success.

Some other advice we can give is not to hire the first attorney you can get on the phone, but really think if they are the best for your case. It’s worth waiting to get someone who really can show a winning history with similar situations to what you are going through.

The bottom line is that you shouldn’t try to guess who you should hire. We would be happy to help you figure out your choices and make an educated decision. Please contact us any time if you’d like to discuss your case in confidence.

See also: 10 Reasons To Call Our Illinois Lawyers

A few months back, there was a legal “expert” column in the Wall Street Journal about Twitter suing Elon Musk for trying to bail on their deal. I can you that I know nothing about securities law or mergers and acquisitions law, but multiple attorneys online said that this article got just about everything wrong. Those people were lawyers in the industry who have dealt with similar cases before who outlines why the WSJ article was likely wrong.

Now maybe that author is really an expert and maybe he’s right on this one. Or maybe he usually gets things right, but got this one wrong. I’m not sure, but I can tell you that just because someone is in the paper or on TV, don’t assume they know what they are talking about.

I know this from personal experience. I was recently contacted and asked to appear on a morning news show to discuss a class action lawsuit versus Uber. I was called by some producer the night before the segment was to air. What was my main qualification? I think it’s that I was available and they saw an article I had written about suing Uber. Of course the article I wrote had nothing to do with the case they wanted me to speak about, but that didn’t seem to bother them. I declined to participate.

I have on other occasions given “expert” quotes to newspapers.  Many of those were fake it until you make it situations where they asked me questions about a case and I googled that case while we were talking in order to form an opinion based on what seemed correct to me. I think I was right, but who knows?

Since then, I’ve noticed many other lawyers offering their opinions on matters they really know nothing about beyond understanding general legal principles. It’s just like guys who predict what’s going to happen to the stock market or in politics. If you act like you know what you are talking about, people believe you. And if you end up predicting things that are totally wrong, nobody is going to go back and call you out on it.

I don’t believe in the concept of “fake news.” I generally think that most papers and TV stations try to get it right beyond the ones that are so obviously partisan. But I do believe that news reporters are lazy and careless and with cuts to budgets as well as a desire to be first, not necessarily right, mistakes happen. This includes giving platforms to people who have no idea what they are talking about which is sometime me.

I was young, dumb and immature when I decided to go to law school. A college friend had told me that he was applying to law school because there is a lot you can do with a law degree and it was a delay of having to go in to the “real world.” I worked during law school, but as a bartender and in low pressure law firm jobs. I grew a lot during those three years, and it turned out to be a great decision for me even if it was a bit accidental.

Going into law school, I had no idea how the day-to-day learning environment worked. I didn’t know anyone who was in law school at the time, and the internet was just getting started so I didn’t have easy access to information that kids fortunately have today. My expectation was that they were going to teach us laws because on TV and in movies it seems like all the lawyers know what the law is.

The reality is that you are taught about important cases and how the courts work to make those decisions as well as important legal principles such as jurisdiction and evidence.  What you aren’t taught are the laws themselves.

The other day, someone called me saying they wanted to discuss a case involving 750 ILCS 5/504.  ILCS stands for Illinois Compiled Statutes.  So every law in Illinois will have ILCS in the official filing. This particular law deals with maintenance in divorce cases which is something I’m very familiar with. But off the top of my head I had no idea what 750 ILCS 5/504 was referring to and I’d bet almost every lawyer out there would be the same.

This wasn’t a rare occurrence. A month prior someone told me they needed a lawyer familiar with 720 ILCS 5/12-13 because that is what they were charged with. Again, I had no idea what that law was but it turned out to be for criminal sexual assault.  Even an experienced prosecutor or criminal defense attorney couldn’t rattle off these statutes and almost surely would have to look it up. I suspect that this person was a bit embarrassed by what they were facing and didn’t want to be blunt until they knew who they were talking to.

It makes sense that attorneys don’t know the law by statute number and it also makes sense that it’s not taught in law school. The laws of every state are different. So if you go to law school in Illinois and they teach you the Illinois Compiled Statutes, what good does that do you if you move to another state?  Instead, most of the cases that are taught if not all of them are Federal cases as they take precedent over state cases and apply everywhere in the United States.

Bottom line is that if you quote a statute number to an attorney and they don’t know what it refers to, it’s not a big deal.

We are Chicago lawyers who will talk to you for free about any Illinois legal matter. Fill out our contact form or call us any time at 312-346-5320.

We get so many good legal questions that aren’t worthy of a full blog. So every few months I like to group the “best of the rest” in to one post.  Here are some great questions we’ve received recently:

I just found out that my ex-husband took out a life insurance policy on me. Is that legal?

It is. It’s up to the insurance company to choose to write or not write a life insurance policy.  They don’t need your approval, but typically won’t do this because they can’t give you a medical exam. Most likely this is either a continuation of an old policy or an accidental death policy that would cover you if you were killed in a car accident or something like that. Your ex is likely wasting money.

Can you turn down an inheritance? It’s not much and I really don’t want it or to have to go through the legal hurdles.

Yes you can. This is called disclaiming an inheritance and it typically involves putting that in writing.

How do I fire my lawyer? They hardly return my calls and when they do they are really rude.

It doesn’t sound like calling them would do the trick. For most cases I would encourage you to have someone in place before getting rid of your current representation. It’s usually not hard to find (we can help with that), but in some cases it can be.  In my experience, the new attorney can help you in communicating to the old one.  In cases that are in court, the lawyer will need permission of the Judge to get out of the case.

I was accused of shoplifting. I didn’t do it. I wasn’t arrested, but the store had a lawyer send me a letter saying that I need to pay a re-stocking fee of the item for $400.00 and that if I don’t do it I could be arrested or sued. Do I have to pay?

No. I’m not saying you can’t get arrested still. It’s not likely, but possible. I’m not saying they won’t sue you. It’s not likely, but possible.  But in any case they’d have to prove you did it and the fee for their damages can’t just be random like that.  I think the attorneys who do this work are kind of gross and if it was me I wouldn’t pay, especially if I didn’t do anything. That’s not a guarantee of a result, but you don’t usually see a company paying a lawyer to sue someone for a few hundred dollars and if you were going to be arrested it likely would have happened already in most cases.  I really don’t like these tactics because they, in my opinion, take advantage of a lot of people.

There was hair in my food. I’m so grossed out. Can I sue for that?

Anyone can sue for anything, but I don’t know any attorney who would take that case as it has no value beyond replacing the food you bought.

My soon to be ex wants to sell our home.  I don’t want to. We are both on the title. Can she just list it without my approval?

Not unless she forges your name. If you are on the title, a sale can’t happen without your approval unless they get a court order to do so.

I was sued for a car accident but the other person ran the red light. How is that possible?

People lie all the time about what happened and insurance companies go after people who don’t have insurance.  So there is a likelihood that one of those two things is happening here. Or maybe the police report got it wrong. Bottom line is that if you did get sued and had insurance at the time of the accident, report it to them and let them sort it out. That’s what they are there for.

My brother got killed by a random person.  We learned that person was having a psychotic episode because their doctor took them off of their meds.  Can we sue that doctor for not monitoring their patient which led to my brother’s death.

This is a really sad situation. Unfortunately, doctors generally don’t owe a duty to third parties. So if their malpractice causes harm to someone who isn’t their patient, courts have ruled that they can’t be held responsible.