I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. Baseball season is winding down and if you have teams in the hunt, good luck. I actually have three teams in the hunt: Atlanta Braves; Chicago Cubs; and the Chicago White Sox. Also, the NFL starts up this week, and good luck to your teams. This week’s blog entry goes to the dogs quite literally. It discusses three different cases involving the legal universe of dogs and their owners. The three cases discuss the following questions: 1) is it discrimination to deny a person the ability to rent a unit because they…
Continue Reading This Week Goes to the Dogs

Farm estate and succession planning is rarely just about documents. For many agricultural families, it involves land, business ownership, family relationships, retirement, taxes, livestock, equipment, management responsibilities—and the deeply personal question of what happens to a farm or ranch that may have taken generations to build.
That is why Cari Rincker, founder of Rincker Law, PLLC, is conducting an updated national survey on farm estate and succession planning and is asking farmers, ranchers, and agricultural landowners across the United States to participate.
The goal is straightforward: gather current, real-world information about how agricultural families are approaching estate planning today, what…
Continue Reading Help Shape the Future of Farm Estate Planning: Take Cari Rincker’s Updated National Survey

When family members work together on the farm, disputes over pay, roles, and ownership can become especially difficult because the lines between family and business are often blurred. A son may work alongside his father for decades. One sibling may manage the farm full-time while another owns part of the land but works somewhere else. A daughter may handle the books, marketing, or livestock without ever having a formal job description. Everyone may believe they understand the arrangement, until someone asks who is being paid fairly, who has authority to make decisions, or who will eventually own the farm.
These…
Continue Reading When Family Members Work Together on the Farm: How Mediation Can Resolve Disputes Over Pay, Roles, and Ownership

Business Partner Disputes in Agriculture: Can Mediation Keep a Farm or Agribusiness Out of Court? When owners of a farm, agricultural LLC, partnership, or other closely held agribusiness stop agreeing about how the business should operate, the consequences can extend far beyond an ordinary disagreement. Crops still need to be planted or harvested. Livestock still need care. Loans must be paid. Employees need direction. Contracts must be honored. And a dispute between two owners can quickly affect the value and future of the entire operation.
Litigation is sometimes necessary, particularly when there are allegations of fraud, misuse of company property,…
Continue Reading Business Partner Disputes in Agriculture: Can Mediation Keep a Farm or Agribusiness Out of Court?

Ancel Glink released Episode 109 of its Quorum Forum Podcast: Quorum Forum Ep. 109: The 100-Year Legacy of Euclid.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! 
Episode Highlights

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

…
Continue Reading Quorum Forum Podcast Ep. 109: The 100-Year Legacy of Euclid

Searching Google and TESS for your exact name isn’t a trademark clearance search. Here’s what a real search covers, and what most DIY searches miss.
The post Why Your Google Search Isn’t a Trademark Search (And What a Real One Actually Covers) appeared first on King Patent Law, PLLC.
Continue Reading Why Your Google Search Isn’t a Trademark Search (And What a Real One Actually Covers)

Wisconsin has updated its child labor regulations, prompting employers that hire minors to review their compliance practices.
Effective June 1, 2026, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) implemented Administrative Rule CR 26-015, a comprehensive update to the state’s child labor regulations. The rule revises Chapter DWD 270, repeals Chapter DWD 271, and reorganizes numerous provisions governing the employment of minors and street trades. 
Continue Reading Wisconsin Child Labor Law Update: Compliance Considerations for Employers
Hiring Minors

Car Crash News | Chicago

A car carrying five people crashed into the Little Calumet River in Chicago early Tuesday morning, leaving one person seriously injured and a woman missing.

According to Chicago police, the crash happened around 2:30 a.m. in the 13000 block of South Indiana Avenue. Police said the vehicle lost control, struck a barrier and plunged into the river.

Chicago Fire Department marine unit crews rescued at least one person from the vehicle and transported them to an area hospital in serious condition. Three other occupants managed to escape the vehicle and reach the shore safely.

However,…
Continue Reading A Car Carrying 5 Loses Control and Crashes Into Water in Chicago, Leaving 1 Hurt, Woman Missing

Thanks to CoBanker and writer Sandra Robbins for quoting me in their 8/31/26 article “How to Create an Employee Handbook.” The entire article is below.

An employee handbook compiles company policies, guidelines, expectations, procedures, and pertinent information in one living document that serves as a reference for employees. It is essential for consistent and fair practices, compliance with laws, transparent communication, supporting managers, and educating employees. Employers should strive to have a digital version of the employee handbook as well as printed copies for employees who may not have regular digital access.   
While an employee handbook is not…
Continue Reading I’m Quoted in CoBanker’s “How To Create an Employee Handbook”

About 1.5 million OCOOPA rechargeable hand warmers were recalled on July 30, 2026 after the company received 1,480 reports of the devices overheating — resulting in 15 fires, 350 burn injuries, and one reported death. With Chicago heading into another winter, these are exactly the devices that go into coat pockets, gloves and work jackets from October onward.

If you or a family member was burned by a hand warmer, power bank or other lithium-ion device, call Phillips Law Offices at (312) 346-4262 for a free, confidential consultation.

What Was Recalled

According to CPSC recall 26659, the recall covers OCOOPA-branded…
Continue Reading 1.5 Million Hand Warmers Recalled After 350 Burn Injuries and One Death

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a wave of adult portable bed rail recalls in 2026, and one of them — Vive Health’s recall of about 122,000 bed rails — followed two reported entrapment deaths, including a 97-year-old man at an assisted living facility. For Illinois families with a parent in a nursing home, the recall raises a question the CPSC notice does not answer: if a facility was using one of these rails, who is responsible?

If your family member was injured or died in a bed rail entrapment at an Illinois nursing home or assisted living…
Continue Reading Recalled Bed Rails and Illinois Nursing Homes: Who Is Responsible?

Under the right circumstances, you can get your assault charge dismissed in Illinois. It’s more common when the evidence is weak or the facts support a valid legal defense. Your chances are likely better with experienced legal representation. Before you face a serious charge in 2026, contact our Rolling Meadows, IL criminal defense lawyer. He can help you understand what dismissal might look like for your case.
What Does Illinois Law Actually Require for an Assault Conviction?
Under 720 ILCS 5/12-1, assault happens when someone knowingly acts in a way that makes another person reasonably fear they’ll be…
Continue Reading Can I Get My Assault Charge Dismissed in Illinois?

If investigators contact you before you’ve been charged with a crime, the most important thing you can do is decline to answer questions. Then, contact a defense attorney immediately. Whether you’ve done something wrong is irrelevant. Even a completely innocent explanation can be twisted, misunderstood, or used against you later.
If this is happening to you in 2026, our Rogers Park, IL criminal defense lawyer can help. He’ll guide you through the uncertainty, ensuring you do not say something that could harm your position.
Why Do Investigators Contact People Before Filing Charges?
Investigators often reach out during the early stages…
Continue Reading What Should You Do if Investigators Contact You Before You Have Been Charged with a Crime?

The average person in a DUI case might not be familiar with all of the legal jargon behind a charge. However, you should know two common terms that could be instrumental in protecting your rights: “reasonable suspicion” and “probable cause.” Understanding these terms can help you know whether police followed the law. An Arlington Heights, IL criminal defense attorney can help you understand these terms and how they might apply to your case.
Scott F. Anderson, Attorney at Law has over 25 years of experience in criminal law, and has handled many DUI cases. He can review your traffic stop…
Continue Reading Understanding Reasonable Suspicion and Probable Cause for DUI

You signed the purchase agreement in March. The state still has not approved anything. Your buyer is antsy, your seller wants out, and somebody finally asks the question that keeps cannabis deals up at night: can you operate dispensary while license transfer pending approval? Yes — somebody has to. The store cannot go dark for six months. But the moment the buyer starts to operate dispensary while license transfer pending, you have handed the regulator a reason to deny the deal.
Whoever holds the license runs the store until the state says otherwise.
Can I Operate the Dispensary While the…
Continue Reading Operate Dispensary While License Transfer Pending: 5 Traps

AbbVie Inc. v. BeiGene, LTD., et al., No. 24-cv-8167, (N.D. Ill. May 12, 2026) (Cummings, J.).Judge Cummings denied defendants’ Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss AbbVie’s Defend Trade Secrets Act claim. AbbVie alleges that BeiGene lured former AbbVie Senior Research Scientist Dr. Huaqing Liu out of retirement to serve as Executive Director of BeiGene’s Department of Chemistry in order to gain access to AbbVie’s BTK degrader trade secrets. AbbVie further alleges that BeiGene then used those secrets to dramatically change the course of its own BTK degrader development, filing at least six patent applications containing designs that…
Continue Reading Court Denies Motion to Dismiss DTSA Claim Alleging Former Scientist Brought BTK Degrader Trade Secrets to Competitor