Subject Index Law Pulse

Sealing court records: what’s the standard in Illinois?

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
July
2004
LawPulse
, Page 334
Surprisingly, no statute or supreme court rule sets forth standards for sealing court records from the public.

Title work is lawyers’ work

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
July
2004
LawPulse
, Page 334
Leading real estate practitioners warn their fellow lawyers not to cede control over title work to realtors.

Watch out for (un)real estate deals

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
July
2004
LawPulse
, Page 334
Don't let your clients lead you down the road to a RESPA violation by misstating the price of real estate.

Ethics overkill?

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
June
2004
LawPulse
, Page 286
The Illinois Municipal League and the Illinois AG offer competing model ethics-in-government ordinances for local governmental bodies.

Hall v Henn discourages neighborliness, critics say

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
June
2004
LawPulse
, Page 286
Critics fear that the supreme court's interpretation of an immunity statute will discourage landowners from making their property available to others.

Is doubling the bankruptcy homestead exemption on the horizon?

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
June
2004
LawPulse
, Page 286
Bigger homestead and personal property exemptions would benefit debtor-homeowners and encourage more debtors to opt for Chapter 7, not Chapter 13, relief.

Legislators consider the Gestational Surrogacy Act

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
June
2004
LawPulse
, Page 286
What happens when a pregnant surrogate changes her mind? When the intended parents divorce during the pregnancy? HB 4962 would address those questions and others.

LLC info now on the Web

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
June
2004
LawPulse
, Page 286
Thanks to the Illinois Secretary of State's office, more information about LLCs is now available online.

Accepting fee payments by credit card; priceless?

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
May
2004
LawPulse
, Page 236
Charging interest on late accounts and accepting fee payments by credit card are a carrot-and-stick approach to getting paid on time.

New rule mandates expedited custody appeals

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
May
2004
LawPulse
, Page 236
Amended Supreme Court Rule 306A is designed to ensure quicker resolution of child custody cases. But how will it work in practice?

No police “eavesdropping” on sexual predators; even in cyberspace?

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
May
2004
LawPulse
, Page 236
The Illinois eavesdropping statute's prohibition against taping with only one party's consent hampers legitimate law enforcement, a legal scholar opines.

Responding to HIPAA-violation complaints

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
May
2004
LawPulse
, Page 236
Prevention is the best remedy; does your "covered entity" client have an adequate privacy policy in effect?

Supreme court upholds constitutionality of unsafe-building demolition law

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
May
2004
LawPulse
, Page 236
The supreme court held recently that municipalities can tear down unsafe buildings as soon as the circuit court enters a demolition order.

How to represent an apartment buyer

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
April
2004
LawPulse
, Page 170
Contributors to an ISBA e-mail discussion group create a primer that describes what any attorney should insist upon when representing the buyer of an apartment building.

A kindercentric custody-law proposal

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
April
2004
LawPulse
, Page 170
ISBA's Family Law Section Council has proposed a revolutionary revamp of Illinois's child custody law that puts the rights and interests of children first.

Limited license for corporate counsel; a mixed blessing?

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
April
2004
LawPulse
, Page 170
New Supreme Court Rule 716, which creates a limited license to practice for Illinois-based in-house counsel, is getting mixed reviews in corporate law departments.

“No” to compulsory DUI blood tests

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
April
2004
LawPulse
, Page 170
A second district case holds that nonconsensual, non-treatment-related blood and urine tests are inadmissible in DUI trials.

Out-of-state lawyers OK’d for Illinois arbitrations

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
April
2004
LawPulse
, Page 170
The first district holds that lawyers who aren't licensed in Illinois can nonetheless represent clients in Illinois-based arbitrations.

Local governments cope with the verbatim-record requirement

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
March
2004
LawPulse
, Page 118
What must public bodies do to comply with the new law? The answers are far from clear.

Preserving nursing home residents’ assets is harder than ever

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
March
2004
LawPulse
, Page 118
As a recent third district case shows, it's nigh impossible to create a trust that enables nursing home residents who still have assets to qualify for Medicaid and thereby preserve an estate for the next generation.

VESSA: unpaid leave for domestic violence victims

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
March
2004
LawPulse
, Page 118
Find out about this newly effective law that, like the Family and Medical Leave Act, grants unpaid leave to covered workers.

Whistleblower cases: high-risk, high-return

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
March
2004
LawPulse
, Page 118
Whistleblower cases can be personally and financially rewarding, but know what you're getting into.

Constructive discharge can lead to strict Title VII liability for employers

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
February
2004
LawPulse
, Page 62
The seventh circuit ruled recently that constructive discharge can be a "tangible employment action" in a Title VII suit, in which case employers may not invoke affirmative defenses. And the employer in this case was an Illinois circuit court.

Getting paid, part 1: demand bankruptcy fees up front

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
February
2004
LawPulse
, Page 62
Thanks to a new seventh circuit case, it's more important than ever for attorneys who represent debtors in Chapter 7 to get all of their fees up front.

Getting paid, part 2: A new probate pitfall to avoid

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
February
2004
LawPulse
, Page 62
If your client is seeking payment from an estate, make sure you file a claim with the probate court even if the estate representative knows about the debt; that knowledge might not put the estate on the hook, according to a new appellate court ruling.

Is your firm registered with the supreme court?

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
February
2004
LawPulse
, Page 62
News flash: many law firms, not just lawyers, must register, and those who don't could see their fee awards invalidated.

New interstate child-custody statute for the New Year

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
February
2004
LawPulse
, Page 62
If your practice includes family law, familiarize yourself with the newly effective Illinois Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act.

Illinois OKs speaking in (native) tongues in the workplace

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
January
2004
LawPulse
, Page 10
Habla Espanol in the workplace? You can now with impunity, as long as it's your native language and you're talking about non-work-related matters.

More on traffic stops and the Illinois Supreme Court

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
January
2004
LawPulse
, Page 10
Here's a summary of two opinions that came down after last month's Journal article on the Illinois Supreme Court's recent interpretation of the Terry doctrine went to press.

New law makes it easier to investigate workplace misconduct

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
January
2004
LawPulse
, Page 10
Employers are no longer required to get an alleged wrongdoer's consent to hire an outside firm to conduct an investigation of alleged misconduct on the job.

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