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I really don’t like AT&T or Direct TV.  I’ve had the absolute worst customer service experiences with them. In recent months alone, the following has happened:

1. They offered me faster business internet and said it would be cheaper too.  All they had to do was send out a technician. They did, but in doing so, that morning someone remotely disabled my internet at work. I’m a mostly web based business and with Covid of course, you need an internet connection. I was without one for half the day because for some reason they couldn’t cancel my upgrade and make things work as normal. The very nice customer service rep promised a call back to check and make sure everything was completed.  That never happened.  That fake call back must be one of their customer service script cons because it’s been told to me on two occasions and it’s never happened.
2. I have four business phone lines. One day, my main one stopped working. I called and was told the error was likely on my end.  I was then told they’d send someone out the next day.  I told the rep I’d be gone by 3 p.m. that day and they said someone would be there earlier than that. The next day nobody had showed by 2 p.m.  So I called and was told that someone internally had cancelled the appointment because according to their check, the line was running fine. It wasn’t.  They also had in their system that I’d be there until 6 p.m.  They apologized and set something up for the next day. Long story short is that they had disconnected my phone line while setting up service for a new customer in a different suite.
3. My kids are obsessed with football so we ordered The Sunday Ticket and Red Zone. Worked fine in week two, week three it was gone.  Once more we had to call in and deal with them which if you’ve ever called, you know you can’t get someone on the line right away.
4. One day my work internet was out so I called the business support line. It somehow got routed to the customer service department for people who have issues with their home internet.  Not sure how I got there but after 20+ minutes I was told I need to call a different number and no, I couldn’t be transferred.

It’s partly my fault, at least at home, because I should just cut the cord and get rid of Direct TV. But in all of these customer service situations I think to myself, “I know others are going through the same b.s. and I would love to start a class action lawsuit against them.”

I can’t.

That’s because their contract and almost every other big business contract forces you to waive your right to a lawsuit or a class action and resolve any disputes via arbitration. This means you have to go it alone and almost any lawsuit against them would be out of principle.  You’d likely never recover as much as you’d have to spend.

This move by the George W. Bush administration to allow this has screwed consumers time and time again and allowed big business to step all over the little guy.  Hopefully the Dems will sweep in to office and change things, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

So I and most people have to eat the shit sandwich that is their terrible customer service and the only way to get back at them is to wait until phone service is available on a wide basis via satellite or some other platform.

I do take solace in the fact that I’ve helped AT&T employees go after the company for wage claims and work injuries. Every check I get from participating in those cases feels extra sweet.  But it doesn’t change the fact that whether it’s them or Apple or Amazon or any other big company, a class action lawsuit will probably go nowhere for you.

Unfortunately, among other things, 2020 has been the year of people getting laid off.  It’s understandable that businesses have had to make these tough decisions.  A lot of good workers have found themselves out of work.

The only silver lining for some of these workers is that many of them are getting severances. Under Illinois law, you have a right to have any severance package offered to you reviewed by an attorney.  The question is, what difference will that make and is it worth it?

The employment law attorneys we know who are experienced in reviewing severance packages, typically charge between $750-$1,000 for their time.  To be honest, for most people it’s not worth it.  I say that for a few reasons:

1. Your employer isn’t required to offer a severance at all.  What you get is done by them for good will and to close out any legal claims you might have even though most people don’t have any.

2. Because they don’t have to offer a severance, most people have no leverage to negotiate it.  If they offer everyone one week’s pay per every year worked, they aren’t likely to give you more than that because if they did it for you it would open them up to having to do it for others.

3. These documents are typically prepared by outside law firms who have no connection to you and no care of the meaningful contributions you made. They are emotionless by design and basically drive the bus in limiting their clients (your employer) from making very many changes to the boiler plate language they create.

4. So unless your goal is really just understanding what everything means, you are paying an attorney a decent amount of money to review a document when they won’t be able to get much if anything changed about it.

If you believe you were illegally laid off for reasons such as having complained about sexual harassment, your age, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc and can prove it, then you might have leverage to get more money out of this.  That’s when getting a lawyer does make sense and in many cases they can work on a contingency basis which means they only get paid if they get you more money.  Essentially they would get the employer to pay more for you giving up valid legal claims.

For everyone else, here are some things to know and ask for in your severance.  The might say no, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

1. You can’t give up your rights to work comp benefits via a severance agreement in Illinois.  If you’ve been injured at work though it’s wise to talk to a work comp attorney before signing anything (call us at 312-346-5320 if you want a free consultation).

2. Getting a severance doesn’t prevent you from applying for unemployment.  I recommend that you ask that they put in writing that they won’t contest your unemployment.  We’ve seen many companies lay someone off and then fight unemployment.  That shouldn’t happen and one sentence added could save you some grief.

3. Know that you are giving up your rights to sue them for almost anything.  If you think you might have a claim for something, talk to a lawyer first.  You are also likely giving up compensation claims for things like vacation pay or owed commissions.  Calculate what you are owed to make sure you aren’t being taken advantage of.

4. In my experience, it’s usually the little, non-monetary things they will agree too.  Maybe they’ll extend your company phone privileges.  They likely will let you keep your cell number. Perhaps you can get them to agree to a positive recommendation for your future employment opportunities.

5. Remember that anything verbal they tell you that isn’t in this document is not legally enforceable because you can bet that the document says that.  If it’s important to you and you think it’s been agreed to, ask for it in writing.

Every case and situation is different. I’m not saying you shouldn’t consider having an attorney review.  What I am saying is that most people I talk to learn the cost and decide that it’s not worth it because they have no evidence of illegal activity by their employer and thus have no leverage to change the terms of what has been offered.

It’s one thing to say that first responders are heroes and we should appreciate them. It’s another thing to actually do something about it. In Illinois we show appreciation for firemen, EMT’s, law enforcement officers, correctional officers, etc.

This is done through the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act.  In a nutshell, if any of these workers is seriously injured or killed in the line of duty, their family doesn’t have to worry about health care.   Children are automatically covered until age 25. Spouses are covered for life or until they re-marry.

That’s a big benefit, but that’s not all.  If any of these workers are killed in the line of duty, their children get free tuition at State universities.  Places like University of Illinois are quite expensive and this Act helps relieve a huge financial burden for these families.

I’m writing about this because we have helped a lot of first responders with work related injuries over the year and in some cases have helped families who had loved ones killed in the line of duty. I’ve been really surprised how few workers are actually aware of this law.  It’s on their local employers to make them aware of it and for whatever reason it doesn’t seem to happen.

In the big picture, if you are one of these workers who has been injured on the job, before you hire a work comp attorney, you should ask them about the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act.  If they don’t know what it is, it’s a sign that they don’t work with a lot of people in your field and aren’t likely the best choice to handle your case.

There are other special rules for first responders such as for fire fighters who have heart attacks.  Workers need to count on their lawyers to know these rules and protect their interests.

We have been helping people who need legal guidance or lawyer referrals since 2001. If you’d like to speak with one of our experienced attorneys for free, call us at 312-346-5320 any time.

We are Chicago lawyers who since 2001 have offered free legal guidance and lawyer referrals to anyone who needs it on all Illinois legal matters. If you want to ask us a question just call us at 312-346-5320 or fill out our contact form.  We don’t promise you’ll like our answer, but do promise to give direct, honest advice.

Most of my blog posts are based off of cases I’ve read/worked on or good questions from callers. Some questions don’t need a whole post. Every few months I like to put together a post of some great questions that don’t need a big explanation.  In no particular order here are some recent good ones.

Can my employer make overtime mandatory?

Yes.  Unless you are in a union where hours can be negotiated, generally speaking your hours are what your employer says they are.  They have to pay you of course, but if you refuse to work overtime you can get fired.  I recommend everyone google the phrase “at will employment” for more information on your rights as an employee or lack there of.

Do you know a lawyer who specializes in unemployment?

This has been a hot topic unfortunately. The bad news is that I’ve never met a lawyer who focuses on this because it’s not an easy way to make a career. I’m sure they are out there somewhere, but I’ve never met them.

Is it legal for my lawyer to charge 40% of the recovery on my car accident case?

Legal? Yes.  A good idea to go with someone charging that much?  Usually no.  Most lawyers will charge 33%, sometimes less.  The exception is usually if the case has to be appealed following a trial.  I’d shop around if your attorney is asking for 40%.

My license is suspended in Texas so I can’t get a license here.  Can you help with that?

Most likely you need to clear up your out of state problem first.

The QDRO my ex wants me to sign says that if she dies the balance of what she is owed will go to her estate.  Is that common? Legal?

It is legal. It’s common among attorneys who are looking out for their clients, but it’s not mandatory and certainly negotiable.

I think I got Covid from work, but I’m not an essential worker.  Do I have a case?

You may based on the reasons you think it’s from work, but most likely would need your doctor to state that it’s more likely than not your job played a role in you getting it.

Why are the only IDFPR attorneys I can find in Chicago?

That’s because most of the hearings take place there.  Also it’s a very niche area of practice and making a living at it as a downstate lawyer would be hard.  You want someone who has a lot of experience with those cases and the reality is that those people are in Chicago. The good news is that they almost always can work with you by phone and email.

I settled my case eight years ago.  I think my lawyer gave me bad advice. Can I sue them?

You can sue anyone for anything, but this case would get tossed out because you waited to long. You can’t go back farther than six years to sue your attorney.  Also having regrets over a bad settlement is usually not a case.

These are some quick answers.  As always, every case is different so please take this as just general advice.  If you have concerns about your situation, contact us at any time.

We’ve noticed an uptick of late of attorneys in Illinois telling their potential clients what they want to hear.  Business is down for a lot of law firms and some are doing whatever they can to land a client.  This includes flat out lying.

If you were hurt in a car accident and want to know the likely value of your case, if it seems to be worth $40,000.00, an honest lawyer will say it’s worth $40,000.00.  If the lawyer thinks it’s too soon to say what it’s worth, the honest one will say they can’t give you a good estimate right now and explain why.

The lying lawyer who just wants you as a client will tell you that your case worth $40,000.00 is worth $100,000.00. Why?  Because if you call three lawyers and two tell you the case is worth 40k and the third says they’ll get you 100k, that last one sounds good.  The reality we find in most of these situations is that this is the type of lawyer who only cares about themselves and not the client.  When push comes to shove and they are getting you a much lower amount to settle, they will just come up with some b.s. excuse/lie and move on.

In one case we were called on, the lawyer got the settlement offer which was less than half of what they originally promised.  When the client called them out on it, the attorney denied ever saying that and then told the client if they don’t like it they should get a new attorney.  Unfortunately by then it was too late.

In another case, a person with very serious injuries from a car accident was hit by a 20 year old who only has $30,000 worth of insurance.  The reality is that nobody is going to ever recover more than $30,000 on that case because even if you go after the 20 year old as an individual, they have nothing.  A caller to my office told me some lawyer said the case was worth a million dollars!  That might be what the case is worth because the injuries were so major, but if they tell the client they are going to get more than 30k they are full of it.

The good news is that most attorneys I come across are honest, decent people.  The bad news is that there are enough that are just bad business people or desperate and think they have to say what a client wants to hear.  All we can tell you is that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is and you should be aware of that before you sign with a lawyer.

In normal times, the Illinois Bar exam would have taken place two weeks ago.  Due to Covid it first got pushed to September 9 and 10 and now is going to be online October 5 & 6.

I remember a lot from the summer of 1994 when I took the Illinois Bar test.  The night it finished was a huge celebration with my classmates.  The summer itself was very stressful because if I didn’t pass I have no idea what I would do.

Back then every law student I knew took a class called BarBri.  It was started by a guy named Michael Spak who was also a professor at my law school.  The first week of the class he came to speak to us and gave what in my opinion is the key to passing the test.

He asked us how many of us were nervous about passing.  Not everyone raised their hand, but I do know that most people were anxious at least.  He then asked how many of us had clerked in law firms or been to the Daley Center. Almost every hand went up.  Professor Spak asked how many times we saw an attorney at a firm or court and looked at them and thought to ourselves, “I can’t believe that person is a lawyer.”  Most hands went up for that too and we all had a good laugh.

He then gave me all the confidence I would need.  He said something to the effect of “All of those dumb people passed the bar exam to become a lawyer and if they did it then so can you!”

That was a great pep talk and the advice after that was to just do the work and treat it like a job.  Their class had years of success in getting people to pass and I’m sure they or some other group is still doing that type of work.  We all blew off certain parts of school, but with the bar exam, if you go to every class, do all the reading, take all the practice tests and do it over and over and over, your chances of success are really high.

This isn’t some magical advice.  I was 25 when I took the bar and was doing it during a typical fun Chicago summer.  Those taking the exam this September don’t have neighborhood festivals, Cubs games or a huge nightlife to distract them.  In that way, taking the Bar during Covid is slightly easier.  But of course there are still fun things to do in Chicago (or anywhere) and while you should be having fun, the people I know who didn’t pass had too much fun and didn’t take getting ready for the exam serious enough.

The reality is that if you treat this time like a job you care about – and you should because you are the owner of the company – then you will likely pass.  When you take practice tests, you’ll have an idea of how well you are likely to do.  The more practice tests you take, the more you study, the better your chances.

And whether you get the best grade possible or the lowest passing grade possible, you still get to be a lawyer.

There is no other magic formula.  It’s kind of like weight loss.  There are a lot of gimmicks, but at the end of the day if you want to lose weight it usually comes down to diet and exercise. If you want to pass the Bar in 1994 or 2020 or 2040, it’s a matter of putting in a lot of work so you are as prepared as possible.

The Covid world is new for all of us and constantly changing. I, along with just about every attorney I know, supported the closing of the courthouses while we got things under control.  Cook County was extra cautious and kept the courts mostly closed until this week.  Some emergency hearings took place, some Zoom status calls happened, but most cases were just simply continued.

Now in Will County, DuPage and every place else things are getting back to normal.  If you had a case scheduled for trial, it can happen.  There are precautions in place and Zoom and other remote access services are being used for great benefit.

But in Cook County, Judge Evans has declared that every case set for trial is automatically continued until 2021.  There is no way we can have the mass of usual people in the Daley Center and smaller courthouses right now.  But there certainly is a way to make sure plaintiffs have access to justice.  Currently if a defendant demands a jury trial, justice is not possible.  It’s being abused by insurance companies to pressure injured people to take terrible settlement offers.  When you have no leverage there isn’t much you can do.

Unusual times call for creative thinkers.  In just downtown Chicago alone, there are scores of hotels within walking distance of the Daley Center. How easy would it be to use a ballroom or meeting room for a jury trial? You could easily social distance everyone while giving all parties their fair day in court.  I’m not talking about cases that got filed yesterday, I’m referring to cases that have been waiting for trial and didn’t proceed because of Covid.

Delaying these cases does nothing but overwhelm the court system and force good people in to unfair situations while insurance companies and bad actors get away with not being held accountable.

McCormick Place is another option that would seem to work. It’s huge, has security in place and I can’t imagine it’s in high demand these days.

If you want to have a hearing outdoors I’d bet places in Grant Park could work or even some rooftop deck areas.

The point is that doing something is better than doing nothing.  We could even do a trial run of smaller cases on Zoom to see how that goes.

Why we are trying nothing boggles my mind.  I’d think most people would even be in favor of trials at the Daley Center if we limited cases to parties directly involved in the case which would greatly reduce foot traffic.

I’m not optimistic because it’s Cook County, but here’s hoping that we get back to a true level playing field for all parties and that our legal system can get back on track. Doing nothing is going to have ripple effects for years.

One of the dumbest things we do is punish the poor financially for not having money to pay fines.  That leads to a downward cycle that affects them in a bad way. It’s how it has been in Illinois forever when it comes to parking tickets.  If you get too many tickets and don’t pay them you will get your driver’s license suspended.  When your license is suspended it means you can’t legally drive to work to make money.  That means of course you can’t make money to pay off these tickets or are forced to choose between important life expenses like medicine versus giving the Government your money.

Fortunately Governor Pritzker and the legislature are giving new hope to 55,000+ people.  Effective today based on a law that was passed in January, if your license is suspended for unpaid parking tickets, toll violations or other non-moving violations you are eligible to get your license back under The License To Work Act.

The State should have contacted you if you are eligible, but if they didn’t and you think you might be, you should contact them. It’s possible they don’t have up to date address information for you or made another error.

Prior to this, many drivers were filing for bankruptcy to get out of their tickets and ruining their credit.  That shouldn’t happen anymore. Best of all, you shouldn’t have to hire a lawyer to get your license back.  This isn’t a matter of judgment and you don’t need to get a restricted driving permit like before.  You should have your full privileges reinstated.

I will rag on politicians as much as anyone, but this is a great thing that was done and they deserve kudos for it.  It could probably go further, especially when it comes to child support, but it’s a great first step.

If you have any questions about this process, I highly recommend you go in to your local Secretary of State office.