Illinois

Former Illinois Appeals Judge Complains About Unsolved Burglaries at His Family Farm

A former Illinois appeals judge is complaining that police aren’t doing enough to solve a series of burglaries at his family farm in Collinsville in which thieves made off with his late uncle’s Purple Heart and other valuables. Former Judge Gordon Maag says burglars broke into the home at least…

Sep 27, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

7th Circuit: Fired Johnson & Bell Lawyer Can Sue for Discrimination During State-Court Tort Appeal

A fired former associate of Johnson & Bell can sue the law firm for discrimination in federal court at the same time that he is appealing an Illinois state-court dismissal of his defamation case, a federal appeals court has ruled. Reversing a federal district judge’s decision that the court should…

Sep 22, 2011 9:38 PM CDT

University of Illinois Releases the Real Stats for Its Incoming Law Class

The University of Illinois has released corrected grade and test data for its incoming law class that is lower than the statistics previously reported on the school’s website and promotional materials. The median Law School Admission Test score for the class of 2014 is 163, not the 168 originally touted,…

Sep 20, 2011 11:53 AM CDT

Legendary Chicago Trial Lawyer Max Wildman Dies at 91; Founder of Major Firm Mesmerized Juries

A legendary Chicago trial lawyer with an “aw shucks” Jimmy Stewart style that belied his business acumen and mesmerizing skills in front of a jury died today. Max Wildman, a co-founder of Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon, was 91 years old. His warm, easy-going manner, both in court and in…

Sep 16, 2011 11:48 PM CDT

Jury Convicts Trusted Ex-Client of Murdering Elderly Ex-Lawyer and Stealing His Guns

Updated: Both Keith Allen and Terry Bratcher each say the other man actually smothered an elderly former criminal defense lawyer to death in his suburban Chicago home in 2009. But Allen, who is now 23, pleaded guilty earlier this year to the first-degree murder of Carl Kuhn and was sentenced…

Sep 16, 2011 7:38 PM CDT

10th Circuit Suspends Lawyer for ‘Meritless Contentions,’ Says $16K in Prior Fines Didn’t Deter Him

Saying that nearly $16,000 in fines imposed on an Illinois lawyer for unethical conduct in earlier federal cases didn’t have the desired deterrent effect, a federal appeals court has now suspended him indefinitely from practice in that jurisdiction for making frivolous arguments in an appeal of a tax lien foreclosure.…

Sep 15, 2011 5:23 PM CDT

Petition Claims State Farm Secretly Raised Millions for Ill. Justice Who Voted Its Way in $1B Case

Lawyers seeking to reinstate a $1 billion verdict against State Farm claim the insurer covered up the full extent of its fundraising on behalf of an Illinois Supreme Court justice who voted to overturn the award. In a petition filed last week, former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson and other Tennessee…

Sep 15, 2011 12:47 PM CDT

Former Greenberg Traurig Partner Gets 6 Years for Overbilling Client Suburb

Updated: A former Chicago partner of Greenberg Traurig pleaded guilty to theft today in Cook County Circuit Court and was sentenced to six years for overbilling a client municipality in the city’s suburbs. Mark McCombs pleaded guilty to a theft of over $100,000 and was taken into custody to begin…

Sep 13, 2011 2:11 AM CDT

Vedder Price to Launch 1st Foreign Office, in London, Headed By Clydes Aviation Finance Co-Chair

A Chicago-based midsized law firm is going international. Vedder Price is opening its fourth office overall and first foreign office in London, reports Legal Week. It will be launched by two partners, Gavin Hill, who is currently the co-head of the aviation finance practice group at Clyde & Co, and…

Sep 9, 2011 11:25 PM CDT

Witness Who ID’d Gunmen in 1994 Murder Trial Charged with Perjury After Recanting Testimony

Wounded in a 1992 shooting in which two of his friends were killed, Willie Johnson identified the two alleged gunmen in a 1994 trial. They were convicted and sentenced to life prison terms. Now, in a highly unusual twist of fate, the 40-year-old Johnson is facing a related criminal case,…

Sep 2, 2011 8:31 PM CDT

Unemployed Man Hires Lawyer After Finding Cash Totaling $150K in His Backyard

An unemployed man in Northwest suburban Chicago called police after he found a big bag of money in his backyard garden. Police searched the yard and found a second bag of money; together they contained about $150,000, report the Chicago Tribune, the Northwest Herald and the Chicago Sun-Times. Wayne Sabaj,…

Sep 1, 2011 1:07 PM CDT

Stairs Interfere with Truck Driver’s Effort to Ram Courthouse

An Illinois man upset over child support issues tried to ram his 18-wheeler into the Madison County Courthouse on Monday, but he didn’t get any farther than the courthouse stairs. Roy Conger, 42, fled the scene after his semi got stuck, but he later turned himself in at the Madison…

Aug 30, 2011 2:33 PM CDT

Massage Parlor Mistrial Declared After Masseuse Recognizes Defense Lawyer as Client

A Chicago federal judge declared a mistrial last week in a sex-trafficking prosecution after a masseuse who worked for the defendant and testified for the prosecution recognized the defense lawyer as a client. After stepping down from the stand, masseuse Liudmyla Ksenych told prosecutors she recognized defense lawyer Douglas Rathe,…

Aug 30, 2011 11:41 AM CDT

No College Care Packages? No Birthday Cash? Kids Sue Mom—Unsuccessfully—with Lawyer Dad’s Help

An Illinois appeals court has dismissed a bad mothering suit filed by two young adults with the help of their lawyer father. The First District Appellate Court of Illinois found that Kimberly Garrity’s conduct wasn’t extreme or outrageous, and didn’t justify a suit seeking damages for emotional distress, report the…

Aug 29, 2011 11:41 AM CDT

15 Years for Recording a Talk with Cops? Woman Avoids Prison with Acquittal

A woman charged under Illinois’ obscure eavesdropping law for secretly recording her conversation with two Chicago cops has been acquitted. Jurors acquitted Tiawanda Moore after deliberating less than an hour, the Chicago Tribune reports. She was charged under an Illinois law that bars the recording of public conversations without permission;…

Aug 25, 2011 3:51 PM CDT