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There are many things in our country that could be better. Our health care system is atrocious. We have great doctors, but so many people can’t afford treatment, and for many others, you have to go through a lot of red tape to get a procedure approved.

Like healthcare, our legal system is well-intentioned and there are many great lawyers (and some not so great). And just like with medicine, your outcome is often due to how much money you have and what you can afford.  There isn’t true equal justice for everyone.

So what happens is that some people can afford the right attorney for the case and get the best result possible.  Others can only afford a cut-rate attorney who isn’t experienced or doesn’t specialize in the area of law your case involves. So maybe you lose because you have someone who is out-matched.  And for some people, they can’t afford anyone and they have to represent themselves.

I don’t blame anyone in that situation.  In some of the cases like small claims court, it only makes sense to represent yourself. In others, if it’s a choice between paying your rent or hiring an attorney, it might make sense to pay the rent.

For others, they choose to represent themselves because they know they are in the right and believe if they go to court and tell the truth, things will work out.  In a sensible legal system that is how things would work.

In reality though, that’s not how it usually goes.  There are two reasons for it, one that is really unfair and you have to know about.

The first is that when you represent yourself, you are held to the same standard as an attorney. That means you have to know how to properly enter evidence, the appropriate way to write legal motions, how to ask questions of witnesses, etc.  These are hurdles that some people can overcome. While it would be nice if each court had someone to assist these pro se litigants, that doesn’t happen.

The second reason which you must know about is something that ruins the process. There are many Judges in Illinois who simply will not listen to someone who chooses to represent themselves in court. They won’t let you speak.  They will shut you down. They’ll only engage with the lawyer for the other side.  They’ll tell you that you have to come back with an attorney.  So you might be prepared.  You might be clearly in the right.  You might know exactly what to say to the Judge. And none of that will matter.

The legal system shouldn’t work this way. The goal should be to get the best result. The reality is that many Judges view themselves as the Kings/Queens of their courtroom and unless they do something outrageous, there is no check or balance on them.  And not listening to you isn’t outrageous.

While you want to get your story out, many Judges just want to get through the 100 or so cases on their docket every day. If it’s summer they might have a tee time or desire to enjoy the warm weather. Or maybe they have a kid and want to pick them up from school. Or it could be a Friday (the worst day to be in court if you are representing yourself) and have a desire to make it to Wrigley Field or a happy hour.

So what happens is that they try to move as many cases as quickly as possible. The lawyers that are there a lot know what to say, how to say it, and say it quickly.  In the view of some Judges, if they let everyone talk, they’ll never get out of there, so they don’t let any non-lawyer talk. In fact, some of them won’t listen very long to attorneys that they don’t know.

Lawyers know if they are going before a Judge for the first time to ask others about the Judge’s tendencies. Even that is no guarantee that they will get fully heard and they will get shut down too if they don’t keep things simple and short.

This can be infuriating to hear and it’s maddening to even type.  But this is the reality of how the legal system works. It’s why many traffic and criminal defendants get supervision on their cases. I’ve seen Judges tell everyone in a courtroom with a first offense under 20 miles an hour to see the court clerk for supervision which essentially wipes out half the cases on a morning docket within minutes.

For you, if you have to represent yourself or choose to do so, if you find that the Judge isn’t going to listen to you and believe they are about to enter an order against you, you should ask for a 30-day continuance to try and secure legal representation. They don’t have to do that for you, but usually, if you ask early enough they will grant that.  If you try to get an attorney once you’ve lost, it will likely be too late.

If I had a magic wand and could change the court system so people don’t need lawyers as much, I would.  Or there would be court-appointed and paid-for attorneys when needed. But until that happens just be very careful if you do go at it alone. You can be right and lose because nobody knows you are right but you.

Recently I had two calls from people looking for lawyers in Illinois that were different yet very similar.

Call number one was from a guy who had been convicted of theft. He chose to represent himself and lost his case after his argument to the Judge failed.  His argument was based on something he read on the internet that if he refused to acknowledge the court had authority over him, they couldn’t convict him.

The second case was sadder.  A woman called me after she had gone to court in a family law case. She too represented herself. Her ex wanted visitation, and it was granted.  The problem with that is that he’s a pedophile. The Judge would not listen to her when she tried to bring that up.

Both of these people want to get a lawyer now and essentially have a do-over.  The problem is that it’s too late.

While they can hire lawyers, they can only do so for an appeal (if it’s not too late) or if new evidence has developed since the court hearing. Learning that your internet arguments aren’t real or wanting to get the Judge to listen to you isn’t a new development.  The pedophile did his gross acts years ago, not since the visitation ruling.

While it would be nice if courts worked in a way that made it easier for people to represent themselves, the hard truth is that it doesn’t.  A lawyer for the guy charged would theft would have explained that their argument was not a real one. They also would likely have gotten him supervision which ultimately would be a dismissal of the case. Now this too smart for his own good guy is going to spend some time in jail.

The woman who lost her visitation case would have been way better with an attorney.  They would know how to properly present evidence of pedophilia including how to properly bring in witnesses and experts that could testify about the danger to the kids. That didn’t happen and she lost and unfortunately, the kids are at risk. The worst-case scenario with a lawyer likely would have been supervised visitation.

I get that lawyers can be expensive. And it’s certainly possible to represent yourself and get a good result.  But you must remember that you only get one chance at this, and if things don’t work out, there won’t be a do-over.  So the safest thing is always going to be to have an attorney, especially if the stakes are high.  The time to not get a lawyer is when it would cost more than the case is worth. But when prison time or safety are at stake, or if you’ve been injured in an accident, you have too much to lose by going at it alone.

My common statement when people ask me if they can represent themselves is that if your stomach hurts, you can get a knife and remove your own appendix, but the smarter thing is to have a doctor who has done it 1,000 times handle it.  It’s not much different when it comes to hiring a lawyer in Illinois.

If you would like to speak to an experienced Illinois attorney for free, contact us at 312-346-5320.  We cover all of Illinois.

I consider myself lucky in that even after 24+ years, I still enjoy being a lawyer in Illinois. I believe it’s due to the fact that I’ve carved out a niche doing something I love and every day is different for me. Sure some days are better than others, but I can’t imagine doing anything else. Some attorneys aren’t so lucky.

I read an article that said of all the lawyers who passed the bar in the year 2000, almost 25% of them were no longer practicing attorneys within 12 years.  A lot of these attorneys bust their butts to become partners at a law firm, make partner, and then realize life isn’t getting any better.  The old joke is that it’s like winning a pie-eating contest where the prize is more pie.

Most of the lawyers who quit seem to go on to careers that have nothing to do with the law. I’ve seen some become fitness instructors, restaurant owners, nurses, teachers, and even a stand-up comedian.  Yes, a law degree can be valuable in other industries, but a lot of lawyers are running away from the law altogether.

So why should this matter to you?

While many of the lawyers who are quitting come from huge firms that only represent giant corporations, there are plenty of attorneys who represent consumers in areas like divorce, car accidents, civil litigation, etc that are getting burned out too. You want to make sure that you don’t hire one of these lawyers and if you do, recognize some of the signs of burnout so you can switch firms before it’s too late.  Some of these include:

• They don’t return your phone calls or e-mails in a timely manner.
• They don’t follow through on things they say they are going to do or you have to bother them to do it.
• They are different than when you worked with them in the past.
• At times they appear disheveled.
• They seem unprepared or forget basic facts about your case.
• You discover they are spending a lot of time away from Illinois.
• You can only get a hold of their secretary or paralegal.
• They are rude or short-tempered in their interactions with you.
• They are talking about a lot of things unrelated to your case when you speak.
• Their bills aren’t sent on a regular basis and have generic entries.

Sometimes lawyers like this are just bad business people, but in my opinion, attorneys who love their jobs and want to help clients don’t do these things.  They are all red flags to me.  I remember being a young lawyer and seeing lots of miserable old attorneys who seemed stuck in their jobs. Things have only gotten worse since then.

The good news is that in most cases you can switch law firms without cost or problem as long as you don’t wait too long. In other words, you need to be your own biggest advocate and not stand for bad customer service and fire your attorney if things don’t get better.  I also recommend asking questions to the lawyer about how they work before you hire them.

If you have any questions about hiring or firing an Illinois attorney or anything else, please call us any time at 312-346-5320 for a free, confidential consultation.

See also: Do I need a lawyer in Illinois or can I represent myself?

In movies or on TV people like to say, “I will call my lawyer.” Or, “You will hear from my lawyer!” In some cases, you see that lawyer handling all sorts of legal situations for their friend/client. That of course is not real life.

In real life, I talk to many people who want to have access to an attorney in case something should come up. At least once a month I get a call from someone with no pressing legal need who wants to have a lawyer “just in case the need arises.”

The reality is that life is not like TV or the movies and especially in a bigger city like Chicago that has over 30,000 attorneys, there is almost never a need to have a lawyer on retainer.

The reason I say that is if you need a lawyer, you want the best one for your situation. If you think you might get arrested or the police want to talk to you, you need a criminal defense attorney. But even then the best one depends on what the charges will be, which courthouse you will go to and the timing. If you are a business, you probably want a different lawyer if you are sued for a wage claim than if you are sued by a customer over product disputes.

In real life, in almost any case, you can get a good lawyer when your problem arises instead of paying money out of your pocket in case something comes up.  It’s one reason I’m against the concept of pre-paid legal plans.  I’d bet I’ve had more than 1,000 calls from their clients who go to one of the “plan attorneys” for help when a legal situation came up only to discover that attorney isn’t the right fit for the problem.

A big part of this is that in most cases, while having a pressing legal matter can be a stressor to you, the legal system takes time which affords you time.  If your spouse files for divorce, you most likely won’t be due in court for 30 days, and in most cases, nothing of substance will happen on that first court date. If your company is sued it will likely even be longer before you have to show up in court and many months before anything of substance takes place. Even in criminal cases, if the police want to talk to you, you can almost always tell them that you want a lawyer and then go search for one.

So do yourself a favor and don’t make legal decisions based on what you see in the movies. And if you feel an urgent need to talk to a lawyer, you can call us for free and in confidence any time at 312-346-5320.

We are Chicago attorneys who will talk to anyone for free about any Illinois legal matter. Call us at 312-346-5320 or fill out our contact form and we will call or email you.

We are unique in that since 2001 we have talked to anyone interested about whatever Illinois legal matters they have. We get a lot of great questions and some of them inspire blog posts. Others are great, but don’t require a big post. Here is a collection of some good ones we’ve had in recent months:

There is a famous Chicago family law firm that does a lot of advertising and they get a lot of cases.  They also end up with a lot of unhappy clients.  That’s because while their marketing makes people think they are one thing, it quickly becomes obvious that if you hire them you are going to be ripped off.  I’ve seen divorce cases they’ve handled where before the first court appearance is made they’ve billed over $10,000.00 in legal work on a not complicated case.

What happens apparently is that they will bill their clients for “research.”  While there are some cases where research is needed, most family law cases don’t require it.  If you are a lawyer and have to bill for research in to child support statutes or custody law, then you must be handling one of your first cases.  This “research” is not the same as a client who brings some unique issue forward such as determining the international custody arrangement the United States has with a country like Morocco. That’s not an issue that comes up more than once in the lifetime of most lawyers and would be legitimate.

So does this mean that all lawyer research bills are ripoffs? No.

The most common, legitimate legal research that takes place for the average person who hires an attorney comes in two cases. The first  is criminal law.  If your attorney can find a case that has gone to the Appellate or Supreme Court and can help you avoid jail then that’s worthy research. I’m not talking about minor retail theft situations. I’m referring to major felonies that can result in long jail time.  The catch is that if they’ve done the research on one case, confirming their findings haven’t been over-turned by a new court case should not take more than 30 minutes or so.

The other common area of legit research is in civil cases. If you are trying to argue for or against a motion for summary judgment, research in to similar situations makes a ton of sense and can be the reason you win or lose a case. It’s especially relevant when the Judge is asking for a legal brief in support of your argument.

So what should you do to make sure your legal bills aren’t inflated with bogus research charges?  Here are some tips:

1. Before you hire the lawyer, ask if they anticipate billing for research. If the answer is yes, ask what for.
2. It’s not inappropriate to ask that they contact you for approval before billing for significant research.
3. If your bill has a charge that simply says “research” and doesn’t explain what was done, ask them to clarify and provide a copy of the research results. Most legitimate research will result in some sort of a memo, especially at a larger firm where more than one person is working on a case.
4. If it happens, ask why a more expensive senior lawyer is billing for research instead of a paralegal or cheaper associate.
5. Most importantly, if the research you are billed for seems basic (e.g. they charge you to look up child support rates), call them out on it.

The good news is that most lawyers are honest, but I’ve seen enough cases where legal bills are severely inflated that you have to be on the lookout.

Most people are familiar with the term commission. In certain jobs, especially sales jobs, the compensation arrangement typically includes commission pay. An employee may receive a salary, or some level of guaranteed base pay, but the commission pay over and above that, is dependent on how many goods/services the employee sells. Commission plans vary by company and position, but the underlying premise is the same. Performing at a high level and selling more equals more money in that employee’s pocket.

Seems straightforward, but we have encountered many questions from employees over the years about their commission. Let’s take a look at some of them.

1. I had a rough week with low sales and made very little commission. Is there a minimum my company has to pay me?

Yes, there is. A Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was first introduced in 1938 to protect workers. It had laws regulating child labor, setting the number of maximum weekly work hours, and establishing a minimum wage. Obviously, laws have evolved since then, but your company is required to pay you the current minimum wage when your weekly pay is averaged by the number of hours you worked. The minimum wage is currently $11.00 per hour in Illinois.

For example, let’s say that during your rough week, your commission averages only $5.00 per hour you worked. Your employer must pay you an additional $6.00 per hour to make up the difference between that and the minimum wage.

2. My employer and I agreed that they would pay me commission but now I’m not getting paid. Now what?

Do you have a clear agreement with your employer about commission pay? Is the rate of commission in writing? If so, your first step is to notify your employer in writing that you aren’t receiving your commission as promised. If your employer does not comply, the next step would be to contact an attorney. Illinois has a law that ensures employees seeking their unpaid commission will be reimbursed for their attorney’s fees.  The lawyers we recommend for these cases never ask for a penny up front and only get paid if they make a recovery for you.

3. I earn commission, and I worked 55 hours last week, but my company did not pay me overtime. Do they have to?

That depends on a few things. Are you an inside or outside salesperson? If you spend more than half your working hours making sales outside of a central office, you are an outside salesperson and don’t qualify for overtime. If you are an inside salesperson, you still may not be eligible for overtime if you work in a retail or service establishment, if your pay rate is higher than 1.5 times the minimum wage (i.e., $16.50 in Illinois) and if over half of what you earn comes from commission.

Are you in a similar situation? Or do you have a question that is different from the ones above?  Do you just want to speak to a lawyer for free? Whatever your situation, you are welcome to contact us any time at 312-346-5320 for a confidential consultation.

Happy New Year!  Did you know that there are over 300 new laws that just went into effect in Illinois?  A lot of them won’t come up in your life, but a bunch are going to be relevant to a lot of people. Here are some that I think will have a big impact and some of my thoughts:

– If you ask for medical assistance for an opioid overdose, you will be immune from prosecution for possession of those drugs.  Great idea, now expand it to all drugs.

– Non-compete clauses are banned for people making less than $75,000.00 a year. This is a great start, but I personally think the limit should be higher and the length should be reduced to a year.

– Minimum wage is up to $12 an hour and is on its way to $15 an hour.

– No contact orders now also include email and social media. I can’t believe this wasn’t already the case.

– Expecting mothers can now use handicap stickers for up to 90 days in the third trimester.  Hopefully, this doesn’t get abused by family members, but helping pregnant women is always a good thing.

– Restaurants have to serve water, milk, or juice as the default beverage on kids’ meals rather than soda.

– Schools are banned from discriminating against kids whose hairstyles reflect their racial, ethnic, or cultural traditions.

– Companies can no longer charge early termination fees for customers of telephone, cellphone, television, internet, energy, medical alert system, or water services who die before the end of their contracts.  I can’t believe they would do that, except I have AT&T so I can totally believe it.

– Pubic school students can have up to five mental health days with no doctor’s note required.

– Public universities can no longer make prospective students submit ACT or SAT scores.  Google the bias in those tests and you’ll likely agree this is a good idea.

– Health departments can’t regulate lemonade stands run by kids under 16.  Who in their right mind would do that?  Obviously someone did, as this seems like a reactionary law.

– Counties and cities with populations greater than 500,000 will require all law enforcement officers to wear body cameras. All officers in the state will be required to wear them by the beginning of 2025.

These are 12 of the most impactful ones in my opinion. As always, if you have questions about any Illinois laws or want to speak to an attorney for free, call us at 312-346-5320.

The short answer to this blog post is no.

The medium answer is “Ha ha, no.”

The longer answer requires an explanation as to my strong opinion on why this is nonsense. There are tons of attorney awards out there.  A lot of really amazing attorneys get them.  And some really crappy ones do too.

A couple of months ago I got a digital magazine honoring the “top 50 women in law.”  The first thing I noticed was an old law school classmate of mine was honored. I haven’t talked to her in the 24 years since we graduated, but have followed her career from afar.  She was the smartest person in my class, very nice, a hard worker and it’s no surprise she’s a great attorney.

A closer look though showed a few things.  First, most of the honored women came from law firms. By my count, 43 of the 50 worked at law firms, most of those at really big law firms. The remaining seven were either Judges, non-profit workers or in Government. Of note, there wasn’t more than one woman at any law firm chosen that I saw.  Why is that important?

Well, these publications make money by getting these big law firms to take out ads to congratulate the people in their firm who get chosen. By my count, there were 23 lawyer ads offering congrats.  While there is no requirement that an ad be bought for a woman to be selected, these large law firms have the budget to do so and seem to do so on a regular basis when other awards are made.

So while it does appear that most of the women on this list are great, are they the “top 50?” Of course not. It was a second annual list and unlike rankings for something like basketball recruits, the list changed completely. And of course there are amazing attorneys at small law firms and more than one “top” attorney at big firms like the one my classmate is a partner at.

Similar things happen with 40 under 40 lists and not just in law, but in other industries.   It’s not that bad people are chosen, it’s that it’s important for the public to know that these awards are money makers and nothing official.  In other words, don’t use it as a reason to hire an attorney or not hire one.

Bonus story. Years ago I was “awarded” as a top attorney from some company I’d never heard of. To make it official I had to order their plaque which cost around $100.  I thanked them for the honor, but said I didn’t want a plaque.  Well, since I wouldn’t pay for the plaque I was no longer on their list.  Most award companies aren’t that brazen, but that one certainly was and gave me a good chuckle.

It’s been about 24 years since I started working as a lawyer. My first job was with a mid-sized firm and they provided me with a lot of training. I had a mentor, a supervisor and was just a shadow for my first couple of months. They brought me along very slowly.  I wasn’t in a position to give clients legal advice until I had been there for almost six months.

I remember having classmates who had a completely opposite experience.  We were sworn in to practice law on November 6 which was a Thursday and some of my friends were in court handling actual cases on Friday.  They were with smaller firms who when we interviewed told us that they wanted us to get real world experience right away and be “thrown in to the fire.”

At the time it seemed exciting and I was a little bit jealous. I was looking at solely from the standpoint of what I wanted to do or my classmates wanted to do. Being young and inexperienced, I wasn’t thinking about who mattered most; the client.

Is it possible a young lawyer can do a good job on a case? Sure it’s possible. Maybe they are so eager that they go way overboard and give you the best representation possible. More likely though is that they don’t know what they don’t know and that is going to harm you.

There is one Chicago workers’ compensation firm that is notorious for hiring newer attorneys and just throwing them in to the fire. I get a lot of calls from their clients when their attorney can’t answer questions or doesn’t seem to know what they are talking about. In one case they failed to advise a fired worker about the time limits for bringing a case before the EEOC and didn’t refer them to a proper lawyer. In another instead of explaining how a settlement would work, they just asked the client what they wanted. I’ve seen dozens of cases where they’ve screwed up badly or left a lot of money on the table.

For the young attorneys they do get experience, but they make mistakes while practicing on your real life situation.  You aren’t paying a lower attorney fee in most cases, so there’s no reason to get representation that isn’t what it should be.

Often these firms will tell you that the lawyer is working under the supervision of a more seasoned person. But if that’s true then why can’t you just have the experienced lawyer and why do they never seem to be available to you?

The bottom line is that I’d be very wary of hiring a lawyer who hasn’t been in practice for at least three years.  We usually don’t recommend anyone with less than five years experience and most attorneys we suggest have been in practice for more than ten years.  Attorneys never stop learning and won’t ever know everything, but you want the learning curve to be as small as possible.  It’s your case and your life. Insisting on an attorney with a proven track record is the safest way to go.

Are there better professionals than nurses? If you’ve ever been in a hospital or had a loved one who needed care, you’d likely agree with me that 99% of nurses do a great job and are often the stars of the show.

There are some that don’t do a good job and others that do a great job, but still get complaints against them with the Illinois Department of Professional and Financial Regulations.  That is the licensing board that can discipline professionals in Illinois and could take away a nursing license.  We have helped hundred of nurses over the years who have ethical complaints filed against them. In no particular order, these are the top reasons nurses end up under investigation by the IDFPR.

1. Drug or alcohol abuse. If it becomes clear that you are abusing drugs or alcohol, it can put patients at risk. This often is revealed through a drug test or by erratic behavior. In some cases you are having a bad day and they try to claim you have a problem when you don’t.
2. Drug theft. This could be a sign that you are abusing drugs or it could be that you are selling them for money.  Either way, if prescription drugs you are responsible for go missing it will almost certainly lead to an ethical violation complaint at the IDFPR.
3. Patient abuse. If a family member isn’t happy with how their loved one is treated, especially if there is bruising or an injury, you can’t be surprised when a claim of abuse is filed.
4. Failure to report. Whether it’s a criminal conviction, termination for cause from employment or out of state disciplinary issue, a failure to report can ultimately lead to a loss of your nursing license in Illinois.
5. Standard of care violations. While these can also lead to malpractice lawsuits, if you deviate from acceptable standards of patient care it may show such neglect that a disciplinary investigation could take place.
6. Unprofessional conduct. Of late we see complaints against LPN’s, CNA’s etc. for rudeness, racism allegations, yelling, etc.
7. Personal boundary violations. In plain English, you can’t have intimate relations with a patient.

An allegation for any of these can sound scary and it should as your professional life is on the line.  The good news is that there is a process of both an investigation and potentially a hearing.  The worst thing you can do is try to explain away what happened or represent yourself.  As the old saying goes, anything you say can and will be used against you. While there are very few Illinois attorneys experienced with defending nurses before the state, the ones that do it regularly have a great track record of success.

If you would like our recommendation of which attorney to hire for an allegation before the IDFPR or if you just have questions, please contact us at 312-346-5320. We help nurses everywhere in Illinois.

It’s almost stunning that Coronavirus isn’t behind us yet.  Unfortunately it’s still here and going strong, although not as bad in Illinois as places like Texas and Florida.  Certainly the most common question we have received of late is can an employer require you to get a Covid vaccine?

The answer, with very limited exceptions, is yes.  You can refuse of course, but then they can fire you without recourse.  The reason this is true is because generally speaking, employers can set safety measures within their businesses. So just like you can be required to wear a hard hat on a construction site or steel toed boots in certain jobs, your employer can decide that for everyone’s safety, employees need to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

In fact, the state of Illinois could also require vaccinations to get in to restaurants, bars, gyms or really anywhere else. Again, it’s a safety law like wearing a seat belt in a car, not driving drunk, etc.

The reality is that many employers already require other vaccines like tetanus shots and if you went to school in Illinois, you were required to show proof of vaccination against diseases like polio and the measles.  Polio would never have been eradicated without those requirements and it’s probably why nobody knows someone under 40 who has polio.

Because Covid can mutate and get more dangerous as it has with the Delta variant, arguments against vaccination have no legal chance in my opinion. Lawsuits have been brought and more will likely come, but I expect that they will continue to get dismissed. You don’t have to get vaccinated if you don’t want to, but just like there are consequences to free speech, there are consequences to choices you make including potentially losing your job.

While I agree with the right of an employer to require vaccination, even if I didn’t it wouldn’t matter.  Our job as attorneys isn’t to tell you what we think the law should be, it’s to tell you what it is so you can make an educated decision for yourself about what you want to do.

In general, I think most Illinois attorneys are honest.  Human nature, however, makes many people afraid of confrontation or unwilling to tell people something they don’t want to hear.  These traits, and a worry about getting sued, unfortunately lead some attorneys to lie.

So I get calls all of the time that start out something like, “I know I have a great case. I’ve talked to a lot of lawyers, and they all tell me I do.” This is a telltale sign that they’ve been lied to by a lawyer.

The typical case involves someone looking for a medical malpractice lawyer in Illinois.  Those are very tough cases to win and understandably, often very emotional ones for the potential client.

In the typical situation, the caller will describe the bad treatment or even negligence that may have contributed to an injury or death. There are also usually other factors like old age, underlying illnesses like diabetes, or other complicating factors.  As sad as it is, in most cases if there is medical negligence on a 90-year-old, for example, a lawsuit would not likely be worth the cost.

Whatever the situation, in many cases a lawyer can tell right away that the chances of winning a case aren’t great.  From their standpoint, it’s a business decision and they know right away that the risk of spending $50,000-$100,000 to win a case isn’t worth it when there are great defenses or a likelihood they won’t win.

You’d think they’d just explain this, tell you sorry, tell you that you can seek a second opinion and move on.  But lawyers have somehow convinced themselves that they could get sued by telling someone they don’t have a case when it turns out they do. This is ridiculous as attorneys can offer opinions and still make clear that other people may disagree with them or tell the potential client to seek out a second opinion if they want to.

Instead, they lie and say something like, “You have a great case, but I’m just too busy to take it.” Or, “It sounds like a great case, but we have a conflict because we know that doctor.” Or, “That shouldn’t have happened and you need to hold them accountable, but I can’t do it.”

These are all lies.  How do I know? Because lawyers like to make money. They are business people. Nobody is too busy to take on a great case.  I guarantee that if you called them back and said your loved one was killed in a trucking accident, they’d suddenly have the time to investigate that case.  Even if they know a doctor or don’t think they can handle your case, they can always refer it out to a reputable firm and make a referral fee. That happens all of the time.

What it is, is lawyers looking out for themselves and not considering that most people just want to hear the truth. Most people can accept that they likely don’t have a case if you explain why.  A bad result doesn’t always mean malpractice occurred. It’s always worth having a conversation about it, but an honest answer is the best one.

I don’t think these attorneys have bad intentions.  I also don’t think they have proper empathy or consider how their lies will negatively impact the people who seek out their help.

The state of Illinois could easily solve this problem by granting immunity from lawsuits to attorneys who offer their opinion. They could still be sued for missed statute of limitations or other acts of negligence.

Testifying in court is nothing like what you see from law dramas on TV.   There is rarely a gotcha type moment.  Wall lawyers love to hit home runs with the results of the testimony they take, the reality is that most of it is really just helping paint a picture.  The best case usually is a single, not a homer.

Despite this, having to testify in court can cause people anxiety.  That makes sense.  Perception is often your reality. It’s not until after testimony is over that most people realize it isn’t that big of a deal.

While of course being honest is incredibly important, there is one tip I give to everyone that I think is the most important thing to think about when testifying. That tip is only answer the question that is asked.

Let’s say you are suing someone for a car accident that happened on your way home from work and the case goes to trial. Your lawyer asks you where you were heading to when you were rear-ended at a stop light.

The person who has been properly prepped by their lawyer to only answer the question asked would say:

I was heading home.

That’s a simple, straight forward, honest answer that starts to paint a picture and will lead the attorney in to the next question they want to ask so the jury can understand what happened that day.

The person who wasn’t prepped or is too anxious or thinks they have to “help” their case with their testimony might say something like:

I had just left work. I remember it because I was so mad at George for saying I didn’t finish my work when I did. It really pissed me off and it was all I could think about while I was driving home and then boom out of nowhere a car slams in to the back of me and my neck started to hurt. I realized I wouldn’t get home in time.

That’s a really problematic answer.  First off  it makes you seem like a crazy person which will be a turnoff to the jury. Second it’s very confusing. Third it creates a possible defense because you admit you were distracted.  And most of all it didn’t answer the question that was asked. That doesn’t mean you will lose your case, but it certainly won’t help your case.

Jurors want a clear picture. Jurors and Judges don’t want to be there longer than they need to be.  That rambling answer would be followed up with a question like, “We’ll get to that, but all I want to know is where were you headed that day?”  That’s a bad way to start testimony.

I see this a lot when people call us for legal advice. I get that they are nervous and we may be the first attorney they’ve spoken to. But we’ll ask one question and get five answers.  It makes it hard to help someone.

So the best you can, if you have to testify, answer only the question asked. Don’t anticipate what they want to hear or say what you think would sound good. Any experienced attorney will tell you this before trial and even do a run through of questions, but unfortunately too many fail to take this simple step.

We are experienced attorneys who will talk to you for free.  Call us at 800-517-1614 or fill out our contact form and we will call you.

All medical professionals in Illinois are licensed by the Illinois Department of Professional and Financial Regulations, IDFPR.  That organization also handles any disciplinary procedures.

I think most people love nurses more than any other medical provider.  Not that there aren’t some great doctors, but nurses are known for their kindness, empathy and doing most of the work, while many doctors are seen as arrogant or aloof. Unfortunately, most of the disciplinary complaints by IDFPR also fall on nurses.

If you are hit with a complaint, it makes sense you’d be nervous and have a lot of questions such as:

• Do these claims have any merit?
• What are my rights?
• What can I say?
• Is my career over?
• Who can I trust for legal answers on my next steps?

Nurses get accused of all sorts of things such as stealing drugs, failing a drug test, bad patient care, failure to report a criminal conviction and unprofessional conduct.

If you get a notice from IDFPR, early representation is key to mounting a good defense and getting a good result in the end. You don’t want to talk to them directly as anything you say can and will be used against you.

Unlike traffic, personal injury, divorce, etc., there aren’t hundreds of lawyers in Illinois who have great experience with these cases. That’s because there aren’t tens of thousands of cases a year so it’s hard to make nurse license defense your main practice area if you are a lawyer.  In fact, I’d estimate that there are only 3-5 law firms in the entire state who only take on these types of cases.

The good news is that we know who the best lawyers are for these cases and who really fights for their clients and has a track record of success.  This doesn’t guarantee anything, but gives you the best chance of getting a good result. Going with an attorney who doesn’t focus on these cases every day is a huge risk to your career.

All of the attorneys we know who do these cases and do them well are in Chicago because that is where the hearings take place. So even if you are a RN in southern Illinois or a CNA in Peoria, to protect yourself, you’d want to work with one of these firms.  The good news is that you won’t have to travel to work with them.

If you would like a recommendation of a lawyer who can protect you or just have questions, please contact us for free any time to talk to an attorney.  All inquiries are confidential.  We have relatives who are medical professionals and we promise to give you the same advice and guidance that we would give them.

Nobody wants to spend money on a lawyer if they don’t have to. I certainly don’t and I understand the value that a good one can bring.  If you do have to pay for a lawyer out of pocket – as opposed to a pay if you win case like a work injury or car accident – you want to know that you aren’t going to be wasting your money.

As a result and especially since these are tougher economic times, we’ve seen an uptick in people wanting to know the odds of winning their case.  Others want a guarantee before they hire an attorney.

It’s a logical question and there are plenty of lawyers in Illinois who will answer that question.  The problem is that in many cases those attorneys are lying to you just so you will sign up with them. They tell you what you want to hear and take it from there.

The reason I say that is in most cases after speaking with you we won’t have enough information to say how it’s going to go. For example, if you want to get custody of your kids, you can tell us all the positives about you and the problems with the other parent, but until we hear their side of the story, we don’t have a way of knowing for sure what will happen.

Or let’s say you want to sue someone who owes you $50,000.  You’ve got a written agreement along with text messages saying they owe you and will pay you.  I can’t give you the odds of winning your case because if they file for bankruptcy, your debt will likely go away.

What we can do is say that if certain things are true then it’s likely you will prevail. But real odds of winning are usually not known until you are in to the case a bit. We’ve seen times when it seemed obvious a defendant broke the law only to discover their actions were legal.  Even someone rear-ended at a stop light could lose their case although those cases are often a slam dunk.  If it was really dark and your lights were off, you might not win.

We are customer service focused so we and other honest lawyers will try to make educated guesses.  That is usually alright to do. What you really want to avoid though is an attorney who guarantees a certain big result.  They aren’t the Judge and they certainly have no honest way of telling you what’s going to happen. They can tell you about similar cases and how they were successful in those. But if they promise a result they are full of it and you should look elsewhere for help.

We are experienced Illinois attorneys who will talk to you for free.  Call us at 800-517-1614 or fill out our contact form and we will call you.

Every few months I do a blog post about some of the interesting questions we’ve received. Here are some from the last few months.

I was let go without a warning for misconduct.  Isn’t it true there’s a three strikes law that requires my job to give me three chances?

This is not true.  Illinois, unless you have a contract, is an at will employment state. That means they can let you go whenever, except for illegal reasons.  This is true even if you are treated unfairly or they made a mistake about the reason they fired you.

The police called me and said I was being investigated for a crime and want me to deposit money in to a bank account as part of restitution. I didn’t do anything, but I’m scared and they say I will go to jail if I don’t pay. What should I do?

Nothing.  This is a scam.  This is no how police work. They might even spoof the number of a courthouse.  If there’s no case number that can be looked up on an official website, there’s no case.

Can my employer fire me for testing positive for marijuana?

Yes.  Even though it’s legal to do it, they could still let you go.  An exception might be if there are medical reasons for taking it.

My work comp attorney never calls me back.  Can I switch or is it a waste of time?

It’s not a waste of time when your lawyer isn’t communicating with you.  It costs nothing to switch firms so you should at least have a consultation with a different attorney and make a decision from there.

I’m trying to get a gun license in Texas where I live now, but have a drug case from 20 years ago in Chicago that resulted in 410 probation. Will that prevent me from getting the license?

I have no idea because it’s a question for a TX attorney. That said, 410 probation isn’t a conviction so it’s a good sign.

I just had a child and signed the birth certificate. Now my best friend told me he thinks he’s the father. Am I stuck with paying child support?

This is one reason we tell people never to sign the birth certificate.  That said, if you contest it within 75 days of signing, you can have it reversed.  You need to act fast.

My mom always told me I’d be taken care of in her will.  She passed away and the only copy of the will we can find is from 20 years ago and I’m not in it. Am I out of luck?

Verbal promises aren’t enforceable in this situation. Your likely only shot is to find a more recent will that mentions you or somehow prove that the original will was fraudulent. Both are likely long shots.

That’s it for this month.  If you have any questions, even if you don’t want to hire a lawyer, contact us for free any time.

One of the things about being a lawyer that most people don’t think about is that most law schools don’t actually prepare you how to run a law firm or talk to people.  You see this a lot with some really excellent attorneys when it comes to going to court or being an “expert” on a certain area of law.  They are the leaders in their field but can’t carry a conversation.

As a result of some attorneys not being trained on how to work with customers or not having common sense, you will find that many law firm leaders act like what they think an attorney is supposed to act like. So men and women who in their own social circles are relatively normal will start using big, fancy legal jargon that nobody understands when a client is in the office because they think that is what they are supposed to do.  Quite honestly the best training I got to run a law firm was from waiting tables and bar-tending for four years.  Talking to people is often an acquired skill.

Another way that many attorneys screw up is by acting like they are an expert on everything.  Too many are afraid to look dumb if a client asks a question and they aren’t sure the answer.  They have internalized a belief that since they went to law school and passed the bar, they should have all the answers.

This brings me to the best three words an attorney can say to you: “I don’t know.”

When a lawyer says that they don’t know an answer, it’s often a great sign. It means they aren’t trying to put on a front.  It means they are being honest with you.  It shows they are humble.  These are all great qualities. If an attorney has been trained to handle medical malpractice lawsuits, they shouldn’t feel embarrassed if they don’t know what’s going to happen to their cousin who got arrested for retail theft.  Why should they know that answer? It revolves around something that they never deal with.

And even if the client question is an the area of law the attorney focuses on, they can’t know everything.  The reality is that unique issues come up all the time.  Rather than act like a know it all, a good attorney will tell the client that they aren’t 100% sure and ask for time to do some research.

Another phenomenon that happens to me based on running a service that tries to connect people with the right lawyer for their case is the ability to recognize the client knows something you do not.  While I can properly vet most accident, criminal and family law cases, there are a ton of laws on the books I know nothing about.  I recently got a call from someone with questions on Medicare Supplement Insurance law in Illinois.  It’s nothing I had ever looked at and they quite honestly educated me.  I handle a lot of contested life insurance cases now, but my first education in to that was from a consumer who had been through the ringer with that stuff.

Of course at some point you want to get with an attorney who does have the answers.  But if they act like an expert on everything, to me that is a sign of a very insecure person who will let their insecurity take over and will offer advice even if they are just talking out their back side.  That’s not good for you and the type of attorney and person you should avoid.

I got a call from a very angry woman whose husband had an Illinois workers’ compensation claim.  She was really pissed because he was taken off work by his doctor for a week and she discovered that under Illinois law, he will not get paid for the first three days he missed.  This is going to really hurt them financially as they live paycheck to paycheck.

She wanted to hire an attorney to have this law changed and was very mad when I told her it was not possible. In her mind, laws get changed in court all the time and the “right” lawyer could make this happen. I tried, unsuccessfully, to explain that this wasn’t realistic and even if it somehow was, no attorney would spend years in litigation to try and get them three days of pay.

I feel bad for her as she’s clearly frustrated.  The knowledge that her husband could get a settlement for his injury which would hopefully make up for some of the financial loss did not comfort her.  That said, a good lawyer doesn’t tell you what you want to hear or fill you with false hope. It’s our job to tell the truth and that’s what I did.

So how do you change the law in Illinois?

Obscure issues can get changed based on a Judge’s decision.  For example, Illinois workers’ compensation law on the settlement value of shoulder injuries has changed through the courts because it was not clearly defined in the law.  But when a law or rule is plainly laid out, a court can’t change it because they think it’s bad or should be something else.  Judges only make law when they are interpreting something that wasn’t obvious when the law was made or if it’s unconstitutional.

If you really want to change a law, the way to do it is through the legislature.  They propose and make laws that the Governor then signs off on.  It’s a marathon in most situations to make this happen, but it’s really the way it most commonly happens. It’s very rare that a court ruling drastically changes the way we function in society. When it does happen it’s usually in big cases like interpreting the equal protection clause to apply to same sex marriage.

Issues like work comp benefits or child support or time limits to file a lawsuit, etc. are almost always going to come from the legislature. So if you have an issue to bring, contact your state Senator or state Representative and discuss the issue with him or her.  They have the ability to propose laws and have them voted on.

I’d love to say that brilliant, aggressive attorneys are the exception to this rule, but it’s really just not true.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is likely giving you false hope.