Chicago personal injury lawyers are loading up the city's lesser known law schools with donations, hoping their contributions will prime the pump for more gifts.
Philip Corboy, a founding partner of Corboy & Demetrio, and his wife Mary Dempsey, a lawyer who chairs the board of trustees for DePaul University, this week gave an unspecified seven-figure endowment to her alma mater, DePaul University College of Law. In September the couple gave more than $5 million to his alma mater, Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Both gifts were the largest the law schools had ever received. Also in September, Joseph Power and Todd Smith of Power Rogers & Smith gave $2 million to Loyola's law school.
"There's more need, and not as many people are stepping up because of the bad economy," Power said. "We're hoping to encourage people to give money."
DePaul is kicking off a fund-raising campaign next year, and Loyola is about half way through a seven-year bid to raise $40 million, of which $30 million has already come in. The two Catholic-founded schools can sometimes be overshadowed in the public eye by their city neighbors, the University of Chicago Law School and Northwestern University School of Law.
Dempsey said that the Corboy-Dempsey contributions will be used for scholarships at both schools and also for faculty hiring at Loyola. The donation from Power and Smith will go to endowed chairs, program support and scholarships, said David Yellen, dean of Loyola's law school.
While Loyola has received fewer gifts amid the financial stress, overall fund-raising is "way up," Yellen said. "It really is true that big gifts attract more big gifts."
Despite the wave of associate cutbacks at law firms, neither Dempsey nor Power had any qualms about encouraging students to enroll in law school. The economy will improve and a law degree is useful in any profession, they said.
"I use my legal training and law degree every day even though one would not call me a practicing lawyer," said Dempsey, who serves as commissioner of the Chicago Public Library and keeps her law license current.
Source
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Personal injury lawyer asking $1.75M for North Center 5BD
Anne Kuban and her husband, Thomas, have listed for sale a five-bedroom, 4.5-bath home at 1937 W. Warner Ave. in North Center for $1.75 million.
The Kubans paid $538,000 for the property in April 2008. The 1,126-square-foot house was built in 2009. Ron Meadows of Prudential Rubloff Properties is the listing agent for the home.
Mrs. Kuban is a partner at Anderson, Rasor and Partners LLP. Previously, he practiced personal injury litigation with the corporation counsel's office of Chicago, was a member of the Cook County State Attorney's office and she worked at Jackson & Jessup P.C.
She earned her B.A. in psychology from Denison University in 1985 and her J.D. from Washington University in 1988.
Source
The Kubans paid $538,000 for the property in April 2008. The 1,126-square-foot house was built in 2009. Ron Meadows of Prudential Rubloff Properties is the listing agent for the home.
Mrs. Kuban is a partner at Anderson, Rasor and Partners LLP. Previously, he practiced personal injury litigation with the corporation counsel's office of Chicago, was a member of the Cook County State Attorney's office and she worked at Jackson & Jessup P.C.
She earned her B.A. in psychology from Denison University in 1985 and her J.D. from Washington University in 1988.
Source
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Corruption-fighter to head up South Florida FBI office
One of 10 children growing up in Chicago, John Gillies fell in love with a book in fifth grade about the history of the FBI -- tales of bank robbers, mobsters and spies.
The last page especially grabbed him: The bureau was looking to hire accountants and lawyers as G-men. Right then, the 10-year-old saw his future and set his sights on accounting as his ticket.
Now, after 24 years as a special agent, Gillies has become the FBI's chief in South Florida, taking the reins last month of the bureau's Miami field office -- the fifth-largest in the country, stretching from Fort Pierce to Key West with 460 agents.
``I have a passion for corruption cases and protecting children, but we do have a lot of threats that we need to address,'' said Gillies, 50, who is married with two children.
Those other threats include terrorism, white-collar fraud, Internet child predators, violent crime and drug trafficking.
Gillies said he plans to ``make tweaks,'' not dramatic changes, to the overall operation.
His FBI career began in 1983, the year after he graduated with bachelor degrees in accounting and business administration from Illinois State University.
His uncle, a Catholic priest, happened to preside over a funeral service for two FBI agents killed in a plane crash. Afterward, the uncle put in a good word for his nephew -- and Gillies got his foot in the door.
Initially he worked as a financial analyst, then became a special agent in 1985. His first assignment: Albany, N.Y., investigating white-collar fraud.
His next stop: the FBI's New York City field office. He was tapped for counterintelligence work, which he can't discuss.
``At the end of theday, you weren't putting bad people in jail,'' hesaid, ``but you have an effect by protecting the security of the United States.''
Gillies yearned to return to investigations, so he transferred 3,000 miles away, to San Diego. There, he investigated the failure of Home Federal and other banks.
He then made his mark with a public corruption case that took down three state Superior Court judges who accepted $100,000 in bribes from a personal-injury lawyer in the mid-'90s. The lawyer was also convicted.
The case, which led to judicial reforms such as assigning cases on a rotational basis, fueled his zeal against corruption. ``It starts with dollar one,'' he said. ``People need to understand that the first time you take that first dollar, you've been bought.''
After that stint, Gillies traveled farther west -- to Honolulu -- where he entered management for the first time, as supervisor of a squad targeting corruption and other crimes. The squad nailed a crooked city councilman, liquor inspectors and an IRS agent, among others.
The post also took him to Hong Kong, the Philippines and other far-flung places.
To rise up management ranks, Gillies had to do a tour of duty at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., in 2002. He oversaw the bureau's Financial Institution Fraud unit for the entire country. That led to senior management jobs in Detroit and St. Louis, where he zeroed in on white-collar, violent and cyber crimes, along with terrorist funding and more corruption cases.
But Gillies, as the special agent in charge of the Miami field office, said he faces his biggest challenge yet: ``We have vast responsibilities -- not only here but also in Latin America.''
Source
The last page especially grabbed him: The bureau was looking to hire accountants and lawyers as G-men. Right then, the 10-year-old saw his future and set his sights on accounting as his ticket.
Now, after 24 years as a special agent, Gillies has become the FBI's chief in South Florida, taking the reins last month of the bureau's Miami field office -- the fifth-largest in the country, stretching from Fort Pierce to Key West with 460 agents.
``I have a passion for corruption cases and protecting children, but we do have a lot of threats that we need to address,'' said Gillies, 50, who is married with two children.
Those other threats include terrorism, white-collar fraud, Internet child predators, violent crime and drug trafficking.
Gillies said he plans to ``make tweaks,'' not dramatic changes, to the overall operation.
His FBI career began in 1983, the year after he graduated with bachelor degrees in accounting and business administration from Illinois State University.
His uncle, a Catholic priest, happened to preside over a funeral service for two FBI agents killed in a plane crash. Afterward, the uncle put in a good word for his nephew -- and Gillies got his foot in the door.
Initially he worked as a financial analyst, then became a special agent in 1985. His first assignment: Albany, N.Y., investigating white-collar fraud.
His next stop: the FBI's New York City field office. He was tapped for counterintelligence work, which he can't discuss.
``At the end of theday, you weren't putting bad people in jail,'' hesaid, ``but you have an effect by protecting the security of the United States.''
Gillies yearned to return to investigations, so he transferred 3,000 miles away, to San Diego. There, he investigated the failure of Home Federal and other banks.
He then made his mark with a public corruption case that took down three state Superior Court judges who accepted $100,000 in bribes from a personal-injury lawyer in the mid-'90s. The lawyer was also convicted.
The case, which led to judicial reforms such as assigning cases on a rotational basis, fueled his zeal against corruption. ``It starts with dollar one,'' he said. ``People need to understand that the first time you take that first dollar, you've been bought.''
After that stint, Gillies traveled farther west -- to Honolulu -- where he entered management for the first time, as supervisor of a squad targeting corruption and other crimes. The squad nailed a crooked city councilman, liquor inspectors and an IRS agent, among others.
The post also took him to Hong Kong, the Philippines and other far-flung places.
To rise up management ranks, Gillies had to do a tour of duty at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., in 2002. He oversaw the bureau's Financial Institution Fraud unit for the entire country. That led to senior management jobs in Detroit and St. Louis, where he zeroed in on white-collar, violent and cyber crimes, along with terrorist funding and more corruption cases.
But Gillies, as the special agent in charge of the Miami field office, said he faces his biggest challenge yet: ``We have vast responsibilities -- not only here but also in Latin America.''
Source
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Cibulskis named an attorney to watch
-- Julie L. Cibulskis, principal of Aurora-based Speers, Reuland & Cibulskis, P.C., has been named one of the "40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 To Watch" by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company. Cibulskis is the only 2009 honoree whose office is located outside of Chicago.
This is the 10th year that the Law Bulletin Publishing Company has surveyed attorneys statewide to develop a list of 40 attorneys under age 40 who have had significant career success and who are expected to be future leaders in the legal profession. The Law Bulletin Publishing Company received more than 1,000 nominations this year. Cibulskis is recognized for her work in personal injury, wrongful death and commercial litigation. A retired judge who nominated Cibulskis believes her trial success is attributable "to her thorough preparation and skillful advocacy" and described her verdicts as "nothing short of remarkable." Cibulskis has tried jury cases in Kane, DuPage, Kendall, Cook and LaSalle counties. She has also handled cases in federal and appellate courts.
A longtime member of the Kane County Bar Association, Cibulskis is now serving as association president. For the previous seven years, she served as chairman of the Kane County Bar Association's continuing legal education committee. Cibulskis is also an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association and Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.
Cibulskis also volunteers to handle pro bono cases through Prairie State Legal Services, serves on the lay board of trustees of Rosary High School and teaches a litigation course in the paralegal studies program at the College of DuPage.
The "40 Under Forty" supplement can be found in the Oct. 14 edition of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and October's Chicago Lawyer Magazine.
-- Fox Valley Volunteer Hospice has announced the appointment of two new members to the Board of Directors.
Roger A. Albrecht, CFA, is executive vice president and portfolio manager at Mid-Continent Capital in Chicago. Albrecht has an extensive background in financial services, with stints at Morningstar, First Colonial Bankshares & Trust Company, and Harris Bank. He received his undergraduate degree in finance from Illinois State University, an M.S. degree in finance with distinction from DePaul University and was awarded the CFA charter in 1993. Albrecht lives in Geneva.
Jon Miki, CPA, is a founding partner of Loberg, Miki & Associates, LLP in Geneva. Miki's background is in both the public and private accounting sectors and includes manufacturing/distribution, entertainment, software, railcar, real estate and service. Miki is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and lives in West Chicago.
Source
This is the 10th year that the Law Bulletin Publishing Company has surveyed attorneys statewide to develop a list of 40 attorneys under age 40 who have had significant career success and who are expected to be future leaders in the legal profession. The Law Bulletin Publishing Company received more than 1,000 nominations this year. Cibulskis is recognized for her work in personal injury, wrongful death and commercial litigation. A retired judge who nominated Cibulskis believes her trial success is attributable "to her thorough preparation and skillful advocacy" and described her verdicts as "nothing short of remarkable." Cibulskis has tried jury cases in Kane, DuPage, Kendall, Cook and LaSalle counties. She has also handled cases in federal and appellate courts.
A longtime member of the Kane County Bar Association, Cibulskis is now serving as association president. For the previous seven years, she served as chairman of the Kane County Bar Association's continuing legal education committee. Cibulskis is also an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association and Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.
Cibulskis also volunteers to handle pro bono cases through Prairie State Legal Services, serves on the lay board of trustees of Rosary High School and teaches a litigation course in the paralegal studies program at the College of DuPage.
The "40 Under Forty" supplement can be found in the Oct. 14 edition of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and October's Chicago Lawyer Magazine.
-- Fox Valley Volunteer Hospice has announced the appointment of two new members to the Board of Directors.
Roger A. Albrecht, CFA, is executive vice president and portfolio manager at Mid-Continent Capital in Chicago. Albrecht has an extensive background in financial services, with stints at Morningstar, First Colonial Bankshares & Trust Company, and Harris Bank. He received his undergraduate degree in finance from Illinois State University, an M.S. degree in finance with distinction from DePaul University and was awarded the CFA charter in 1993. Albrecht lives in Geneva.
Jon Miki, CPA, is a founding partner of Loberg, Miki & Associates, LLP in Geneva. Miki's background is in both the public and private accounting sectors and includes manufacturing/distribution, entertainment, software, railcar, real estate and service. Miki is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and lives in West Chicago.
Source
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Attorney says Blackhawks beating case overblown
CHICAGO -- It's been one thing after another for the Chicago Blackhawks this offseason after a trip to the Western Conference finals. They signed one star forward in Marian Hossa, only to lose another one in Martin Havlat. They stunned everyone by demoting general manager Dale Tallon.
And now one of the young stars Tallon brought to Chicago, Patrick Kane - the centerpiece of the team's marketing effort for the past two seasons - is accused of teaming with his cousin to beat up a Buffalo, N.Y., cabbie over pocket change before daybreak Sunday.
Whether the incident will amount to much remains to be seen. Andrew LoTempio, an attorney for the cab driver, told WGN radio in Chicago on Monday that he thinks Sunday's incident was blown out of proportion.
"There was a dispute over the fee and it just kind of escalated from there," LoTempio told the station. "It was not really a robbery. That is probably a large distortion of what happened."
Asked if the case would end up as a felony, he said: "Absolutely not."
"I think we should be able to work things out," he added.
Kane is scheduled for a court hearing next Monday in a Buffalo courtroom. He has pleaded not guilty to felony robbery and misdemeanor counts of theft and criminal mischief. His cousin, James Kane, faces the same charges.
Next Monday is the same day a U.S. Olympic Men's Hockey orientation camp starts in suburban Chicago. USA Hockey spokesman Dave Fischer said Monday that Kane is still expected to participate in the three-day camp.
"We are aware of the incident. We don't condone or approve of what has been suggested the facts are. We are looking into it ourselves," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Monday.
Police say the cab driver was beaten because he did not have 20 cents in change to give Kane, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft and the NHL rookie of the year the following year. The 62-year-old cab driver, identified as Jan Radecki, said he was punched, grabbed by the throat and had his glasses broken.
Source
And now one of the young stars Tallon brought to Chicago, Patrick Kane - the centerpiece of the team's marketing effort for the past two seasons - is accused of teaming with his cousin to beat up a Buffalo, N.Y., cabbie over pocket change before daybreak Sunday.
Whether the incident will amount to much remains to be seen. Andrew LoTempio, an attorney for the cab driver, told WGN radio in Chicago on Monday that he thinks Sunday's incident was blown out of proportion.
"There was a dispute over the fee and it just kind of escalated from there," LoTempio told the station. "It was not really a robbery. That is probably a large distortion of what happened."
Asked if the case would end up as a felony, he said: "Absolutely not."
"I think we should be able to work things out," he added.
Kane is scheduled for a court hearing next Monday in a Buffalo courtroom. He has pleaded not guilty to felony robbery and misdemeanor counts of theft and criminal mischief. His cousin, James Kane, faces the same charges.
Next Monday is the same day a U.S. Olympic Men's Hockey orientation camp starts in suburban Chicago. USA Hockey spokesman Dave Fischer said Monday that Kane is still expected to participate in the three-day camp.
"We are aware of the incident. We don't condone or approve of what has been suggested the facts are. We are looking into it ourselves," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Monday.
Police say the cab driver was beaten because he did not have 20 cents in change to give Kane, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft and the NHL rookie of the year the following year. The 62-year-old cab driver, identified as Jan Radecki, said he was punched, grabbed by the throat and had his glasses broken.
Source
Thursday, October 15, 2009
MLB Capsules: Grimsley appears at Clemens grand jury courthouse
WASHINGTON — Former pitcher Jason Grimsley, a key figure in the federal investigation of steroids in baseball, met with prosecutors Tuesday at the courthouse where a grand jury is looking into whether Roger Clemens lied to Congress.
A former Houston-area gym owner also was at the federal courthouse, giving testimony in the probe into whether Clemens misled a congressional committee last year when the seven-time Cy Young Award winner denied under oath using steroids or human growth hormone.
Grimsley and his lawyer, Edward Novak, did not comment after spending a little more than an hour meeting with prosecutors. Grimsley’s agent, Joe Bick, said Grimsley did not give formal testimony and this was the 15-year major leaguer’s first involvement with the current investigation.
"It was just a meeting," Bick said. "He called me and told me he was going to be meeting with some people."
Shortly after lunch, ex-bodybuilder and former gym owner Kelly Blair spent some 90 minutes testifying before the grand jury. Blair said previously that he used to take steroids himself and once provided Andy Pettitte’s father with HGH for medical reasons, but he has denied supplying Clemens or any professional athletes with the substances.
Asked what he told the grand jury, Blair said: "Nothing that hadn’t already been said. I’m just glad to be finished with all this and looking forward to just getting on with my life."
Blair blames the publicity surrounding the case for ruining his gym business. He is considering filing for bankruptcy.
"I’ve made it clear from the very beginning, and I stand by what I said," Blair said. "But I do have to respect the process and let them do their job from here on out, and I’m just looking forward to going home and just trying to get back my reputation."
Grimsley pitched for seven major league teams from 1989-06, and federal agents searched his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., in June 2006. In a statement that year, IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky said Grimsley implicated nine players — including Jose Canseco, Lenny Dykstra and Rafael Palmeiro — in doping. Clemens was not among the players named by Grimsley.
Source
A former Houston-area gym owner also was at the federal courthouse, giving testimony in the probe into whether Clemens misled a congressional committee last year when the seven-time Cy Young Award winner denied under oath using steroids or human growth hormone.
Grimsley and his lawyer, Edward Novak, did not comment after spending a little more than an hour meeting with prosecutors. Grimsley’s agent, Joe Bick, said Grimsley did not give formal testimony and this was the 15-year major leaguer’s first involvement with the current investigation.
"It was just a meeting," Bick said. "He called me and told me he was going to be meeting with some people."
Shortly after lunch, ex-bodybuilder and former gym owner Kelly Blair spent some 90 minutes testifying before the grand jury. Blair said previously that he used to take steroids himself and once provided Andy Pettitte’s father with HGH for medical reasons, but he has denied supplying Clemens or any professional athletes with the substances.
Asked what he told the grand jury, Blair said: "Nothing that hadn’t already been said. I’m just glad to be finished with all this and looking forward to just getting on with my life."
Blair blames the publicity surrounding the case for ruining his gym business. He is considering filing for bankruptcy.
"I’ve made it clear from the very beginning, and I stand by what I said," Blair said. "But I do have to respect the process and let them do their job from here on out, and I’m just looking forward to going home and just trying to get back my reputation."
Grimsley pitched for seven major league teams from 1989-06, and federal agents searched his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., in June 2006. In a statement that year, IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky said Grimsley implicated nine players — including Jose Canseco, Lenny Dykstra and Rafael Palmeiro — in doping. Clemens was not among the players named by Grimsley.
Source
Monday, September 28, 2009
Trapped in Tamms: Inmates in Illinois' only supermax prison face battle proving mistreatment
Anthony Gay always fought back. Even in first grade he was quick with his fists, especially when kids mocked his temper or taunted him because he lived with foster parents.
When he came home bloody and bruised, a big mutt he called Diamond comforted him. His aunt, Shirley Gay, who raised her nephew in a tough Rock Island neighborhood, said she always feared that someday Gay's anger would get him into serious trouble.
However, there was nothing in his juvenile record to suggest that Gay would end up where he is today -- serving 99 years in solitary confinement at Illinois' supermax prison, the Tamms Correctional Center -- after an initial conviction for punching another youth and stealing his hat and a dollar bill. He received probation for that crime, but violated it and landed in prison at age 20 to serve seven years, with parole possible after 3 1/2.
Gay was sent to the maximum security Pontiac Correctional Center, where convictions in the nearby Livingston County Court for assaulting guards added decades to the quick-tempered inmate's sentence, even though these crimes did not involve serious injury and such crimes often are not prosecuted at other prisons, a News-Democrat investigation found.
Gay spends 23 hours a day in a cell at Tamms, in the southern tip of Illinois, where he has been held for the last five years. He first was transferred to Tamms in 1998 and held for about a year before being returned to Pontiac.
To cope with the isolation at Tamms, he has regularly mutilated himself to the point that it required extensive suturing to close his wounds, sometimes without anesthetic, court records state.
The Tamms policy regarding "cutters" often means time on a strap-down bed, a metal framework where an inmate lies spread-eagle, bound by his arms and legs with leather straps.
Gay has been strapped down for periods of up to 32 hours, according to court documents. A prison doctor has testified that mutilators are restrained this way for their own protection so they can't cut themselves until the desire to mutilate passes.
Source
When he came home bloody and bruised, a big mutt he called Diamond comforted him. His aunt, Shirley Gay, who raised her nephew in a tough Rock Island neighborhood, said she always feared that someday Gay's anger would get him into serious trouble.
However, there was nothing in his juvenile record to suggest that Gay would end up where he is today -- serving 99 years in solitary confinement at Illinois' supermax prison, the Tamms Correctional Center -- after an initial conviction for punching another youth and stealing his hat and a dollar bill. He received probation for that crime, but violated it and landed in prison at age 20 to serve seven years, with parole possible after 3 1/2.
Gay was sent to the maximum security Pontiac Correctional Center, where convictions in the nearby Livingston County Court for assaulting guards added decades to the quick-tempered inmate's sentence, even though these crimes did not involve serious injury and such crimes often are not prosecuted at other prisons, a News-Democrat investigation found.
Gay spends 23 hours a day in a cell at Tamms, in the southern tip of Illinois, where he has been held for the last five years. He first was transferred to Tamms in 1998 and held for about a year before being returned to Pontiac.
To cope with the isolation at Tamms, he has regularly mutilated himself to the point that it required extensive suturing to close his wounds, sometimes without anesthetic, court records state.
The Tamms policy regarding "cutters" often means time on a strap-down bed, a metal framework where an inmate lies spread-eagle, bound by his arms and legs with leather straps.
Gay has been strapped down for periods of up to 32 hours, according to court documents. A prison doctor has testified that mutilators are restrained this way for their own protection so they can't cut themselves until the desire to mutilate passes.
Source
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
U.City lawyer wins big in class-action case
Seven years ago, when lawyer John Mulligan began trying to force cell phone companies to pay municipal taxes, he was in a David and Goliath matchup.
Mulligan, a solo practitioner, recalled a meeting where the cell phone companies' representative was an attorney for the Chicago megafirm, Winston & Strawn.
Mulligan said he was hoping for a quick settlement. "But this attorney told me, 'I have an infinite litigation budget. I will be retired before you ever see a penny in this case,'" Mulligan said.
But Mulligan subsequently got some muscle of his own — St. Louis class-action firm Korein Tillery — and began winning. In settlements across the state, the cell phone companies agreed to pay millions in taxes to cities.
And Mulligan has made millions in fees. But instead of enjoying his success, Mulligan finds himself under fire in his hometown of University City — which stands to be one of the beneficiaries of the latest cell phone case, against AT&T.
Mulligan, a lifelong resident of University City and its municipal attorney — like his father was from 1963 to 1986 — is being accused of having a conflict of interest in advising the city on attorney's fees in the AT&T case.
The matter came to a head at Monday night's City Council meeting, where two residents, both lawyers, accused Mulligan and his legal team of seeking an excessive cut — $16 million — of the $65 million settlement in the AT&T case. (U. City's cut of that settlement would be $874,000, and the city also would collect an additional $184,000 a year in tax revenue.)
"There is indeed a conflict," said council member Lynn Ricci, a lawyer. "I'm not saying Mr. Mulligan shouldn't be fairly compensated, but he should not be overly compensated to the detriment of the city."
The council and Mayor Joe Adams unanimously agreed to Ricci's motion to hire an independent lawyer to review the fees and settlement.
Mulligan, 50, said he has developed a thick skin after years in the courtroom. But he said the comments at Monday night's meeting left him shaken.
"It really hurts that some people think I'd try to rip off my own city," he said. "I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm venting, but I don't need this crap. Not like my work is crap, but I take offense. My integrity's being questioned."
Mulligan, a solo practitioner, recalled a meeting where the cell phone companies' representative was an attorney for the Chicago megafirm, Winston & Strawn.
Mulligan said he was hoping for a quick settlement. "But this attorney told me, 'I have an infinite litigation budget. I will be retired before you ever see a penny in this case,'" Mulligan said.
But Mulligan subsequently got some muscle of his own — St. Louis class-action firm Korein Tillery — and began winning. In settlements across the state, the cell phone companies agreed to pay millions in taxes to cities.
And Mulligan has made millions in fees. But instead of enjoying his success, Mulligan finds himself under fire in his hometown of University City — which stands to be one of the beneficiaries of the latest cell phone case, against AT&T.
Mulligan, a lifelong resident of University City and its municipal attorney — like his father was from 1963 to 1986 — is being accused of having a conflict of interest in advising the city on attorney's fees in the AT&T case.
The matter came to a head at Monday night's City Council meeting, where two residents, both lawyers, accused Mulligan and his legal team of seeking an excessive cut — $16 million — of the $65 million settlement in the AT&T case. (U. City's cut of that settlement would be $874,000, and the city also would collect an additional $184,000 a year in tax revenue.)
"There is indeed a conflict," said council member Lynn Ricci, a lawyer. "I'm not saying Mr. Mulligan shouldn't be fairly compensated, but he should not be overly compensated to the detriment of the city."
The council and Mayor Joe Adams unanimously agreed to Ricci's motion to hire an independent lawyer to review the fees and settlement.
Mulligan, 50, said he has developed a thick skin after years in the courtroom. But he said the comments at Monday night's meeting left him shaken.
"It really hurts that some people think I'd try to rip off my own city," he said. "I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm venting, but I don't need this crap. Not like my work is crap, but I take offense. My integrity's being questioned."
Friday, August 28, 2009
Attorneys: Slippery-floor suit settled
CHICAGO - The city of Chicago has reportedly settled a personal injury lawsuit by a woman injured at O'Hare Airport when she allegedly slipped on the floor and hurt her knee.
Diana Sarkar's attorney, Francis Patrick Murphy, says she'll be paid $800,000.
The Corboy & Demetrio law firm announced the settlement. A message left for the city's law office wasn't immediately returned.
Attorneys say Sarkar was walking through O'Hare on her way to a medical conference when she slipped and fell on an "oily" substance. She fractured her kneecap and tore cartilage. The lawsuit says she was unable to work for months.
Chicago maintains O'Hare. And the lawsuit alleged the city failed to clean a spilled substance on the floor and failed to warn passengers of dropped food.
Diana Sarkar's attorney, Francis Patrick Murphy, says she'll be paid $800,000.
The Corboy & Demetrio law firm announced the settlement. A message left for the city's law office wasn't immediately returned.
Attorneys say Sarkar was walking through O'Hare on her way to a medical conference when she slipped and fell on an "oily" substance. She fractured her kneecap and tore cartilage. The lawsuit says she was unable to work for months.
Chicago maintains O'Hare. And the lawsuit alleged the city failed to clean a spilled substance on the floor and failed to warn passengers of dropped food.
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