Subject Index Law Pulse

Should lawyers provide free consultations to prospective clients? Discounts to new clients? Refunds of a consult fee to clients who ask for one? ISBA lawyers offer their opinions.

Illinois becomes the 24th state to allow wrongful-death plaintiffs to recover for their grief, sorrow, and mental suffering at the loss of their loved one.

A major overhaul of DUI law doubles the summary-suspension period and requires offenders to submit to alcohol monitoring devices in return for driving permits. Critics charge that it will produce unintended consequences, including fewer guilty pleas.

A patent issued on an estate-planning technique has that bar buzzing.

Two districts of the appellate court construe Arthur v Catour, holding that plaintiffs can recover only what Medicare and Medicaid paid the provider - not the larger, undiscounted amount billed - and allowing a physician's expert testimony that a medical bill was reasonable.

Case law from the United States Supreme Court and the seventh circuit interpreting the federal rules can make it hard for settling parties to draft orders of dismissal that allow the judge to retain jurisdiction.

What can you do to preserve your client's right to appeal when the trial court issues an order of ambiguous finality? The Waddick case may provide some lessons.

How do you get appointed? How much can you earn? What about appointees who don't do the job?

The court last month approved lawyers' use of the advance payment retainer, cautioning that more familiar retainer agreements will be the preferred option in most cases.

As a matter of public policy, "lawyers representing themselves simply do not incur legal fees," the third district ruled recently.

A law firm did not violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when it followed Illinois procedure for collecting a state-court judgment, the seventh circuit ruled.

Do recent cases indicate that Illinois should change its laws to further protect mentally ill property owners?

Does the tradition of billing by the hour push lawyers to pad bills and thus engage in the kind of "dishonest" behavior forbidden by the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct?

Has the Illinois Supreme Court embraced a test that makes it harder for employers to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees and thus avoid employee-related taxes and other expenses?

A recent federal case sheds light about when and how lawyers can counsel their clients to refuse to answer questions in a deposition.

New supreme court standards allow defendants in small traffic cases to plead guilty and pay up without a trip to the courthouse.

The court amended rules governing the format of appellate briefs, appeals from circuit court rulings, and voir dire examinations in criminal cases.

The tort immunity act offers no blanket immunity for trampolining and other hazardous recreational activities, the high court rules.

Under the direct participant theory, recently adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court, a parent business that guides its subsidiary's activities may be liable for the subsidiary's torts.

The Illinois Supreme Court refused to abandon the rule in Tuite v Corbitt but overturned the trial and appellate courts who applied it in dismissing the plaintiff's case.