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Did someone say force majeure?

Force Majeure Clauses
COVID-19 Pandemic and Force Majeure clauses

According to Black’s Law Dictionary, force majeure is defined as “An event or effect that can be neither anticipated nor controlled.”   It is generally viewed as an unexpected event that prevents someone from doing or completing something that he or she had agreed to do.  The term is usually applied to acts of God (such as floods and hurricanes), riots, strikes and wars.  It is unclear, however, if the term includes an epidemic, such as COVID-19.   That legal term for unforeseen circumstances resulting in non-fulfillment of a contract is likely…
Continue Reading After Health… Businesses Must Consider Legal & Economic Impacts of COVID-19

We called this a while back for the broadcasters, producers, and distributors challenging Missouri’s restrictions on alcohol advertising contained in the state’s three-tier “of value” and tied-house laws and regulations. 
You can read our analysis and a description of the issues in our prior posts on the case, here, here, here, and here.
You’ll note this has been bouncing around for a while now as the state originally won a motion to dismiss the lawsuit challenging certain Missouri liquor advertising restrictions as violative of the First Amendment. The 8th Circuit reversed that decision finding that the broadcasters, alcohol distributors and…
Continue Reading In blow to three-tier restrictions, 8th Circuit rules state alcohol advertising laws violate the First Amendment.

The police arrested you for a felony in Illinois. The prosecution wants to use your prior conviction in another state to upgrade your charges or increase your sentence. Can they do that?

The answer depends on the specific law involved. An Illinois criminal or DUI statute may refer to whether you have been convicted under the laws of Illinois or any other jurisdiction. A court must look at your prior offense in the other state and compare it to the language of the charges against you.

In People v. Schultz, the court examined whether a defendant’s two Michigan convictions…
Continue Reading CAN MY OUT-OF-STATE CONVICTION BE USED AS A PRIOR OFFENSE IN MY ILLINOIS CRIMINAL CASE?

mental health surveyAs part of its yearlong Minds Over Matters: An Examination of Mental Health in the Legal Profession initiative, Law.com has partnered with ALM Intelligence to gather information on mental health and substance abuse among lawyers and legal professionals.

Multiple studies have documented the pervasiveness of mental health and substance abuse problems in the legal profession. For instance, in 2016, an American Bar Association and Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation study of 12,825 licensed, employed attorneys found that 28% suffered from depression and 1 in 5 self-described as problems drinkers.

A basic component of lawyer professionalism is competent client representation. If lawyers…
Continue Reading Take Part in Law.com’s Mental Health Survey

Prosecutors and police allege that a Chicago woman helped carry out the killing of her on-again, off-again boyfriend in his South Side apartment this past summer. They claim that she plotted to rob the 30-year-old of marijuana in his Park Manor home – a robbery that ended in his fatal shooting late in July.

Eupora Jackson, 27, of Englewood, has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Eric Hamilton.

A news report said she wept quietly in court as she was ordered held without bail.

According to court documents, prosecutors believe Hamilton and Jackson attended a party

…
Continue Reading Chicago woman charged with first-degree murder of boyfriend

Thursday, November 21, 2019    

Illinois SB 730 was just passed by the General Assembly and is now at the Governor’s office awaiting signature. The bill proposes a number of changes to the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act, including one that would impact units of local government. If signed, the bill would establish a set date each year (on or before February 1st) by which the chief administrative officer of a unit of local government must file with the county clerk the names of those officers and employees who must file statements of economic interest with the local government unit

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Continue Reading Bill Would Modify Local Government Ethics Reporting Deadline

Before getting started on the blog entry of the week, I want to congratulate the Washington Nationals on their World Series victory where for the first time, a road team won every single game. Congratulations. I will be very curious to see whether the Washington nationals go to the White House. As everyone knows, a lot of professional sport teams are handling that different ways.

Turning to the blog entry of the week, on October 29, 2019, the Seventh Circuit decided here Shell v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company. I have previously blogged on that case here. So,…
Continue Reading Shell Reversed on Appeal

Employers who collect biometric information such as fingerprints, face scans, or retina or iris scans from employees—or even customers—need to ask permission and explain why the data is being collected, or they could well face legal liability.
Biometric-Illinois-Law-300x185The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which regulates how employers must handle biometric data, received a relatively liberal interpretation from the Illinois Supreme Court, which means that state-level lawsuits have wider latitude than federal ones—but even suits dismissed at the federal level can sometimes be refiled in state court.   The law remains in flux when it comes to what, exactly, constitutes…
Continue Reading Employers Need Permission to Collect Biometrics

ILN-LexBlogImages_SupremeCourtQuickTakes

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down one opinion on Thursday, Aug. 1. In People v. Johnson, the court held that the act of shoplifting could be prosecuted as burglary as opposed to retail theft.

People v. Johnson

By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender

In July 2014, Darren Johnson and another man entered the Rock Falls Walmart, placing two backpacks on top of a coin counting machine in the vestibule on their way into the store. Inside, they gathered some items of clothing and then, without paying for the clothing, returned to the vestibule, retrieved the backpacks,…
Continue Reading Quick Take on Illinois Supreme Court Opinion Issued Thursday, August 1

If a veteran has a service-connected disability, the VA will rate it according to the “Schedule for Rating Disabilities.” In this document, which is in the Code of Federal Regulations, the VA listed every disability or condition they could think of that might affect a veteran.  If a veteran’s disability is not listed, the VA will rate it by using a comparable disability.  The ratings range from 0% to 100% and are meant to compensate the veteran for how much the disability affects her ability to work.  The rating corresponds to how much compensation she will get each month.  For…
Continue Reading VA Ratings: What are They and how do They Work?

Law aims to close legal loopholes that hide harassment concerns from public view.
In the past few weeks, Illinois Legislators have been working feverishly to advance SB1829, the Workplace Transparency Act. In an already busy legislative session filled with worker-friendly initiatives, the bill has already passed the Senate and is advancing rapidly through the House, picking up scores of sponsors along the way.

The bill would:

  • Mandate annual sexual harassment training and prescribe the content for such training.
  • Extend the IHRA’s protections against harassment to independent contractors.
  • Grant victims of sexual harassment up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for

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Continue Reading #MeToo – Focused Workplace Transparency Act Gains Momentum in Springfield

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Dorothy Crawley was a tenured teacher at Wells Preparatory Elementary School.  After receiving an anonymous tip that she had used sick days to take a Caribbean cruise, the Chicago School Board investigated and then filed charges against her alleging that, among other things, she made false representations in her employment record, violated Board policy prohibiting the use of sick days for personal time and engaged in conduct unbecoming of a school employee. The Board recommended immediate dismissal for cause.
At a hearing on the charges, Ms. Crawley first admitted that she knew about the sick leave policy but claimed

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Continue Reading School’s out for Teacher Who Misused Sick Days for Vacations and a Road Trip to New York City

Revamped “Illinois Lawyer Now” to highlight member blogs, ISBA content

The ISBA is excited to announce the launch of a new blog aggregation site, the newly minted Illinois Lawyer Now. Powered by LexBlog, the site hosts original ISBA substantive legal news, as well as content from members’ legal blogs. By aggregating ISBA and members’ legal blogs, Illinois Lawyer Now will be the preeminent site for up-to-date, Illinois-specific legal content.

Do you have a legal blog?

Legal blogs are eligible for inclusion if the author of the blog is an ISBA member or the blog is associated with a firm…
Continue Reading ISBA Launches Legal Blog Aggregation Site

Thanks for joining LexBlog! We’re excited to help you create great legal content. This post shares some important information to help you with your new site. It covers topics such as logging in to the platform and where to find help articles or support. We’ve also added some of our favorite blog posts as placeholder content below. They will be automatically deleted from your site when you launch.
To add posts, user accounts, or make other changes to your site, log in at your site address plus /wp-admin/. If you have not logged in to the LexBlog Platform before, you…
Continue Reading Getting started with LexBlog

When planning a new blog or evaluating your current blog, measurable goals help you determine if your site is successful. The LexBlog philosophy of blogging skews away from content marketing and toward connection and reputation building. Who you connect with, be it a colleague or client, should be your desired outcome.
Your goals should be specific, measurable, realistic, and time-based.

  • Specific: Avoid fuzzy, unclear words like “Improve my online performance.”
  • Measurable: Numbers and data give you a clear metric for your goals.
  • Realistic: While your goals should motivate you, an unattainable goal can weigh you down when you don’t reach

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Continue Reading Setting your site goals and measuring your success

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