Would you do your own surgery or choose a licensed surgeon? More than 2 years ago we published a guest posting, Self-Representation: The Perils of PRO SE, and the risks of self-representation - and using DIY legal services - remain. << MORE >>

Social media – Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc. – are designed to bring people together, but reports indicate networking sites also are tearing people apart. From rekindling long-lost romances to finding evidence of extramarital affairs or dispersal of marital assets, social networking sites are increasingly linked to divorce matters. << MORE >>

ABC News reports on the new laws in the nation, including a couple affecting Illinoisans.<< MORE >>

Wishing all our clients, staff and friends a happy and safe holiday season.<< MORE >>

Look Who's Going Mobile.  You now can check us out on your PDA or SmartPhone at jpmlaw.mobi...<< MORE >>

Our heartfelt congratulations go out to three members of our JPMA team who today received their results of the Illinois Bar Exam taken this summer...<< MORE >>

In 1969 one man, Michael Shakman, took a stand against political patronage in Chicago. Shakman's efforts resulted in the Shakman Decrees but 40 years after his initial efforts, Chicago still suffers the effects of political clout. A couple of city employees - Emery Joe Yost who is a longtime JPMA client, and Pat McDonough - have brought many of the issues raised by Shakman back into the spotlight garnering a great deal of media attention with the release of a song about Chicago Clout.<< MORE >>

Language barriers must be overcome for justice to be served. Bilingual and multi-lingual attorneys are a must in a fair court system.<< MORE >>

Banks are walking away from foreclosed properties, leaving neighborhoods devastated by abandoned homes and placing homeowners, who thought their property had been taken away, with financial obligations often beyond the deficiencies of their loans.<< MORE >>

What makes train wrecks more complicated than other personal injury, wrongful death or property damage matters? First, the laws and jurisdictions governing intermodal transportation companies differ from those which govern other industries. Further complicating matters is the various carrier contractors and subcontractors that may be involved in transporting products or equipment via rail. Changes in and various jurisdictions’ interpretations of law also have created greater vulnerability regarding damages and liable parties that a law firm experienced in intermodal transportation liability can expose. << MORE >>

“Buyers’ Revenge” - homeowners in foreclosure are removing appliances, fixtures and other amenities from their foreclosed-upon homes. In some cases – short of trashing property – we suggest this isn’t revenge but, rather, making the most of a bad situation.<< MORE >>

A trend in marketing homes for sale – temporary residents to give a home a “lived in” feel – is raising legal questions. “Faux homeowners,” as they are called in a recent Wall Street Journal article, are presented by marketers as a natural extension of “staging” – traditionally referring to decorating a new home or neutrally redecorating a previously owned home to appeal to a broader base of buyers. The Journal piece quotes Steve Rogers, president of Windermere Exclusive Properties in San Diego, saying these human props provide “that little extra mint on the pillow.” The legal question – faux or fraud – is in how these transitional residents of these homes are portrayed to prospective buyers...<< MORE >>

The Daily Herald reports SA John Barsanti and crew are giving "No Refusal" one more shot, despite the questions of legality of the sting operation...<< MORE >>

An appeal was filed today in the New York State Supreme Court in the matter of Smith v. Walsh-Smith, one of the most publicly covered divorce cases of 2008. Attorneys for Tricia Walsh Smith...<< MORE >>

The Obama administration is expanding a program to make the checking of immigration status a routine measure during local jail bookings. The result, it’s suggested, could be a tenfold increase in illegal immigrants identified for deportation...it is designed to identify what authorities call “criminal aliens.” << MORE >>

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is proposing changes to Illinois law that will make government more transparent...<< MORE >>

In Illinois, getting a public record is a frustrating labyrinth of excuses, delays and denials...the state's Freedom of Information Act has more pages devoted to what records you can't get than what you can... << MORE >>

The Supreme Court issued a victory for supporters of Fourth Amendment rights and a blow to law enforcement last week when it placed new limits on vehicle searches by police...<< MORE >>

JPMA expands its staff and deepens its resources in tax litigation, financial planning, family law and mediation.<< MORE >>

Today's Chicago Tribune reports that the $1.75 million the state pledged to the Illinois Public Defender's office for the defense of death penalty cases this year has been spent, with more than half of the money covering costs that exceeded last year's budget.<< MORE >>