Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance

Archive for May, 2010

I want a young and hungry Illinois lawyer. Really?

Friday, May 28th, 2010

A caller recently asked our opinion on who they should hire. It was either a really old lawyer (77) who had represented a family member 20 years ago or the one they were leaning to who was a young (28), hungry, aggressive attorney who was really “trying to make a name for himself.” We recommended option C.

If you read our blog you will see that we encourage age discrimination when hiring a lawyer, especially if they are too old. Most (not all) very old attorneys aren’t really practicing full time law anymore or if they are they just don’t care about what happens to their clients.

However, while every now and then you hear about some up an coming attorney doing great on a case you don’t read about the other hundred that screwed up because they didn’t know what they are doing.

Option C would be an experienced lawyer that is also “hungry” and aggressive. For most areas of law there are plenty out there like that. This is especially true if you have a case that can be taken on a contingency basis. If it’s an hourly or flat fee case you might get a lower quote, but will that hurt your ultimate result? It might not, but chances are that it will.

Probably once a week someone does ask for a name of a hungry young attorney. It’s usually people that have been rejected by others because they don’t have a case or can’t really afford anything. Settling is really an act of desperation and probably a sign of where your case is going. If you do have a case don’t make a panic move, but instead see if there really is a solution to your problem.

Since 2001, findgreatlawyers.com has been the leading resource for Illinois attorney referrals and legal guidance. If you would like our help please contact one of our lawyers via our on-line form or call (800) 517-1614. We are based in Chicago, but help people find attorneys for legal matters throughout Illinois. All inquiries are free and confidential.

Tags: civil litigation
Posted in Did You Know? | 1 Comment »

So how much will all of these kids cost me?

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

Illinois child support is all about money. If you are the primary custodian of the child, you receive child support. If you aren’t, you pay it. The money that you spend on the kids for other things doesn’t matter and your other obligations are usually irrelevant. Unless you make a substantial amount of money, the typical payments for child support are:

1 kid- 20% of your net take home pay.

2 kids- 28% of your net take home pay (note this used to be 25%).

3 kids- 32% of your net take home pay.

4 kids- 40% of your net take home pay.

5 kids- 45% of your net take home pay.

6 or more- 50% of your net take home pay.

On top of all this you would be required to pay 50% of daycare expenses and half of any unpaid medical bills.

Net income is the total of all income from all sources, minus the following deductions:

Federal income tax;
State income tax;
Social Security (FICA);
Mandatory retirement contributions;
Union dues;
Dependent and individual health/hospitalization insurance premiums;
Prior obligations of support or maintenance actually paid pursuant to a court order or administrative order;
Expenses to repay debts that represent reasonable and necessary expenses for the production of income;
Medical expenses necessary to preserve life or health; and
Reasonable expenses for the benefit of the child and the other parent, exclusive of gifts.

These are just guidelines, but in most cases they are followed. If Bill Gates had to pay child support in Illinois, he wouldn’t be paying these rates, but rather a Judge would determine a reasonable amount. 99% of people deal with these guidelines.

If you have other children then what you pay depends on who filed first. So if you are a Dad that has one child with Mary-Kate and another with Ashley, if Mary-Kate filed first she would get 20%. Ashley would then get 20% of what is left over.

In almost all cases, if you complain to the Judge that paying child support leaves you with nothing, the Judge won’t care.

Tags: child support
Posted in Illinois Family Law | Comments Off

Five tips on what to do after a car accident

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Every Wednesday we provide five legal tips based on questions read from readers. Today we offer suggestions on the first five things to do after a car accident.

1. Assuming no one is in immediate danger, call the police. If the other person says they are in a hurry and just want to give you their phone number or ID, too bad. We’ve seen scores of people burned because they trusted the other person. Especially if you aren’t at fault you need to have a police report.

2. If you aren’t feeling well, get medical treatment. The longer you wait to go to the doctor the harder it is to prove that any injury you have is related to the accident.

3. Grab a journal and write down your thoughts. Odds are that you will never go to trial on this case or have to give a deposition, but if you do you’ll want to have a reliable place to refresh your memory as to what happened.

4. Call your insurance company. Some people think that if they aren’t at fault that they don’t need to tell their insurance company anything. That’s not true and it can also make the process go smoother. The biggest risk though is if the other party sues you even though they are at fault – it happens. If you never notified your insurance company you risk that they won’t defend you.

5. Don’t give a recorded statement to the other person’s insurance company or answer invasive questions. Insurance companies don’t make money by paying out claims; they make money by limiting their exposure. Talking with them about how you strained your back twenty years ago is just giving them frivolous ammunition to not pay your medical bills. The old saying of anything you say can and will be used against you doesn’t just apply to criminal cases, it also applies to car accidents and any other potential lawsuit.

Tags: car accident
Posted in Five Tips | Comments Off

What it takes to sue when cancer is not diagnosed

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Knock on wood I’ve never had cancer. But like you I know a ton of people that have. One of my closest friends in law has been fighting ovarian cancer for almost six years now. I haven’t known anyone personally that has passed away and hopefully that wil stay the same.

I can’t imagine the emotions that one goes through when they are informed they have cancer and learn what the odds are. I’m sure there is sadness, anger, frustration and denial all rolled in to one. Now imagine how those emotions would be if you had been complaining to your doctor about problems months prior and they ignored it.

As much as it sounds like it would be a medical malpractice lawsuit if you went to the doctor in January with a bad cough and chest pain and two months later found out you had lung cancer, that’s probably not a case.

To prove malpractice from a failure to diagnose cancer, aside from the normal hurdles you need to overcome, you also have to look at the time frame involved and the type of cancer. In most cases if you don’t have at least a six month delay from the time you first went to the doctor to the time that cancer was diagnosed, you don’t have a case. That’s not to say they weren’t negligent. Rather the standard is that without at least six months in time passing you usually can’t prove that the error made a difference.

I thought of this recently when Martina Navritilova, the tennis legend, was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was caught in January, but she didn’t have surgery until March. Waiting an extra six weeks or so played no role. Same thing if you have most types of cancers. I’d be pissed if they didn’t catch it in time for me or a loved one. But if you take out the emotion and look at it objectively you will likely find that the error was meaningless or if it reduced your chances it didn’t do it enough to prove that it made a difference.

Even if you do have a six month+ delay, you still have to show that the cancer wouldn’t have got you anyway. A young woman came to us recently and her cancer diagnosis was delayed by eight months. Her survival chances went from 99% to 50-50. Other people with cancer that would have been advanced when you first saw the doctor wouldn’t be effected by the delay.

Like anything else in law there are exceptions to all of this so please don’t make any decisions just from reading this blog post. And although we are of course not doctors, we have talked to approximately 1,500 people with this issue over the years. If you suspect cancer we highly encourage you to seek a second opinion ASAP.

Tags: cancer, failure to diagnose
Posted in Injury Cases | Comments Off

Getting legal advice from the police

Monday, May 24th, 2010

We love the police and police officers in general. Most have a job where people don’t say thank you enough and lump the few bad apples together to put down the majority who are great. That said, there is one thing that the police do that makes us go aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

It seems lately that a lot of callers, especially those arrested who need a Chicago criminal law firm, that the cops told them that the arrest is no big deal and the charges will probably be dismissed.

If you arrested, even for something that is total b.s., if it’s a misdemeanor it is punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $2,500.00 fine. In most misdemeanor courts there are a couple hundred cases heard every day. A lot of these get dismissed, but it’s usually because those people hired a lawyer that knows how to work the system.

If you show up without an attorney you are really rolling the dice. First and foremost, the Judge won’t hear your story and the prosecutor won’t talk to you. It’s either guilty or not guilty. If you are going with not guilty then you are putting yourself in a position where you have to do a trial on your own. More likely is that the Judge will take notice of you which is the last thing you want. And if you plead guilty you are just foolish and putting yourself at the mercy of the Judge.

Cops give legal advice for a variety of reasons. Some are hoping you will plead guilty so they won’t have to testify and spend their day in court. Others sincerely feel bad for the people that they have arrested. But think about it. If the arrest is no big deal then why are they arresting you at all? Why not just drop the charges and not make you show up for court. There is a simple answer; it’s because getting arrested is a big deal!

We encourage you to thank a cop any chance you get. But if they try to be the one that arrests you and your lawyer you are best served by just nodding, smiling and ignoring.

Posted in Criminal Defense in Illinois | Comments Off

Family law attorney Kurt Muller reprimanded for his conduct

Friday, May 21st, 2010

In a follow up to an earlier post about Chicago family law attorney Kurt Muller, the following is

BEFORE THE HEARING BOARD
OF THE
ILLINOIS ATTORNEY REGISTRATION
AND
DISCIPLINARY COMMISSION

In the matters of:

KURT ALEXANDER MULLER,

No. 6192657,

and

TODD ADAM WALTERS,

No. 6227205,

Attorney-Respondents.

Commission No. 09 CH 47

Commission No. 09 CH 48

Jerome Larkin, Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, by his attorney, Meriel Coleman, and Respondent Kurt Alexander Muller, by his attorney, Algis Augustine and Respondent Todd Adam Walters, by his attorney Robert Merrick, that the following facts could be proven by clear and convincing evidence at hearing:

1. On January 24, 2007, Respondent Muller and Respondent Walters filed The Muller Firm’s substitution of attorneys appearance on behalf of Evelyn Gasher (“Evelyn”) in her then pending petition for dissolution of marriage from Douglas Gasher (“Douglas”). The matter was pending in Cook County under the assigned case number 06 D 4687.

2. On January 29, 2007, Respondent Muller and Respondent Walters, on behalf of Evelyn, filed a document entitled Petition For Issuance of a Rule to Show Cause, Petition for Temporary Child Support, and A Petition for Temporary Child Support in case number 06 D 4687.

PAGE 2:

3. On February 5, 2007 and February 9, 2007, the Honorable David Delgado conducted a hearing in case number 06 D 4687 to determine whether Douglas should be held in civil contempt for violating a court order.

4. On February 9, 2007, after Judge Delgado adjourned the proceedings in case number 06 D 4687 and left the bench, Respondent Muller, Respondent Walters, Evelyn, Douglas, and his attorney, Barbara Lusky, continued to have discussions about the case.

5. During the course of the discussions with Douglas, Respondent Muller and Respondent Walters made inappropriate and unprofessional references to what they believed would be Douglas’ experience should he be sent to jail, including references to body searches that he would or would not endure and the song “Jail House Rock”.

6. At the time Respondent Muller and Respondent Walters made the statements references in paragraph 5, above, they knew that the statements served no substantial purpose other than to harass or embarrass Douglas. Respondent Muller and Respondent Walters acknowledge that their comments were inappropriate and unprofessional.

7. Respondent Muller’s and Respondent Walters’ conduct in making statements to Douglas was inconsistent with Rule 1.2(f)(1), Rule 4.4, and Rule 8.4(a)(5) of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct and Supreme Court Rule 770 by defeating the administration of justice.

Facts relating to mitigation:

8. Respondent Muller has been admitted to practice since 1986. He was previously censured in an unrelated matter. See In re Muller, M.R. 21027, 04 CH 139

PAGE 3:

(September 21, 2006) Respondent Walters has been admitted to practice since 1995 and has never before been disciplined.

9. Respondent Muller and Respondent Walters have cooperated in these proceedings and have expressed remorse for their conduct. Respondent Muller has completed the Commission’s Professionalism Seminar. Respondent Walters agrees to complete the Commission’s Professionalism Seminar within six months of the conclusion of this matter.

Respectfully submitted,

Jerome Larkin, Administrator
Attorney Registration &
Disciplinary Commission

JOINT STIPULATION OF FACTS

Posted in Illinois Family Law | Comments Off

Illinois medical malpractice lawyer fees: tricks of the trade

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

A reader asks:

I met with a medical malpractice attorney that believed that I had a strong malpractice suit. I was inquiring about the contract the attorney wanted me to sign. It states that the attorney would be entitled to 33 1/3 percent of any settlement awarded plus fees. I was also given the statute that outlines medical malpractice percentages based on amount awarded, 33 1/3% up to 150,000, 25% up to 850,000, and 20% up to 1,000,000. This attorney states that the judge would determine the final payout for the attorney, but he always asks for the 33 1/3% plus fees. His fee is a contingency based fee, but I am concerned about the amount that the “plus fees” may add up to.

To clarify his question, the law states that in IL medical malpractice lawsuits that attorneys fees are capped at 1/3 of the first $150,000 recovered, 25% of the next $850,000 and 20% on anything on top of a million. There is an exception where a lawyer can petition a Judge for higher fees if they can show that they did “extra-ordinary work.” This isn’t clearly defined, but usually means that they had to do tons of depositions, extensive travel, filed the claim at the last minute, can show how their work was not like a normal case, etc.

Our reader went to a lawyer who apparently wants 1/3 no matter what happens and is basically looking for the client to sign off on it at the get go. That contract appear to be illegal and certainly seems unethical.

We know many medical malpractice attorneys who will petition a Judge for 1/3 of the award in some cases. No one we know makes it standard practice on every cases that they handle. These cases are very difficult, but sometimes the malpractice is so obvious that a case will settle without a lawsuit even being filed or shortly after it is filed. Other times the only question is what the damages are worth and an insurance company will simply pay the full amount of the policy.

None of that amounts to “extra-ordinary” work and to say that you always take 1/3 really gives attorneys a bad name.

Our advice to the reader was that if when you first meet with an attorney they seem a little too slick or are doing something that doesn’t seem right, it’s probably a predictor of where things would go if you were to hire them. You are better off looking around for someone you will feel more comfortable with. Believe it or not, there are actually a lot of honest, hard working attorneys in IL that would love to work with you.

Posted in Injury Cases | Comments Off

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