Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance

Archive for June, 2011

Legal Spring Cleaning

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

I know it’s technically summer, but who actually finishes their spring cleaning on time? Here are some common legal issues that people tend to ignore or procrastinate about.

A criminal record. Even the smallest of things can leave a record, so look into it if you’ve ever been arrested. This is especially important if you’re job searching, as many people are these days. A background check can bring up a lot of old stuff, and you might be able to do something about it. Generally speaking, the less serious it is, the easier it is to clear up. If you were arrested but nothing came of it, or if you were found not guilty or if you had some sort of probation on a misdemeanor, you’ll probably be able to expunge (completely erase) your record. More serious things, such as felonies, DUIs, and actual convictions are more difficult. Some can be sealed (hidden from general public and employers), while others cannot. You can start by going to the police department where you were arrested and requesting a copy of your record.

An outdated estate plan. If you made a simple will when you were first married, and now you own property and have kids, it’s probably time to update your estate plan. Big life changes – marriage, death, having children, inheritance, divorce, significant change in assets – can affect the types of documents you should have in place. And you might have different goals or wishes as things change. Some estate planning attorneys check in with clients from time to time; others do not. The simplest thing to do is go back to the attorney who created your documents and tell them you want to update your estate plan. If for some reason that attorney is no longer practicing, or you don’t want to go back to them for some reason, it’s fine to use someone new.

Unpaid tickets. Illinois can suspend your license for too many unpaid parking tickets or red light tickets. If you’ve accumulated a few, get them taken care of as soon as possible. If the amount due is beyond your means, you can contact the Illinois Secretary of State to set up a payment plan. If you contested a ticket by mail, check up on it. Often, people don’t realize their licenses are suspended until they are pulled over for something else. Then you’re looking at a ticket for driving with a suspended license, which is probably more serious than the original reason for the suspension. You can search for City of Chicago tickets using your license plate number here: https://parkingtickets.cityofchicago.org/CPSWeb/web/SearchTickets.jsp#plate.

Uncollected child support. If you are owed child support, there are a couple of things you might need to do. First of all, if you don’t have a court order for child support, get one. Informal agreements with the other parent are not enforceable. If you have a court order but still no payments, go back to court. Even if the other parent is unemployed, paid in cash, or has moved out of state, there is something you can do. There is no deadline for collecting child support that was ordered and never paid. So if you’ve been procrastinating, or thinking it was too late, look into it. The courts have ways to help you collect, such as wage garnishment. Talk to an attorney who has handled many child support cases and knows what they’re doing.

Let me know if you have something else you’ve been putting off or wondering about. Getting started on some of these things can feel overwhelming. But when we’re talking about a legal problem, sooner is almost always better.

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Tips for nursing home abuse in Illinois

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Every Wednesday we provide five legal tips. Here are five tips for recognizing and taking action on nursing home abuse.

Keep an eye out for the signs: Depression, anxiety, fear, bruises, pain, pressure marks or bedsores, malnutrition, weight loss, poor hygiene, etc. If your loved one is complaining about something, don’t brush it off.
Document the signs or any specific incidents. Report your concerns to the people directly caring for your friend or relative, and report it to the nursing home management as well. If they don’t listen, you can report it to a state agency.
Follow up. If you believe your concerns have been addressed, make sure. Visit frequently, on different days and at different times, to verify that things have improved.
Talk to an attorney. While an attorney can always help you look into possible abuse or neglect, a lawsuit isn’t usually appropriate unless there has been a severe injury or death.
Fees. For a lawsuit after an injury in a nursing home, attorneys generally charge a contingency fee. This means that they are paid after the case is over, but only if you win or settle. Their fee is a portion of what’s recovered.

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Sealing or expunging your Illinois criminal record

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

There are two ways to clear your record in Illinois – sealing and expungement. Sealing your record hides it from the general public, although it’s still viewable by law enforcement, the courts and some types of employers or if someone gets a court order to view the record. Expunging a record is a more powerful tool, as it erases your record completely. However, it’s not always an option.

You cannot expunge a conviction (there are a few narrow exceptions), and if you have a conviction on your record, it generally prevents you from expunging anything else on your record. Note that probation, conditional discharge and other outcomes may be considered convictions. For example, court supervision on a DUI is considered a conviction and cannot be expunged. If you do qualify for expungement, there is a waiting period that varies from 2 to 5 years.

If you can’t expunge your record, sealing may be an option. You can’t seal felonies. But you can seal most misdemeanors after a waiting period, unless the misdemeanor is for a violent crime, a sex crime or a DUI.

You don’t need a conviction to have a record. Being arrested gives you a record. There is no set amount of time after which your record gets erased, so you have to take action if you want to clear things up. It’s especially important if you’re applying for a job that requires a background check.

Don’t trust advice from non-lawyers on this, especially when you’re trying to make a decision about pleading guilty or taking a deal. At the time of your arrest, an officer might tell you that it won’t be on your record forever. Talk to an attorney who is experienced in criminal defense and knows how the system works.

Posted in Criminal Defense in Illinois | Comments Off

Suing for false imprisonment

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Being wrongly suspected of a crime, arrested and held in jail doesn’t automatically qualify as false imprisonment. Although there are limits, the police are generally given leeway in holding you if they have a reason to believe you broke the law. And even if they shouldn’t have held you, you probably don’t have a case worth suing over.

In order to have a good lawsuit for false imprisonment, you’re going to have to prove a conspiracy. For example, you’ll have to show that the police or prosecutor concealed evidence that would have proven your innocence. If they didn’t set out to wrongly accuse or jail you, then you aren’t going to have a good case. Likewise, if they were being lazy in their investigation, your chances of successfully suing are slim.

People are arrested every day for things they didn’t do, and we hear from a lot of people who would like to sue the police for it. It’s not right that it happens so frequently. It can ruin your life, your reputation, your family, your career. Unfortunately, in the majority of cases, there isn’t much justice to be had.

If you have questions about a possible false imprisonment case, trust your gut feeling and look into it. Some people do have successful cases. We just want to be honest about what usually happens.

Posted in Criminal Defense in Illinois, Did You Know? | Comments Off

Illinois Protects Sales Reps from Losing out on Commission

Friday, June 24th, 2011

Clearly when an employee works a day, the employee earns a wage. The law ensures that employees get the compensation that is owed them, even after they are fired from the job. Sales representatives who are paid by commission, though, can have a more challenging time getting the payment they are owed after they have been terminated. But Illinois lawmakers wanted to be sure to protect these workers from companies that would try to get away with not paying them their final commissions.

The Illinois Sales Representative Act is aimed at holding companies accountable for paying their sales reps their earned commission, even after termination. Here’s how it works:

By way of example, say you work for a light bulb company in Illinois, and you sell to businesses throughout the Western suburbs. You’re an independent contractor, and you service your territory daily, according to your schedule and the businesses’ needs. Every time you make a sale, you are paid a commission based on a percentage of what you sell, after the transaction closes. So there is some lag time between your sale and when your commission payment becomes due.

So if you are terminated from the job, your commission payments cannot necessarily be made to you at the moment you leave. The sales rep act says that the company has to pay you all your earned commissions within 13 days of your termination. Or if they have not come due yet, then they have to be paid within 13 days of the time they became due.

The lawmakers did not take this lightly either. They put some serious muscle behind the law. For starters, the company cannot even ask you to sign a contract that gets rid of the protections of this law. Any such contract provision will be considered invalid.

Also, there are serious penalties for businesses that violate the sales rep act. If your commissions are not paid when they should be according to the law, then they could owe you attorneys’ fees and court costs in addition to the money you’re already owed, to compensate you for having to bring the action in court.

In cases where the company’s conduct was particularly outrageous, the law also allows for paying you extra money damages that are designed to punish and to prevent others from doing this to their sales representatives. The company could have to pay you an additional amount which can be as much as three times what they owed you in commissions. If you can show that your money was withheld because of some evil intention or complete lack of regard for what was right, then you may be able to receive these additional damages.

This law in Illinois is intended to protect independent contractor sales representatives from companies that would try to fire them and benefit financially from it. Whether or not you continue to sell for the company, a sales commission earned should be a sales commission timely paid, and Illinois courts will help support you in that effort.

Posted in Litigation | Comments Off

Different types of attorney fees – which is right for you?

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

The key to knowing which type of attorney fee is right for you is understanding the type of case that you have. Here are some common examples.

Injury/wrongful death – In injury cases, attorneys are generally paid a percentage of what the person recovers. This is called a contingency fee. It’s either a portion of what the jury determines the case is worth, or it could be a portion of a settlement reached before trial. If you don’t win, you don’t pay. If you are hiring an attorney to defend you against an injury lawsuit, you will likely pay hourly.

Debt collection – If you are collecting a large debt, an attorney might charge a contingency fee, which is a portion of what they are able to recover for you (and if they can’t recover the debt you will owe nothing). For a smaller debt, you might be charged an hourly fee.

Divorce/custody – Family law attorneys charge on an hourly basis. When you are paying an hourly fee, you generally start by giving the attorney a retainer, which is a lump sum up front. As the attorney works on your case, they withdraw their fee from the lump sum. If the case goes on for a while, your retainer may need to be refilled.

Criminal defense – Defense attorneys charge on an hourly basis, or they may charge a flat fee, depending on the type of case you have and how routine they expect it to be. The same is true for traffic defense cases.

Estate planning – Flat fees are common in estate planning, where many of the documents are somewhat similar. If you need specialized help on a unique issue, an estate planning attorney may charge an hourly fee.

Always discuss your attorney’s fee with them upfront. Make sure you sign a fee agreement so that everything is clear. And if you have any questions, ask.

Posted in Did You Know? | Comments Off

Do you know what type of fee you’re paying?

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Every Wednesday we offer five legal tips on Illinois law. Here are five tips on understanding legal fees.

Contingency fees are based on the final result in the case. If you win a sum at trial or settle on a certain amount, your attorney’s fee is a portion of that amount. A typical fee is around 1/3, although it can be more or less depending on the type of case.
Flat rates are sometimes available for services that are fairly straightforward, or when the amount of time an attorney needs to spend is known. Estate planning is a good example. Attorneys might charge a couple thousand dollars for drafting a will and trust, along with other related documents.
Hourly fees are common in cases where you aren’t seeking a large sum of money, or when that sum is small. For example, hourly fees are the norm in family law (divorce, custody, etc.), and common in criminal law, as well. An hourly rate can be anywhere from $100 to $400, depending on the type of case and the experience of the attorney.
No matter the type of fee, you should go over the details with your attorney beforehand and sign a fee agreement. This document should explain they type and amount of the fee you will owe.
Make sure to ask your potential attorney whether they or you will pay for ancillary costs, such as copies, document requests, court filing fees, etc.