Quick tip – responding to requests to admit

Here’s a Did You Know:
 Did you know that answers to requests to admit in Illinois must be SERVED on the opposing party?
Don’t mail them. Serve them.
(Howard Zimmerle is an accident lawyer in Moline, Illinois)

Quick tip – Illinois affidavits

If you submit an affidavit in Illinois under Rule 191 (ie supporting/resisting summary judgment) the affidavit MUST say that the witness can competently testify to the facts recited therein.
Simple enough, but I’ll bet many people forget this requirement or don’t know it at all. Just add this sentence at the end of every affidavit [...]

Well, if the whole “law” thing doesn’t work out

Wow. A guy I knew from law school, Dustin Dirksen, just won over $380,000 at a world series of poker event. He had always been very serious about poker – more so than law school. Looks like he probably made the right choice.
(Howard Zimmerle is an attorney practicing in Iowa and Illinois)

Settling cases – the Deal or No Deal Way

When you and your client talk about settlement, how do you discuss his/her options? I like to use the show Deal or No Deal as an example on occasion.

(Image via tvguide.com)
 First, for those of you who don’t know how the show works: It starts with 26 briefcases. Inside each case is a different dollar amount, [...]

Hey, I got some publicity!

Head on over to the New York Personal Injury Law Blog.
The author is an attorney out of New York named Eric Turkewitz, and the blog is one of the best PI blogs out there. For an example of some of the neat stuff Eric puts out there, check out his running commentary of the pediatrician who [...]

Defendant got a ticket? Lock ‘em down.

In both Iowa and Illinois auto accident cases, the fact that one party got a ticket for his involvement in the case does not come into evidence.
What does come in, is a guilty plea. If the party pays the ticket, that comes into evidence in a later civil trial as an admission of guilt.
The person [...]

How to get the chiropractor bills paid

Personal Injury attorneys in the Quad Cities, throughout Illinois, and probably most of the nation struggle with this conundrum quite often: Client gets into an accident. Client goes to the chiropractor. Insurance companies/juries don’t pay for the chiropractic bills.
 Believe it or not, this is a large issue here in the QC… even though part of [...]

The science of thunder-stealing

Most trial lawyers know a few “rules” to live by… i.e. Irving Younger’s 10 Commandments of Cross Examination.
 One of the more common rules you hear is to “steal your opponent’s thunder.” As a plaintiff’s attorney, when you give your opening, you want to get all of the important information out… good or bad. This is supposed [...]

The last horse finally crosses the finish line

From the paper today… the Scott County Courthouse (Davenport) will finally be getting security measures like every other courthouse I go to. Congrats!
 I’m still a little concerned about the fact that most courthouses let anyone in without question as long as they are wearing a suit, carrying a briefcase, and carry themselves like a lawyer. [...]