Practice News

The Illinois Supreme Court announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on January 29, 2019. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down eight opinions on Friday, Jan. 25. In People v. Witherspoon, the court considered whether a person who enters another person’s home in violation of a court order thereby enters “without authority” under the home invasion statute. In People v. Johnson, the supreme court concluded that the appellate court erred in considering the merits of a man’s sentencing challenge because he could not challenge it other than through withdrawal of his plea. The court ruled that a defendant was required to offer some affirmative evidence that the parking lot where he was arrested for DUI was not a public highway in People v. Relwani. In Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entertainment Corp., the court ruled that consumers do not have to demonstrate “injury or adverse effect” to sue companies under the state’s biometric privacy law. The supreme court upheld a trial court’s ruling granting a father who had joint custody of his children to relocate in In re Marriage of Fatkin and clarified the rules governing the admission of photographs in motor vehicle cases in Peach v. McGovern. In In re Appointment of Special Prosecutor, the court rejected arguments by the Better Government Association to release documents in a FOIA request. In Smith v. The Vanguard Group, the court determined that a man did not violate an injunction when he changed the beneficiary designation from his wife to his sons.

Ryan Suniga, an attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, discusses tips for effective brief writing. Tips include framing your issue at the beginning of a piece of writing, becoming proficient at designing text, and the use of caselaw.

Ensuring you get paid for your efforts on behalf of your client requires more than getting retained, performing legal services, and sending a bill. When a client disputes a fee or simply refuses to pay, how do you put yourself in the best position to obtain payment? It starts with your initial retention and lasts beyond your representation. In his January Illinois Bar Journal article, “What You Might Have Forgotten About Billing Clients,” David M. Neff revisits essential steps for billing clients and offers guidance from retention to collection.