The legislature amended the Open Meetings Act to clarify that verbatim recordings are accessible only in litigation over whether the public body violated the Act. Is the amendment too restrictive?

The third district appellate court ruled early this year that a plaintiff is entitled to the amount of a hospital's undiscounted bill, not a lower amount negotiated by the plaintiff's insurance carrier.

The U.S. Supreme Court upholds ERISA's "anti-cutback" provision, ruling that pension plans can't retroactively limit the kinds of jobs workers can take after they retire.

A new statute validates trusts for the benefit of pets, but what provisions should pet trusts include? Here are suggestions.

What the new rule means – and could portend – for Illinois lawyers.

Have – or hope to have – an active residential real estate practice? If you're not a title agent already, becoming one might well boost your bottom line.

Probably not, no matter how long the obligee waits to collect; and the same goes for equitable estoppel.

Surprisingly, no statute or supreme court rule sets forth standards for sealing court records from the public.

Leading real estate practitioners warn their fellow lawyers not to cede control over title work to realtors.

Don't let your clients lead you down the road to a RESPA violation by misstating the price of real estate.

The Illinois Municipal League and the Illinois AG offer competing model ethics-in-government ordinances for local governmental bodies.

Critics fear that the supreme court's interpretation of an immunity statute will discourage landowners from making their property available to others.

Bigger homestead and personal property exemptions would benefit debtor-homeowners and encourage more debtors to opt for Chapter 7, not Chapter 13, relief.

What happens when a pregnant surrogate changes her mind? When the intended parents divorce during the pregnancy? HB 4962 would address those questions and others.

Thanks to the Illinois Secretary of State's office, more information about LLCs is now available online.

Charging interest on late accounts and accepting fee payments by credit card are a carrot-and-stick approach to getting paid on time.

Amended Supreme Court Rule 306A is designed to ensure quicker resolution of child custody cases. But how will it work in practice?

The Illinois eavesdropping statute's prohibition against taping with only one party's consent hampers legitimate law enforcement, a legal scholar opines.

Prevention is the best remedy; does your "covered entity" client have an adequate privacy policy in effect?

The supreme court held recently that municipalities can tear down unsafe buildings as soon as the circuit court enters a demolition order.

Contributors to an ISBA e-mail discussion group create a primer that describes what any attorney should insist upon when representing the buyer of an apartment building.

ISBA's Family Law Section Council has proposed a revolutionary revamp of Illinois's child custody law that puts the rights and interests of children first.

New Supreme Court Rule 716, which creates a limited license to practice for Illinois-based in-house counsel, is getting mixed reviews in corporate law departments.

A second district case holds that nonconsensual, non-treatment-related blood and urine tests are inadmissible in DUI trials.

The first district holds that lawyers who aren't licensed in Illinois can nonetheless represent clients in Illinois-based arbitrations.

The Illinois Supreme Court has given divorce lawyers one more reason to get as much of their fee up front as possible.

What must public bodies do to comply with the new law? The answers are far from clear.

As a recent third district case shows, it's nigh impossible to create a trust that enables nursing home residents who still have assets to qualify for Medicaid and thereby preserve an estate for the next generation.

Find out about this newly effective law that, like the Family and Medical Leave Act, grants unpaid leave to covered workers.