Posted on October 12, 2016 in Family Law

Each year there are 18,500,000 mental health care visits due to intimate partner violence. However, there are also many domestic violence incidents that go unreported. This could be due to a number of reasons, being that the victim becomes afraid of their abuser. As such, it is important to communicate to loved ones if and when an abusive situation occurs.

You Have Options

One way to put an end to domestic violence in Illinois is to seek an order of protection. There are multiple reasons you can use this option:

• Intimidation,
• Stalking,
• Harassment,
• Physical harment,
• Willful deprivation,
• Exploitation, and
• Interference with personal autonomy.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

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 Posted on October 11, 2016 in Family Law

In divorce, the first legal step is to notify the other party (your spouse). Historically, this has been done in person, or by way of newspaper if the party could not be located. Yet, as newspapers are being perused less and less frequently, and the use of social media grows, some courts are considering the option of serving divorce papers via social media. Could this be the next big thing in divorce, or are we treading on dangerous waters?

Woman in New York Legally Serves Husband on Facebook

Last year, a woman in New York spent several years trying to track down her husband. She even hired a private eye. When her efforts failed, she turned to the court and asked if she could serve him divorce papers through Facebook. The court agreed, but with a catch.

The woman had to prove that her husband owned the account, and that he regularly logged into his account and would therefore see the summons. Further, the transmittal had to be repeated once a week for three consecutive weeks, and the woman and her attorney had to attempt to reach the man by other means to let him know the papers had been sent.

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 Posted on October 11, 2016 in Immigration

Applying for asylum is one of the most difficult undertakings one can attempt, and approximately 49 percent of claims are denied each year. If yours is one of them, you may be at a loss as to how to proceed after you receive the immigration judge’s verdict. It can be critical for you to know your rights, lest you wind up having to leave the United States when it may not in truth be necessary.

Requesting a Reopening

In most situations, there is one method to try before submitting a formal appeal, and that is to request a reopening of your asylum case. However, in order to be considered for such an option, you must be able to show that you have new or different evidence; a reopening is not a de novo review. In other words, the court will not review the entire case anew, rather they will only evaluate the case vis-a-vis the new evidence you introduce.

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 Posted on October 10, 2016 in Personal Injury

It is hard to not feel outraged when you spot an intoxicated driver, especially considering how many lives the driver is putting at risk. You may become so irritated, in fact, that you attempt to stop him or her from driving, and thereby keep the driver from doing harm to others. Unfortunately, this Good Samaritan kind of act could actually be just as dangerous. Learn how to appropriately handle an intoxicated driver, and what your options are, should you or someone you love encounter one.

Never Try to Stop an Intoxicated Driver

While it might seem like the right thing to do in the heat of the moment, you should never attempt to stop an intoxicated driver yourself. At best, the actions of an intoxicated driver are unpredictable, and by trying to shadow the driver, pull up next to him or her, or otherwise interact with the driver can increase your risk of an accident. Moreover, these actions can also put those around you at an increased risk for an accident, injury, or death. Instead, if you spot an intoxicated driver, take down his or her license plate number and call the authorities.

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 Posted on October 04, 2016 in Family Law

The decision to divorce is a personal one with potentially long-lasting implications. Many couples struggle with the idea of abandoning their vows. When you add children into the mix, things become even more complicated. There is more at stake, and parents may feel strongly about setting a good example for their children. Yet there are circumstances in which the choice to stay together, “for better or for worse,” may actually do more harm than good.

Abuse of Any Kind Can Be Detrimental to Children

Abuse – whether financial, physical, emotional, or sexual – can be detrimental to children, even if the child is not the target. In fact, one study found that children who grow up in violent homes are affected much in the same way that soldiers are in combat. Their brains become increasingly wary of potential threats, and they may be at a higher risk for mental health problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and/or depression. Furthermore, it is important to understand that abuse can (and often does) escalate over time. Your children could be at future risk of abuse themselves, or they could end up caught in the crossfire. If you are struggling with abuse of any kind, contact our lawyers for help.

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 Posted on October 03, 2016 in Personal Injury

According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly three million Americans suffer a slip and fall injury each year. Though most commonly associated with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and broken bones, these slip and fall accidents can injure many different parts of the body. Some of these injuries might seem minor—knee injuries, for example. Yet new research suggests that these victims could end up suffering ill effects for the rest of their lives.

Knee Cartilage Regrowth Efforts Unsuccessful

Researchers have been studying the cartilage regrowth in knees for some time now. One study showed that it simply never happens. In fact, even attempts to induce regrowth were unsuccessful. They used a multitude of approaches—using everything from stem cells to grafts of healthy cartilage—but were still unable to detect any regrowth in the knees of 22 different patients. The short lesson is to take care of your knees—guard them and protect them because an injury can last a lifetime. What happens, though, when the injury is not your fault?

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 Posted on October 03, 2016 in Immigration

Immigration attorneys are very familiar with the concept of the aggravated felony; yet, the layman will likely not understand. The term is an arcane one, taking two words familiar to average people and making them into a new phrase. However, if you are an immigrant, aggravated felony is a term that is imperative you know. If you commit what is adjudicated to be an aggravated felony, you may wind up subject to deportation.

Where Did the Term Come From?

The first appearance of the term ‘aggravated felony’ was in 1988, under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. At this point, the term was construed only to include three disparate crimes: murder, drug trafficking, and illegal trafficking of firearms. Over time, approximately 50 more crimes have been added to the list, to the point where the term has been redefined and redefined again. As of this writing, the list contains any crime that can be said, in any way, to relate to fraud or dishonest character, but there are many exceptions.

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 Posted on September 30, 2016 in Personal Injury

The sheer volume of goods that traverse American highways to meet the demands of consumers, is nothing short of mind boggling. The people behind getting those truckloads of items to you are the masses of truck drivers, driving day and night to get products onto to store shelves expeditiously. And while it may seem relatively straightforward to get items loaded onto a truck, follow a GPS route, and unload boxes of items, there are regulations are in place to ensure a safe delivery.

Unfortunately, there are trucking companies who, along with their employed drivers, flout the rules, stretch the limits, and jeopardize the safety of those around them. A common breach are drivers who are driving for time periods beyond prescribed federal limits causing severe fatigue and, in many cases, crashes. If your loved one has been seriously injured or killed in an accident involving a truck and you suspect the truck driver was fatigued, contact a personal injury attorney to assist you.

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 Posted on September 29, 2016 in Immigration

Most people who seek permanent residence in the United States tend to do so via family-based petitions. If someone has an immediate relative who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, they can apply for their spouse, child or parent to become a lawful permanent resident (LPR, or “green card” holder). However, it is also possible to become an LPR through your employer. The requirements are slightly different to those of a family-based petition, but if followed appropriately, the wait may be shorter than those for family categories.

Categories

There are five different categories under which an employer may apply for you to become a permanent resident, though two are by far the most frequently used. The categories are:

• EB-1, also called first preference. This is a rarely-used category designed for people with extraordinary abilities, such as star athletes or Nobel Prize winners. This classification does not require a labor certification from the Department of Labor.

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 Posted on September 27, 2016 in Family Law

When couples start to think about divorce, they often fear that it will be this horrible, contentious battle. They worry that both they and their spouse will be emotionally, financially, or mentally devastated (if not all of the above) by the end of it all. True, divorce is an emotionally difficult process with a lot of legal and financial complexities, but there are many couples who are able to divorce amicably. In fact, there are even some spouses who walk away as friends. If you know that divorce is the path that is right for your marriage, but you would like to do so without tearing one another apart, the following information may help.

Why an Amicable Split?

There are many reasons that a couple may wish to part ways in a peaceful manner. Some may simply want to preserve the happy memories of their marriage, or they may be dead-set on not hurting the spouse that they still very much care about but no longer wish to be married to. Others may wish to split amicably because they do not want their children to be caught in the middle of a war zone. They want future family get-togethers and an environment where their children feel safe and loved, despite the ending of the marriage. Whatever your reason, the key to moving forward peaceably is to keep it in the forefront of your mind whenever things get stressful. Because they undoubtedly will.

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