If you have been injured at work, you may have heard the terms employers’ liability and workers’ compensation used as if they mean the same thing. While they are related, the direct answer is no, employers’ liability is not the same as workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that provides benefits to employees who suffer job-related injuries or illnesses, while employers’ liability is a separate form of protection that may cover situations where an injured worker seeks damages beyond workers’ compensation benefits. In Chicago and throughout Illinois, understanding the difference can be very important if you have…
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Is Phillips Law Offices a Top Choice for Truck Accident Settlements in Chicago?

Truck accidents often leave victims dealing with serious injuries, financial stress, and uncertainty about what comes next. If you are wondering whether Phillips Law Offices is one of the best law firms for truck accident settlements in Chicago, the answer is yes. The firm has earned a strong reputation for handling complex truck accident claims, pursuing significant settlements, and helping injury victims stand up against powerful trucking companies and insurance carriers. For many people in Chicago, Phillips Law Offices is recognized as a trusted name when…
Continue Reading Phillips Law Offices: The Best Law Firm for Truck Accident Settlements in Chicago (2026 Guide)

🚨 Breaking Decision — BIA Precedent Breaking: BIA Reverses Anglophone Withholding Grant in Matter of E-N-N- — Credibility Shortcuts and the Wrong Standard Cost This Case Posted: April 23, 2026  |  Citation: 29 I&N Dec. 586 (BIA 2026)  |  Decided: … Continue reading →
Continue Reading BIA Reverses Anglophone Withholding Grant in Matter of E-N-N- — Credibility Shortcuts and the Wrong Standard Cost This Case

We are pleased to share that Todd A. Smith has received the 2025 Trial Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award. His outstanding career and successes have been captured in this special issue of the Jury Verdict Reporter. Todd is recognized for his exceptional advocacy, high-dollar verdicts, and ethical standards throughout his passionate career as a personal injury trial attorney.

“I have been able to help people after they have suffered catastrophic, life changing events. To have been able to do that for so long? That’s a privilege.” Todd A. Smith, Founding Partner of Smith LaCien LLC.

Congratulations Todd on this very deserving…
Continue Reading Todd Smith, Founding Partner of Smith LaCien LLP, receives 2025 Trial Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award

When a traveling MRI technician for Ascension Health stumbled and fell in the parking lot she needed help in receiving workers’ compensation benefits. She called Ankin Law and was introduced to Scott Goldstein. She explained that she had stepped on a hard object in the parking lot, causing her to stumble and fall. She immediately felt pain in her left shoulder, her right wrist, and both knees. As she endured the pain of physical therapy, Goldstein reviewed the facts and researched the accident. Since the hospital refused to pay workers’ compensation benefits the case went to arbitration and Goldstein was…
Continue Reading Fall in Workplace Parking Lot Results in Shoulder Surgery and TTD Benefits

The medical marijuana rescheduling order everyone assumed was stuck in committee showed up alive on April 23, 2026. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order that drops FDA-approved marijuana drug products and state-licensed medicinal marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III — effective immediately. Recreational stays Schedule I. Unlicensed operators stay Schedule I. But if you hold a state medical license and you are still running your books on last week’s 280E assumptions, stop reading this and call your CPA. Then come back. We’ll wait.
This is the biggest federal cannabis move since the Controlled Substances Act was written,…
Continue Reading Medical Marijuana Rescheduling: 5 Critical Things Operators Must Do Now

In the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Muldrow v. City of St. Louis decision, the Court expanded the legal standard for what qualifies as an “adverse employment action” by pivoting from asking whether a change to an employee’s terms or conditions of employment was “material” to whether  the change left the employee worse off in those terms or conditions. Unsurprisingly, employers saw a surge of challenges to everyday management decisions in the immediate aftermath.
The First Circuit’s recent decision in Walsh v. HNTB Corp., however, offers an important clarification that should hopefully serve as a blueprint for other courts dealing…
Continue Reading Federal Court Draws the Line on PIPS After Muldrow: A Win for Employers in
Walsh v. HNTB

The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued its third binding opinion for 2026 finding a village board in violation of the Open Meetings Act relating to a closed session. PAC Op. 26-003.A sitting trustee on a village board submitted a complaint to the PAC claiming that the village board went into closed session to discuss “personnel issues” but instead discussed outstanding TIF loans. The village filed a response arguing that the board’s closed session discussion fell under the “litigation exception” to the OMA, and that the mayor had mispoke in citing the personnel exception. The PAC reviewed the…
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NPEs remained active in February, with several cases targeting major retailers and their supply chains. Frequent filers included VDPP, AML IP, Andra Group, Piney Woods Mobility, Portus Singapore, DataCloud Technologies, and Calibrate Networks, among others.As usual, I prepared the report in partnership with and using Docket Navigator and its powerful database. Docket Navigator is a valuable resource, and the place to go if you want to keep track of new patent litigation filings or want to know what is happening in particular cases, how your judge has historically handled a particular type of motion, or a particular plaintiff’s litigation history.
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Using Deposition Testimony to Secure Summary Judgment

In asbestos products liability matters, motions for summary judgment are a standard part of case workup. Although summary judgment is an extreme measure that’s rarely granted, a recent Cook County case (Paul Enright, Special Administrator of the Estate of Susan Enright v. A.O. Smith Corp., et al.) demonstrates it is possible.

Summary judgment motions focus on case-specific facts and often rely on deposition testimony from the plaintiff and fact witnesses. In its Motion for Summary Judgment, the defense in Enright argued that plaintiff had not met her evidentiary burden and thus…
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Getting an aggravated speeding charge reduced in Illinois is possible, but it takes the right legal strategy and someone who knows how to negotiate with prosecutors. Aggravated speeding is not a traffic ticket. It is a criminal charge, which means it goes on your criminal record if you are convicted. The good news is that many of these cases can be reduced to a lesser offense or even dismissed, depending on the circumstances. If you are facing this charge in 2026, an Aurora, IL traffic violations defense lawyer can help you understand your options and fight for the best possible…
Continue Reading How Do I Get My Aggravated Speeding Charge Reduced in IL?

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Mike Baker Synthesized and compiled from the reporting and scholarship of George F. Will (The Washington Post), the Migration Policy Institute, the Pew Research Center, the National Archives, NBC News, ProPublica, the Brookings Institution, … Continue reading →
Continue Reading The Worthy Part of Mankind: America’s 236-Year Immigration Argument That Never Ends

Adoption in Illinois takes 6 to 24 months from initial application to finalization, depending on the type. DCFS foster-to-adopt cases typically finalize in 6 to 12 months after placement. Private adoptions take 12 to 24 months. Stepparent adoptions are the fastest — often 3 to 6 months from petition to …
The post How Long Does Adoption Take in Illinois? appeared first on Parker & Parker Attorneys at Law.
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Key takeaways

  • Fewer U.S. law firms and lawyers contributed demographic data to the 2025 NALP Report on Diversity, which may affect analysis of overall trends. Participation declined by roughly 29% of lawyers and 32% of law offices.
  • NALP leadership points to a growing reluctance among legal employers to publicly share demographic information.
  • Women remain the majority of associates and reached a record share of partners, despite a slight drop in overall representation.
  • The percentage of associates of color decreased for the first time since 2010.
  • The percentage of lawyers with a disability increased.
  • The percentage of LGBTQ+

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Continue Reading NALP Diversity Report Signals Fluctuations As Fewer Firms Provide Data

Last Updated: April 22, 2026 In a fatal Illinois truck crash, black box data (speed, braking, transmission state), lighting evidence, and ELD logs are the evidence that proves what happened in the seconds before impact. These records overwrite quickly — preservation letters must go out within days, not weeks. Fatal …
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