Illinois

Alleged Mobster Gets Huffy, Asks Prosecutor, ‘You Making Eyes at Me?’

An alleged mobster apparently didn’t like the way the prosecutor was looking at him during a hearing in a Chicago courtroom yesterday. “You making eyes at me?” Frank “the German” Schweihs wanted to know as he glared at Assistant U.S. Attorney Markus Funk. “Do I look like a [expletive] to…

Jun 11, 2008 1:39 PM CDT

Latin Launch for DLA Piper? Firm Mulls Possible Brazil, Miami Offices

Although it already has an active Latin American practice, DLA Piper doesn’t have any offices in South America. That may soon change, predicts the Lawyer, now that the firm has added former McDermott Will & Emery tax partner Stuart Berkson to its attorney roster. With 28 years of experience in…

Jun 10, 2008 5:21 PM CDT

Debt Collectors Clog Chicago Courts With Sometimes-Dubious Claims

A key function of Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago is to act as a debt-collection machine. Since 2000, the volume of debt collection cases in Cook County has more than doubled, to not quite 130,000, reports the Chicago Tribune. But busy debt collectors—who historically have won default judgments in…

Jun 9, 2008 3:27 PM CDT

Jurors Discounted Star Witness, But Convicted Rezko on Other Evidence

Attorney Stuart Levine was the star witness in the federal political corruption trial of Antoin “Tony” Rezko. But jurors reportedly discounted the testimony of a man portrayed by defense lawyers as a con artist and by himself as someone who for a time lived life in the fast lane. However,…

Jun 5, 2008 5:05 PM CDT

Reporter Takes 5th in R. Kelly Case; Judge Says He Must Still Provide Notes

A reporter for a Chicago newspaper isn’t headed to jail, because he had a right to take the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying in the child pornography trial of R&B singer R. Kelly, according to the judge. However, the First Amendment and a claimed reporter’s privilege, which Jim DeRogatis also…

Jun 4, 2008 6:47 PM CDT

ADA Protection for Relatives of Disabled Tested in Two Cases

Two cases in which companies fired employees whose relatives were incurring large health care costs could pave the way for more lawsuits under a little-known provision of the Americans With Disabilities Act. The provision protects relatives and caregivers of disabled people from job discrimination, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub.…

Jun 4, 2008 12:43 PM CDT

Judge in R. Kelly Trial Threatens to Jail Reporter for Not Testifying

A Chicago judge overseeing the child pornography trial of R. Kelly has threatened to jail a newspaper reporter who failed to appear today to testify as scheduled. Jim DeRogatis, a music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, was supposed to testify about his role in receiving from an anonymous source and…

Jun 3, 2008 7:41 PM CDT

Big Indy Firm Coming to Chicago, Plans 50-Lawyer Office

A more than 370-lawyer international law firm headquartered in Indianapolis is reportedly coming to Chicago in a big way. Baker & Daniels is establishing a presence in the Windy City with a seven-lawyer contingent from Schuyler Roche, and expects to have a 50-lawyer Chicago office in the near future, according…

Jun 2, 2008 10:34 PM CDT

Sonnenschein Layoffs Signal Sea Change in Law Firm PR Strategy

An announcement that Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal is laying off 37 lawyers and 87 staffers was noteworthy for the size of the reduction alone. But even more noteworthy, perhaps, is the fact that the more than 700-attorney Chicago-based international law firm took a highly nontraditional approach to the reduction in…

May 29, 2008 4:21 PM CDT

Judge Bars Sketch Artist From R. Kelly Trial

The Chicago judge in R&B singer R. Kelly’s high-profile child pornography trial has barred the Chicago Tribune’s sketch artist from the courtroom for the duration of the proceedings. Judge Vincent Gaughan asserted that the artist, Cheryl Cook, violated his strict order not to create images of jurors for publication, the…

May 22, 2008 12:04 AM CDT

7th Circuit Chief: Be On the Lookout for ‘Cranky’ Judges

Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook this week asked practitioners and judges to be on the alert for any aging, cranky judges who may need a call from his office. “I urge all of you—judges and lawyers alike—to keep in mind that you are the chief judge’s eyes and ears in dealing…

May 21, 2008 9:58 PM CDT

Jerry Springer’s Words of Wisdom Win Over Skeptical NU Grads

Students at Northwestern University School of Law protested when they heard that television reality show host and NU law grad Jerry Springer was to be their commencement speaker. But when they heard what he had to say last week, he got a standing ovation from about half of the audience,…

May 21, 2008 5:47 PM CDT

Actuaries Face Lawsuits for Underestimating Pension Liabilities

Actuaries who advise governments about pension fund obligations are facing lawsuits when shortfalls arise. Suits have been filed over rosy economic assumptions made by actuaries advising the state of Alaska, San Diego, Milwaukee County and Evanston, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, the New York Times reports. The story outlines some…

May 21, 2008 1:03 PM CDT

U of C Law Grad Accused of Submitting Phony Grades to Sidley Austin

Updated: A lawyer who attended the University of Chicago Law School has been accused in an ethics complaint of lying about his grades when he applied for a summer position at Sidley Austin. Loren Elliotte Friedman is accused in a complaint filed May 6 by the Illinois Attorney Registration and…

May 20, 2008 8:30 PM CDT

Chicago Not Liable in 21 Nightclub Deaths; No ‘Willful and Wanton’ Conduct

Chicago cannot be held liable for the deaths of 21 patrons in a 2003 nightclub disaster that injured dozens more, because it cannot be shown that the city’s conduct was “willful and wanton,” a state appeals court ruled today. The plaintiffs had alleged that the city knew of dangerous building…

May 16, 2008 10:02 PM CDT