Preparing for a divorce or family law trial can be stressful. Learning that your attorney wants to withdraw shortly before…
The post What happens when a family law attorney withdraws before trial? first appeared on Family Law Headquarters by Stange Law Firm.
The post What happens when a family law attorney withdraws before trial? appeared first on Family Law Headquarters by Stange Law Firm.
Continue Reading What happens when a family law attorney withdraws before trial?

Tax season can be stressful under ordinary circumstances. When spouses are separated or going through a divorce, preparing a tax return can become considerably more complicated.
The spouses may need to determine whether they will file jointly or separately, who may claim the children, how a refund or tax liability will be divided, and what records each person needs. Decisions made in the divorce can also produce tax consequences that may not become apparent until years later.
A collaborative divorce can give spouses an organized setting in which to identify these issues before someone files a return or signs a…
Continue Reading Tax season during a collaborative divorce

When two people aren’t married to each other, their expenses are not a mutual responsibility. When they have a baby together, the expenses of the child become a mutual responsibility. This includes any expenses that occur during and after the birth of the child. The party who incurred the expenses for the child’s birth (almost always the mother) may bring an action in court against the father for contribution to those expense. “In an action brought within 2 years after a child’s birth, the judgment or order may direct either parent to pay the reasonable expenses incurred by either parent…
Continue Reading Birth Expenses In An Illinois Parentage Action

FILING A PETITION TO RESCIND STATUTORY SUMMARY SUSPENSION IN COOK COUNTY

An individual arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) in Illinois faces significant driver’s license consequences, including the statutory summary suspension of driving privileges pursuant to 625 ILCS 5/6-208.1. To contest this administrative sanction, the Illinois Vehicle Code affords the motorist an opportunity to file a written Petition to Rescind Statutory Summary Suspension under 625 ILCS 5/2-118.1. While the statutory framework governs statewide rescission proceedings, practice within Cook County requires strict adherence to specific local mandates, most notably Cook County Circuit Court Local Rule 11.1. A comprehensive understanding of…
Continue Reading FILING A PETITION TO RESCIND STATUTORY SUMMARY SUSPENSION IN COOK COUNTY

One of the most important members of the Cubs’ 2026 team is living a dream that began as a child in the stands at Wrigley Field. That’s where Carson Kelly, who was born in Arlington Heights, first envisioned taking the field for the team that calls the “Friendly Confines” home – and becoming the latest to become an “Ankin Athlete” in Chicago sports. I just remember as a kid going out to the bleachers and watching games, getting there for batting practice, trying to get a ball,” said Kelly, who moved away from Chicagoland as a kid but frequently visited…
Continue Reading Carson Kelly Is Living the Dream Playing for The Chicago Cubs

What did the law clerks who spent their summer in our offices think of their experiences at Ankin Law? Since there are a number of them, as there have been for many years, the answers vary. Some talked about the pleasure they had getting to know and working with their attorneys on cases over the last few months.  Others talked about the pleasure they got out of helping our clients along with getting a feel of what law firm life is all about.  Of course, they all got to hear from some of the lawyers about their careers in the…
Continue Reading What’s It Like to Be a Clerk at A Chicago Law Firm?

A child was critically injured after being struck by a vehicle Thursday afternoon in North Chicago, according to fire officials. The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. near the intersection of 20th Street and Honore Avenue in the north suburb. Emergency responders initially requested a medical helicopter because of the severity of the child’s injuries, but the flight was later canceled. The child was instead transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Authorities have not released additional details about the circumstances of the crash.

Source: ABC7 Chicago

At Phillips Law Offices, we extend our best wishes…
Continue Reading Child Critically Injured After Being Hit by Vehicle in North Chicago

Sneaking a bite of raw cookie dough is a habit a lot of people never outgrow. Cookie dough, brownie batter, and other treats are as delicious in their raw form as baked. However, there is a chance that indulging could result in a bout of food poisoning.
If you or someone in your family got sick after eating raw cookie dough, you might have a legal claim, depending on the circumstances.
If you got sick from raw dough in 2026, an Illinois food poisoning lawyer can help you determine whether you have a case.
What are the Risks of…
Continue Reading Can You Sue If You Get Sick from Raw Cookie Dough?

For 15 years I have written a nationally recognized Family Law blog at www.illinoisdivorcelawyerblog.com, focusing on complex subjects including Parental Alienation in Illinois child custody cases. Drawing from these blog posts and my research as a longstanding member of Parental Alienation Study Group , this concise book is now available on Amazon. My hope in working on this book is that this book will be a helpful resource for all family law professionals in understanding the phenomenon of child estrangement and alienation in family systems and family law cases.

“I take parental alienation seriously as a real and damaging…
Continue Reading The Guardian ad Litem and Parental Alienation: New Book on Amazon

Employers may have more flexibility to enforce neutral dress code and uniform policies, even when those policies affect employees’ display of union insignia. On September 2, 2026, in a decision involving Starbucks’ New York Reserve Roastery, the Second Circuit rejected the NLRB’s stringent standard to workplace rules that restricts employees’ ability to display union insignia under its Tesla decision. The court concluded that the Board’s Tesla standard did not adequately balance employees’ rights with an employer’s legitimate business interests.
For employers, this is a significant development, but not a nationwide green light to restrict union apparel. While the decision does…
Continue Reading Can Employers Restrict Union Pins and Shirts? Lessons From the Starbucks
Decision

Meta has agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion to resolve claims brought by dozens of states over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed in ways that encouraged addictive use among children and teens. Illinois could receive nearly $768 million from the settlement. For Illinois parents, however, the biggest question may not be how much money the state receives. It is what this development means for families whose children have suffered serious mental health injuries after years of compulsive social media use. The settlement does not compensate individual children or families who claim they were harmed by Facebook or…
Continue Reading What Meta’s $768 Million Illinois Settlement Means for Social Media Addiction Lawsuits

Photo credit: iStock.com
Key points

  • ABA’s Mental Wellbeing in the Legal Profession study found women lawyers reported higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms and lower overall well-being than men lawyers
  • Women also reported high stressors like sleep disturbances, family member issues, and loneliness
  • The report found that the way women experience stress varies across race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and other characteristics
  • Women tied stressors to workplace systems and practices, as well as personal responsibilities, and noted a distrust in workplace well-being resources
  • To support employee well-being, the report recommends reviewing workloads and billable hour requirements, providing protected

…
Continue Reading ABA Research Finds Women Lawyers Report Higher Mental Health Risks Than Men

This year marks 100 years since
the United States Supreme Court decided the landmark zoning case, Euclid v.
Ambler Realty. In this episode, we share a recorded presentation from Ancel
Glink’s David
Silverman, FAICP, and ZoneCo’s Sean Suder, as a sneak
preview of their upcoming live plenary session at the APA-IL State Conference
on September 30, 2026! How does zoning and the legacy of Euclid continue
to shape your community? Email us at podcast@ancelglink.com!

Episode Highlights

  • The
    Public Safety Roots of Zoning: Why early 20th-century industrial chaos,
    street accidents involving children, noise, and pollution prompted

…
Continue Reading 109: The 100-Year Legacy of Euclid

Illinois municipalities have several ways to annex unincorporated property. One of the most consequential is Section 7-1-13 of the Illinois Municipal Code, which permits a municipality, without a landowner’s consent, to annex certain unincorporated territory containing 60 acres or less if the territory is “wholly bounded” by one of several combinations of municipalities and other specified land. In the provision at issue in Husky Trans, Inc. v. Village of Barrington Hills, the qualifying boundaries are one or more municipalities together with a forest preserve district or park district. 65 ILCS 5/7-1-13(a)(e).

The Illinois Supreme Court is now considering a…
Continue Reading Forced Annexation in Illinois: Supreme Court to Decide Whether a Boundary Gap Can Be “De Minimis”

Congress just bought the hemp industry twenty-nine more days. That is the entire substance of the hemp ban delay that cleared the House on September 1, 2026 by a 370-48 vote: the Section 781 restrictions that would have wiped out most of the intoxicating hemp market on November 12 now land on December 11 instead. The Senate had already blessed it 90-6 back in August. It sits on the President’s desk awaiting signature, and the White House is the entity that asked for it in the first place.
If you sell delta-8, THCA flower, or THC beverages, resist the urge…
Continue Reading Hemp Ban Delay: 7 Critical Moves Before Dec. 11