Schemes involving lawyers improperly compensating non-lawyer referral sources are all too common and are frequently brought to light in the form of professional disciplinary actions. Far less common are reports of illegal referrals involving physicians and hospitals.
The list of reasons why small law firms offer big advantages is well known—this is especially true for businesses that are midsized or emerging. But here’s a quick review. With a smaller law firm, seasoned attorneys are the norm, rather than the associates who typically handle day-to-day business for the big law firms.
Bride-to-be Jennifer Corona contracted with The Architects Golf Club in May 2012 to host her wedding reception. The terms were simple enough.
The club agreed to make available its catering hall in Lopatcong, New Jersey, and to provide the food and beverages. Corona agreed to pay a pre-set amount, and made three deposit payments pursuant to the contract.
The wedding was originally to take place in July 2013. Alas, and perhaps with the heavenly thoughts of Dirty Harry’s alter ego on her mind, Corona postponed it by one year. The club accommodated the change.
On Tuesday, April 4, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a landmark decision, holding that federal discrimination law prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In an 8 – 3 decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community ollege, the Seventh Circuit became the first federal court of appeals to hold that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Philadelphia Phillies prospect Dylan Cozens belted 40 home runs in 2016 to lead all minor leaguers. At season’s end, Cozens accepted Minor League Baseball’s Joe Bauman Home Run Award, and the $8,000 check that came with it ($200 for each round-tripper) by half-joking that the prize was more than he had earned all season with the AA League’s Reading Fightin Phils.
SFBBG notched a win for Bally Total Fitness Corporation when, following a trial last week in Milwaukee Circuit Court, the Court found Bally not liable for a retinal detachment injury suffered by a member during a Tae Kwon Do sparring class at a Bally health club.
Orson Welles, whose film credits include directing Franz Kafka’s “The Trial” and playing the lawyer in “Compulsion” based on Clarence Darrow at the trial of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, famously observed: “Nobody gets justice. People only get good luck or bad luck.”
As a holiday column, perhaps this offering is expected to express some gratitude, offer a charitable thought for the less fortunate, reflect on a significant event over the past 12 months or invoke an appropriate religious thought. A widely read column might concisely accomplish all four.
Employers throughout the country had a little extra to be thankful for this past Thanksgiving. On Tuesday, a federal district court issued a nationwide injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) from implementing a new federal regulation designed to expand the number of employees eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Illinois law governing restrictive covenants in employment agreements has undergone a number of changes in the past few years. The latest development is the Illinois Freedom to Work Act, which prohibits employers from entering into non-compete agreements with low-wage employees.