The Illinois Appellate court rules that the Wrongful Death Act does not permit suits on behalf of human embryos allegedly destroyed before being placed in the womb.

So rules the Tenth Circuit court in the first-ever Illinois Frye hearing on the admissibility of HGN tests as an indicator of drunk driving - assuming various requirements are met.  

Amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act legislatively overturn recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

 Public employees can sue for being fired in retaliation for filing a workers' comp claim, the Illinois Supreme Court holds.

The Illinois Supreme court rules for the state in two cases where defendants were asked for consent to search after a traffic stop.

 A new law classifies zoning decisions as legislative acts, not administrative rulings. This will streamline zoning proceedings, proponents say.

A trial court's search for truth and the public's right to know may conflict with what local governments believe to be their right to confidential communications with counsel.    

 Your clients want to send their noncontributing adult son packing, but he says, "Nuh uh." Getting him out the door isn't as simple as you might think.

 An amendment to the Juvenile Court Act requires that counsel be appointed for a juvenile defendant in custody at or before his or her initial court hearing.

Your client wants his kid to go to New Trier schools? Then he'd better move there or be prepared to pony up $18,000-plus in tuition, an ISBA member advises.

Winning bidders at judicial foreclosure sales can ultimately lose if a subsequent buyer offers more and the lender withdraws its foreclosure motion before the judge confirms the sale, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled.

A fourth district panel reverses a trial court’s grant of a substantial maintenance award in a long-term marriage where there was also a large property settlement.

A living trust amendment drafted by a nonlawyer is invalid under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, the Illinois Appellate Court rules.

 An employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy in private e-mail he sent during work hours on his employer-issued pager, the federal ninth circuit rules.

Might you be a minor child's court appointed guardian ad litem? If so, here are some pointers from a colleague who's been there.

The supreme court rules that plaintiffs can recover the "reasonable value" of their medical expenses, whether they're paid by Medicare, Medicaid, insurance, or another source.  

 A controversial ruling allows a child-support obligee to lay claim to property held in the name of the obligor's new spouse.

A recent case underscores the importance of taking a party's evidence - not discovery - deposition if he or she may die before trial.

 The supreme court holds that a med-mal plaintiff is entitled to a 90-day extension to file her certificate of merit - and that a 2004 law didn't reenact the version of 2-622 invalidated in Best v Taylor.

 Agents are entitled to reasonable compensation. But what's reasonable?

The supreme court recently announced its intention to implement statewide e-filing in the next several years. Critics say the federal northern district of Illinois, which requires filing both paper and electronic copies, offers an example of what not to do.

Effective July 1, new supreme court rules let retired, inactive, and in-house lawyers working through legal-aid providers or other approved groups represent clients pro bono.

A leading elder-rights advocate says the Illinois legislature and judiciary can do more to prevent and identify elder abuse.

The Illinois Supreme Court refuses to register an Indiana custody ruling where the Indiana court did not return the Illinois court's repeated phone calls.

The court makes explicit that veterinarians are "skilled" practitioners of a "profession or trade" and thus owe a duty of care.

Thanks to a law signed last year, a crazy quilt of DUI laws taking effect June 1 isn't so crazy. But ambiguities remain.

Fraudulent misrepresentation applies only to business-related, not personal, injury, the Illinois Supreme Court rules.

A newsletter author argues that the Act is unfair to contractors and that the recent supreme court case interpreting it defeats its purpose.

The state can go after the at-home spouse to recover the institutionalized spouse's nursing home expenses, the Illinois Supreme Court rules.

If an injured mother aborts an uninjured fetus to protect her own health, she can't recover for the wrongful death of the unborn child, the Illinois Supreme Court rules.