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When a driver in Illinois refuses to submit to or fails a chemical test for an alleged driving under the influence (DUI) offense, it can result in a statutory summary suspension of driving privileges. State law provides that a person fails a chemical test when they have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or more, a THC level above the legal limit, or other illicit substances in their system.
Statutory summary suspensions are automatic and become effective 46 days after the date of a suspension notice. People can request judicial hearings to challenge arrests, but the requests may not…
Continue Reading License Suspension Resulting From Chemical BAC Tests

Question:
Our firm is a seventeen lawyer insurance defense firm in Austin, Texas. The firm was founded by the two existing partners twenty-five years ago. In addition to the three founding equity partners we have five non-equity partners and ten associates. Non-equity partners and associates are paid a salary and a discretionary bonus. The two equity partners are paid their profit share based upon their partnership percentage which is fifty percent each in the form of distributions dependent upon cash flow. The two of us are considering offering partnership to two non-equity partners with a buy-in based on selling both…
Continue Reading Law Firm Compensation – Compensating New Equity Partners

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The Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 is established under 750 Illinois Compiled Statute (ILCS) § 60. Domestic battery is one of the most common kinds of domestic violence offenses committed in the state. Domestic violence charges are only applicable when allged crimes are commited against certain types of people.
Under 750 ILCS § 60/103(6), domestic violence offenses involve harm against spouses, former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other people who are related by blood or by present or prior marriage, people sharing or formerly sharing a common dwelling, people with a child in common, and people with dating or…
Continue Reading Understanding Illinois Domestic Violence Laws

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Most people in Illinois are aware that the state imposes criminal penalties for drinking and driving, but fewer realize that criminal penalties for driving under the influence (DUI) crimes increase with repeat offenses. If you were arrested for a second or third DUI offense, you may be facing severe criminal penalties. It is important to work with a DUI defense lawyer who can help you defend yourself against the charges. 
Repeat DUI Penalties in Illinois
There are administrative penalties for failing a chemical blood alcohol content that are separate from any criminal penalties resulting from a DUI conviction. Many DUI…
Continue Reading What Are the Penalties for Repeat DUI Convictions?

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Illinois legalized marijuana in 2020, and adults over 21 years of age are able to legally possess, consume, and purchase cannabis in the state. However, it must be consumed on private property or properties with on-premises consumption licenses.  Public consumption is still illegal in Chicago. It is also illegal for people to consume cannabis in any vehicle or operate a motor vehicle under the influence of cannabis. Cannabis may be transported in a vehicle but it cannot be accessible by any occupant of the vehicle during transportation and must be in a child-resistant container. Cannabis purchased in Illinois cannot be…
Continue Reading How Marijuana Charges Work in Illinois Now

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Roadside sobriety testing can be embarrassing, frightening, and sometimes confusing. Officers do not always use the most reliable or reasonable methods for attempting to make a snap judgment about a person’s level of intoxication. More than that, roadside sobriety testing can sometimes be greatly unfair, occasionally to the point where the results genuinely reveal little or nothing about whether a person is intoxicated. Police officers are often more interested in making a DUI arrest than in ensuring fair and reasonable field sobriety tests, on which they frequently base their decisions to make an arrest. Many factors, from weather-related challenges to…
Continue Reading Were Your Roadside Sobriety Test Results Valid?

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Everyone wants their case to be dismissed, or at least to be acquitted at trial. In many cases, getting off the hook completely is entirely possible. If the evidence is not so strong, or the police have violated your rights in a serious way, then hoping for dismissal or acquittal is not unreasonable at all. However, courts do not just dismiss cases once criminal charges have been filed without a very good reason. In some cases, taking a plea bargain may be the best strategy for minimizing the impact the charges could have on your life. Before you consider changing…
Continue Reading When to Consider a Plea Bargain

Question:
I am the managing partner of a twelve lawyer firm in Dayton, Ohio. We are a first generation business litigation boutique. We represent mid-size companies and handle multiple matters for these clients. We  have seven equity partners and five associates in the firm. Three equity partners were the original founders and the other four were made partners later on. All seven partners originate client business and have significant books of business. Three founding partners are in their early 60s. We have had little success in succession planning and it seems that the three partners are reluctant to let loose…
Continue Reading Law Firm Succession – Incentives for Partners to Transition Clients

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On Tuesday, August 9, the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates formally adopted Resolution 402, which reaffirms longstanding ABA policy adopted in July 2000 that sharing legal fees with nonlawyers and the ownership or control of law practices by nonlawyers is inconsistent with the core values of the legal profession. The Resolution was sponsored and proposed by the Illinois State Bar Association. Additional sponsors included: the New York State Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, and the ABA Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division. The Resolution was also…
Continue Reading American Bar Association’s House of Delegates Adopts Resolution on Nonlawyer Ownership of Law Firms and Sharing Legal Fees With Nonlawyers, Which Was Sponsored and Proposed by the Illinois State Bar Association

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Violence is all too common in Chicago. The city is known for having constant struggles with violent crime, often including a disproportionate amount of homicides and shootings. Attempts to crack down on violent offenses are underway – and you do not want to get caught in a wave of prosecutions against those accused of committing them. If you have been charged with an assaultive offense, it is important that you understand what your particular charge actually means. You may find that your charges seem incredibly aggressive or are far too severe in regards to what actually happened. In many cases,…
Continue Reading Understanding Your Violent Crime Charges

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Working with other states and entities across the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) is the co-sponsor of a proposed Resolution and Report in the ABA House of Delegates that seeks to reaffirm longstanding ABA policy adopted in July 2000 that sharing legal fees with nonlawyers and the ownership or control of law practices by nonlawyers is inconsistent with the core values of the legal profession.

A goal of reaffirming the existing ABA policy is to provide guidance within the ABA as various groups consider possible changes to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and other policy…
Continue Reading Illinois State Bar Association Co-Sponsors Proposed American Bar Association Resolution and Report on Nonlawyer Ownership of Law Firms and Sharing Legal Fees With Nonlawyers

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I was walking my dog the other day when we stopped at the park. We lingered about and I let the dog do his thing while I talked to some of the other dog owners. I noticed a couple of things. The kids who were actively playing with other kids seemed to belong to parents who were also socializing with other parents. When something such as a cry or yell from a playing child alerted a parent, the parent would rush over. If the child had done something to misbehave, they would be disciplined. If the child had fallen and…
Continue Reading I was walking my dog the other day when we stopped at the park.

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Being Mindful; it is a phrase that is part of our lexicon. Despite its commonness, it at times can be conceptually difficult to understand, or implement. What does it mean? I know what it doesn’t mean; getting riled up when a call comes in from opposing counsel regarding an issue you think shouldn’t be an issue, your outburst to your computer to an unrealistic demand from a client, or walking to court and not having looked up once from your phone because you are too busy firing off responses to emails just to get them out of your inbox. When…
Continue Reading Why mindfulness?

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What is mindfulness and why is it important?And how does it relate to law?Well, when we stop and think about it, it has the ability to permeate every aspect of our lives, because our lives are a series of interactions between ourselves and other people.And the Practice of the law is also an interwoven and often complex series of interactions between people: litigants, lawyers and the court.Every interaction we have has a greater impact than we often times realize.For example, something as simple as a phone call. Imagine the person on the other line is having a bad day. You can tell the person…
Continue Reading Mindfully practicing in our practice

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Getting charged with a DUI can be frightening. If you find out that you have been charged with a felony DUI, the situation is even direr. Felony charges can carry more than a year of prison time should you get convicted. While most DUIs are charged as a misdemeanor, even a first DUI can lead to felony charges in the wrong circumstances. Or, repeated DUIs can be charged as a felony. In some cases, it is possible for an attorney to help have your charges reduced back to a misdemeanor or dismissed. A lot will depend on the specific…
Continue Reading What Is the Difference Between Misdemeanor and Felony DUI?

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We previously talked about how the pressures and stresses of the profession can affect our mental health and well-being. What can be done, as a profession, and individually, to combat stress, and make attorney well-being a priority?

For one, stakeholders and employers need to acknowledge and accept that stress is abundant in our practice. This first step is beneficial to start addressing well-being. There should be a general understanding that there is a difference between normal stress and stress that can become unhealthy. Make it okay to talk about, without fear. One of the reasons we sometimes fail to get…
Continue Reading Lawyer well-being part II