Illinois

Christian student will receive $150K in suit alleging school meditation program included Hindu ritual

A former public school student who alleged that she was coerced to participate in a school meditation ritual that violated her Christian religious beliefs has accepted a $150,000 offer of judgment from the Chicago Board of Education and the foundation that developed the program.

Nov 7, 2023 9:08 AM CST

Lawyer’s antisemitic rant leads to ouster from bar post and government job

An Illinois government lawyer is out of a job after she allegedly called an Instagram user a “Zionist pig” and wrote that “Hitler should have eradicated all of you.”

Oct 25, 2023 2:41 PM CDT

How elimination of cash bail is working in Illinois after 1 month

The jail population is down in Cook County, Illinois, and pretrial detention hearings are getting longer throughout the state after a law eliminating cash bail took effect.

Oct 20, 2023 8:50 AM CDT

Tales of 3 generations of Black women intertwine to form ‘Memphis’

A Tennessee lawyer shares how her lawyerly research techniques prepared her to dig into her family’s history to develop characters in her novel focused on three generations of Black women and spanning seven decades.

Sep 27, 2023 8:40 AM CDT

Lawyers who lied about capital contribution, cursed on hot mic among those sanctioned in Illinois

The Illinois Supreme Court has disciplined or accepted the resignation of several lawyers and two former judges in a series of orders Sept. 21.

Sep 25, 2023 3:53 PM CDT

Ex-lawyer Tom Girardi lashes out at prosecutor in competency hearing; brain shrinkage reported

A prosecutor in Los Angeles claimed that an outburst by ex-lawyer Tom Girardi during a competency hearing Wednesday shows that the disbarred lawyer understands the criminal proceedings against him.

Sep 15, 2023 8:41 AM CDT

Former BigLaw partner temporarily barred from courthouse should be suspended, board says

An Illinois hearing board has recommended suspension for a former federal prosecutor and Polsinelli shareholder who was temporarily barred from the criminal courthouse in Chicago and held in criminal contempt of court four times.

Sep 12, 2023 11:25 AM CDT

Passion for Justice: Northwestern law prof fights for juvenile rights armed with research

Julie Biehl, an ABA member since 2006, is known as a straight shooter, whose presence fills a room. “She’s a tiny woman, maybe 5’1”, but she is so fiery and so full of passion and just cares,” says Garien Gatewood, deputy mayor for community safety for the city of Chicago.

Sep 6, 2023 10:09 AM CDT

Chicago law firm faces biometric privacy suit for allegedly storing legal secretary’s fingerprints

A former legal secretary at Mandell Menkes has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago law firm for allegedly scanning and storing her fingerprints in its time clock system.

Aug 23, 2023 10:28 AM CDT

What state has the best work-life balance? New report explores

Aspiring lawyers will find the best work-life balance in these top three states, according to a new report from presettlement loan company Uplift Legal Funding.

Aug 23, 2023 9:35 AM CDT

Private equity firm lawyer with Chicago ties will be new White House counsel

Ed Siskel, a former Obama administration lawyer who also worked as the corporation counsel under then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, has been tapped to be the new White House counsel.

Aug 22, 2023 9:59 AM CDT

Prosecutor ‘literally ran in high heels’ through courthouse hallway to save overdosing woman

A quick-thinking prosecutor is being credited with helping save a woman who was overdosing in the Will County, Illinois, courthouse outside Chicago.

Aug 1, 2023 11:34 AM CDT

Federal judge questions ‘move afoot’ to encourage arguments by junior lawyers

Federal judges who encourage more junior lawyers to provide oral arguments could be interfering with the attorney-client relationship, according to a federal judge in Rockford, Illinois.

Jul 24, 2023 12:47 PM CDT

Lawyer’s RICO suit seeks to force fossil fuel companies to pay for hurricane damage

A small-town Illinois lawyer who once sued oil companies over contaminated land has turned her attention to climate change and the companies allegedly fueling the problem.

Jul 19, 2023 3:40 PM CDT

Illinois will make history as result of state supreme court decision on cash bail law

The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a state law eliminating cash bail. Illinois will now become the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail when the new law takes effect Sept. 18.

Jul 19, 2023 11:10 AM CDT