Practice News

Understanding the concept of “coercive control” is essential when dealing with abuse survivors. Yet, Illinois currently is not among states that have incorporated “coercive control” into their domestic violence statutes. But that doesn’t mean the concept is invisible within Illinois’ legal framework.

Numerous cases and tests determine whether a state can exercise jurisdiction over a defendant. The buzzwords include general personal jurisdiction, specific personal jurisdiction, minimum contacts, stream of commerce, and “arises from.” In a spring 2021 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court provided clarity to the “arises from” jurisprudence in a majority opinion authored by Justice Kagan. In his April Illinois Bar Journal article, “It’s Tough To Be Ford,” Grant A. Bosnich examines the Court’s ruling in this 2021 case (Ford Motor Company).

The Illinois Supreme Court announced today a new order establishing the Supreme Court Commission on Elder Law (Commission). 

The “absurdity” of pleading mutually exclusive alternative facts has long been a target for those looking to poke fun at attorneys for being dishonest or unscrupulous, writes Jake Crabbs in his April Illinois Bar Journal article, “A Broken Kettle of Fish.” The title of Crabbs’ article alludes to an old joke about a man sued for breaking a borrowed kettle: First, the man argued that he “never borrowed the kettle; second, that it was cracked when he borrowed it; and third, that it was sound when he carried it back.” Crabbs states that a lack of personal knowledge is the touchstone of proper alternative fact pleading, and goes on to explain why alternative fact pleading is a useful, and sometimes necessary, legal tactic.