Interviewed by: Kenny Matuszewski Since the beginning of their legal careers, the Formellers have been a famous family. Christina, Kathryn (“Kat”), and Matthew (“Matt”) Formeller are triplets who were featured on NBC Chicago, the ABA Journal and Above the Law when they simultaneously graduated from DePaul University College of Law (“DePaul”) in 2010. Due to this viral fame, the first question the triplets receive whenever they meet someone is what it was like to grow…

Post Authored by: Brian M. Bentrup On January 1, 2020, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”) became law and it significantly and fundamentally alters retirement in the United States. The SECURE Act potentially affects anyone with a defined contribution plan, which includes 401(k)s, defined benefit pension plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and 529 college savings accounts. Practitioners only had a few short months in which to acclimate…

Post Authored By: Alan J. Gocha and Alex D. Pappas   Attorneys practicing in the Seventh Circuit have likely encountered the use of the phrase “better than negligible” to describe the standard for establishing a likelihood of success in the preliminary injunction context. Following a series of recent Seventh Circuit decisions, however, there is a “better than negligible” chance that this practice is improper. In its 2018 decision Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc,…

Post Authored By: Kasim Carbide Since the early 2000s, many companies have understood that an entity is often necessary to facilitate the receipt of payment by merchants or other payees, rather than facilitating the transmission of funds on behalf of a sender. This concept of an “agent of the payee” is grounded in common law principles of agency, and it promotes the idea that receipt of funds by a payment processor facilitating a transaction should…

Post Authored by: Scott M. Solkoff, Esq. Two major pressures are moving the practices of Estate Planning and Elder Law together. The dominant pressure is one of demand. For most Americans, the greatest threat to their financial well-being is not taxes. It is the cost of incapacity and long-term care. Addressing these needs with the ethics and skills of an attorney are in high demand. The second pressure is the continuing erosion of value proposition.…

Post Authored By: Shannon Luschen For years, federal courts across the country have differed in defining the term “habitual residence” for purposes of Hague Convention child abduction cases – the first element which the left behind parent must prove when seeking to have the child returned to their home country. Some circuits, such as the Sixth Circuit, have relied almost exclusively on the child’s experience and acclimatization to a place when determining where that child was habitually…

Post Authored By: E. Lynn Grayson Lawyers need to have a general awareness and basic understanding of issues and concerns that may arise in their law practices and present challenges for the clients they serve. From time to time, new environmental matters arise that merit attention not only by environmental lawyers but all lawyers, personally and professionally. New environmental and public health concerns and recent regulatory and litigation developments make per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)…