News from February 2024
Locke Lord’s Amin Al-Sarraf Selected as 2024 LCLD Fellow; Abigail Van Hook and Lou Lou Yan Named to Pathfinder Program
Locke Lord Los Angeles Partner Amin Al-Sarraf has been selected as a member of the 2024 Fellows Program for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), and Chicago’s Abigail Van Hook and Atlanta’s Lou Lou Yan have been named to LCLD’s Pathfinder Program.
Lawyer sues Desklabs for allegedly stiffing him of promised fees for legal work
Chicago-based coworking space company, Desklabs, and its owner are facing a lawsuit filed by an attorney who claims he was deceived into providing legal services without compensation, allegedly under the guise of making him the company's general counsel.
Chicago sues oil companies over climate 'disinformation'; Lawsuit 'set up for failure,' industry warns
The lawsuit is backed by some of the same organizations and law firms behind dozens of other similar lawsuits across the U.S., which critics say are politically motivated and designed to bankrupt the industry that fuels the U.S.
Appeals panel: Volleyball coach on hook for legal fees for meddling in class action over sex abuse coverup
Couple accused of asking potential class members to opt out of litigation
Greenberg Traurig Ranks Among Top Trademark Firms in WTR 1000 2024 Edition
Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP has been nationally and regionally recognized by the World Trademark Review (WTR) in the 14th edition of the WTR 1000.
Reed Smith announces 2024 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellow and Pathfinders
Reed Smith today announced that Anthony Crawford, a New York-based partner in its Insurance Recovery Group, was selected as the firm’s Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow for 2024.
Class action accuses Match Group of allegedly improperly scanning faces of Chispa app users
Match Group, the parent company of the Latino dating app Chispa, is facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly violating Illinois' biometrics privacy law.
ADM accused of shorting barge workers' OT pay by classifying them as 'day rate' workers
The lawsuit claims ADM allegedly misclassifies the workers as "seamen" who are exempt from federal overtime pay rules, while the majority of their duties allegedly are not as "seamen"
Parents' lawsuit says Chicago Teachers Union should pay $250M for Jan. '22 work stoppage
The lawsuit says CTU and its leaders should pay for calling an 'illegal strike,' which caused a public nuisance and cost CPS students and their families time and money, while causing irreversible learning loss, over fear of Covid
Inside the Beltway on February 22, 2024
Please join us for our 47th Inside the Beltway session on Thursday, February 22, 2024.
Holland & Knight Welcomes Partner Elin Park to Litigation Practice in Chicago
Holland & Knight has strengthened its Chicago Litigation Practice with the addition of experienced litigator Elin Park as a partner.
75th Annual Energy Law Conference on February 22-23, 2024
As the world’s long running energy law conference, the 75th Annual Energy Law Conference will bring together legal leaders and other professionals in the energy industry for two days of excellent educational programming covering the oil, gas, and renewables sectors of the energy industry.
Maag argues self incrimination claims support partial summary judgment in gun ban challenge
Wood River attorney Thomas Maag supports his motion for partial summary judgment in one of four consolidated gun ban lawsuits filed in the Southern District of Illinois, arguing that the registration requirement violates gun owners’ Constitutional privilege against self-incrimination.
Class action accuses Mondelez and Ghost Beverages of misleadingly marketing harmful energy drinks to kids
Mondelez International, Inc., and Ghost Beverages LLC are facing a class-action lawsuit in Chicago federal court over Ghost's use of the Sour Patch Kids, Bubblicious and Swedish Fish brands in marketing their energy drinks, allegedly targeting children
Chicago firefighter says city forced him to refuse all other meds before granting Covid vax religious exemption
The lawsuit asserts the city violated the firefighter's rights by requiring him to sign an error-ridden medical form, essentially foreswearing the use of a wide array of common medications and pain killers, because the city falsely claimed those other meds all were also developed using the same human cell lines as the Covid shots.
The Society of Trial Lawyers Welcomes Liz Jaci
HSPRD is proud to announce that Partner Liz Jaci has been officially welcomed as a member of The Society of Trial Lawyers!
Becker to Speak at DePaul Law's CIPLIT® Intellectual Property Lecture Series
Partner Jeffrey S. Becker will speak at “IP Theory and Practice 2024,” a six-session lecture series on intellectual property for first-year law students, hosted by DePaul University College of Law's Center for Intellectual Property Law & Information Technology (CIPLIT®) on February 22 in Chicago.
Appeals court upholds $15M fees for lawyers in 20-year-old case, including $1M+ for Cook County judge
A state appeals panel said a Cook County judge didn't make a mistake in awarding the fees to the lawyers, despite defendants' claims that the lawyers will benefit the most. The panel also said the lawyers can potentially go after the defendants' lawyers to collect on the judgment and fees
British law firm Baker & McKenzie must face lawsuit in Chicago over seized Russian coal mine, appeals panel says
Dissent argues ruling makes Illinois' already clogged courts even more appealing to foreign plaintiffs, even if the cases have no real connection to the U.S. The Baker firm says the case is a prime example of "forum shopping," and the decision is an "affront" to legal doctrines governing where cases are heard
Q&A with Peer Marie, Editor-in-Chief of the University of Chicago Legal Forum
What’s it like being on a journal? Better yet, serving as editor-in-chief?