Former federal prosecutor makes history as Chicago’s first black female and openly gay mayor

A former federal prosecutor who was an equity partner at Mayer Brown has been elected the new mayor of Chicago in a landslide victory against her runoff opponent. A “kickass trial lawyer,” in the words of former Illinois Attorney General Ty Fahner, Lori Lightfoot, a lesbian, is the first openly…

Apr 3, 2019 3:07 PM CDT

Decision striking down part of sex offender law is ‘the talk of the prison,’ lawyer says

A federal judge in Chicago has found that it is unconstitutional for Illinois to hold sex offenders in prison after their release date when they are so impoverished that they can’t find a place to live that complies with state requirements. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall ruled Sunday, WBEZ reports.…

Apr 3, 2019 12:41 PM CDT

Private equity fund that owns Charlotte School of Law sued in Illinois state court for alleged fraud

Apr 1, 2019 3:57 PM CDT

Court considers whether inquiry about citizenship belongs on the U.S. census

On April 23, the U.S. Supreme Court will take up a case that should resolve the issue. The justices will hear an appeal brought by the Trump administration of a federal district judge’s ruling that invalidated U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross’ 2018 decision to add a citizenship question to the next census.

Apr 1, 2019 1:35 AM CDT

BigLaw firm ousts partner, cites ‘inappropriate personal conduct’

Mayer Brown has confirmed that it ousted a partner in a statement that cites “inappropriate personal conduct with a subordinate” as the reason. Mayer Brown said the conduct of the Chicago-based partner, Zac Barnett, was unrelated to client matters and was “contrary to the firm’s core values,” report the American…

Mar 25, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Judge tosses suit over ‘slack-fill’ in Junior Mints boxes but gives plaintiff another chance

A federal judge in Chicago has tossed a lawsuit alleging that Tootsie Roll Industries sold its Junior Mints in deceptively large boxes. U.S. District Judge John Lee dismissed the would-be class action Tuesday because the lawsuit failed to allege that the named plaintiff suffered actual damages, the Chicago Tribune reports.…

Mar 22, 2019 9:33 AM CDT

Lawyer accused of using hidden camera to record undressing colleague agrees to 6-month suspension

A law firm associate accused of secretly recording video of a colleague when he changed clothes in the office has been suspended for six months. Lawyer Michael Thomas Herbst agreed to the discipline, according to an Illinois Supreme Court order dated March 19. He was suspended for two years, with…

Mar 21, 2019 8:00 AM CDT

Boeing’s legal troubles over airplane grounding could just be taking off

Nearly three dozen lawsuits have been filed against Boeing since its 737 Max 8 aircraft operated by Lion Air crashed in Indonesia on Oct. 29, killing all 189 people aboard. Now that an Ethiopian Air flight in a 737 Max 8 crashed in Ethiopia on March 10 and killed 157…

Mar 14, 2019 2:53 PM CDT

‘Laughter is a blood sport at the court’ when used by SCOTUS justices, new study says

U.S. Supreme Court justices use courtroom humor as a tool of advocacy and as a signal of their power and status, according to a new study of oral arguments by two law professors. As justices have taken on a greater advocacy role in the modern era, there has been an…

Mar 12, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

Would-be law student gets record expunged with help of legal services group

A Kentucky woman who plans to attend law school hopes to someday help others expunge their criminal records because of her own experience. Kristen Hawthorne returned to Bloomington, Illinois, last month to pick up a judge’s order expunging her felony conviction, the Bloomington Pantagraph reports. Hawthorne had been convicted for…

Mar 4, 2019 9:30 AM CST

Bullying from the Bench: A wave of high-profile bad behavior has put scrutiny on judges

Across the country, judges are creating embarrassing headlines when they are accused of abusive behavior toward lawyers and litigants.

Mar 1, 2019 12:15 AM CST

Lawyer lied about cancer to get case delays and justify LSAT score, ethics complaint alleges

An Illinois ethics complaint alleges that a Chicago civil rights lawyer falsely claimed he and a nonexistent son had stomach cancer in a series of false statements that began when he applied to the University of Chicago Law School. The amended ethics complaint filed on Feb. 8 claims that Vincenzo…

Feb 13, 2019 6:30 AM CST

Wrongly released documents in student’s drowning death show lifeguard ignored warnings

A lifeguard ignored warnings by three students before discovery of a body at the bottom of a school swimming pool in Chicago, according to documents approved for release by a Chicago judge last week. Judge Peter Flynn of Cook County had initially banned publication of the documents in the 2017…

Feb 11, 2019 10:56 AM CST

How do Catholic Church lawyers determine the credibility of sex assault allegations?

We need to examine the role of Catholic Church attorneys in determining the credibility of sexual assault accusations, says former Maritime Administration Chief Counsel K. Denise Rucker Krepp.

Feb 11, 2019 6:30 AM CST

Wrongly released documents on student’s drowning must not be published, judge rules

In an unusual move against the media, a Cook County judge ordered the Better Government Association not to publish records related to the drowning death of a student with autism that Chicago Public Schools lawyers say were released by mistake. On Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge Peter Flynn denied the BGA’s…

Feb 7, 2019 3:22 PM CST