Articles Posted in Firm News

The Union League Club of Chicago has been marking George Washington’s birthday with an annual gala event for 124 years. The ULC George Washington Birthday Gala is meant to be a “salute to patriotism” and aims to not only celebrate America, but also Chicago. This year the keynote speaker was Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Mayor Daley has the distinction of being the longest-serving mayor in Chicago, serving for over 20 years. Daley has been credited with implementing innovative, community-based programs in Chicago, improving the quality of Chicago’s public education system, and working hard to reduce crime in Chicago’s neighborhoods.

Mayor Daley addressed the ULC on a number of different topics, including his service to community, his stance on gun control, and his views on public school education. In addition to discussing his own political views, Daley also paid tribute to his father, Richard J. Daley’s, service as the former mayor of Chicago.

In addition to Mayor Daley’s address, the ULC gala event featured the famous bagpipe music of the Chicago Police Department’s Pipes and Drums, along with some songs by soprano Elizabeth Norman. Students from Carver Military Academy, a member of Chicago’s Public School System, presented the flags’ colors to kick off the event.

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In the days leading up to the 2011 Blizzard, Chicagoans were faced with reports of large amounts of snow on the horizon, along with potential flood conditions and thunder snow. However, while some cities would shut down, Chicago bustled on and continued its workday. A city apparently so sceptical of weathermen that we refused to believe the snow was really coming until it came.

It wasn’t until mid-Tuesday that businesses began to close down in anticipation of the impending storm. Kreisman Law Offices closed its doors early on February 1st so its employees would make it home from its loop office before the storm made travel impossible. And, like many other local businesses, Chicago’s Kreisman Law Offices remained closed the following day.

Reports from The Chicago Weather Center indicated that the blizzard of 2011 was the third snowiest storm in Chicago’s history. Taking the first position was the 23.0 inches that fell in the blizzard of 1967, followed by 21.6 inches in 1999. By final count the 2011 blizzard came in third, with 20.2 inches.

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Medical Malpractice Attorney Bob Kreisman of Chicago’s Kreisman Law Offices was the featured speaker at the Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ) Seminar on November 12, 2010. The MAJ seminar focused on trial strategies for medical malpractice cases.

Chicago attorney Bob Kreisman presented on the topic of “The Reptile, Rules of the Road, and Overcoming Juror Bias.” The focus of his presentation was on how to personalize your trial strategy so that it works best for you, your case facts, and your selected jury. Attorney Kreisman also stressed the importance of building a simple case that highlights the defendant’s “excuses, not defenses.”
The focus of an Illinois medical malpractice case should be humanizing the plaintiff and reiterating that the hospital and doctors treating that patient had a duty not to harm him or her, a duty that they breached when they violated the acceptable standard of care for those specific circumstances. Plaintiff’s attorney should clearly set out the standards, or rules, guiding the medical malpractice’s case facts, and specifically show how the defendants knowingly violated each of those rules. By showing jurors how the rules were knowingly broken, plaintiff’s attorneys can demonstrate that the resulting harm was not simply a freak accident, but was the result of conscious decisions and medical negligence.

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The Union League Club of Chicago’s Public Affairs Committee and its initiative, Safe Youth Chicago sponsored the breakfast event, October 12, 2010, Violence Dismissed: The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Gun Policy, Education Reform Policy and Drug Policy On Youth Violence.

This important dialogue included a distinguished line up including Judge Paul P. Biebel, Jr., Chief Judge of the Criminal Division, Circuit Court of Cook County, Kathie Kane-Willis, a professor and researcher at Roosevelt University of Chicago, Dr. Harold Pollack, co-director of The University of Chicago Crime Lab, and Dr. David Prasse, professor and Dean of the School of Education at Loyola University of Chicago.

The panel and guests sparked a wide-ranging discussion interlinking these important policy issues with violence on and by Chicago youth. Each of the guests and Judge Biebel gave opening remarks. Then the audience was asked to provide written questions to the panel.

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The American Association of Justice (AAJ) is an organization dedicated to supporting plaintiff trial lawyers. From September 23, 2010 through September 26, 2010, the AAJ hosted a case workshop for trial lawyers in Baltimore, MD. Chicago personal injury attorney Robert Kreisman of Kreisman Law Offices was selected as a faculty member for the Baltimore workshop.

The workshop focused on working up specific cases for trial. Trial lawyers in attendance were encouraged to bring their real cases for pending trials so that they could be fine-tuned by their peers. Along with other trial lawyers and trial consultants, lawyers from around the country brought their own cases to be tested, analyzed and sequenced for upcoming trials.

This legal education program has been a regular of the AAJ for many years. The program schedule began each day with morning presentations made by experienced trial lawyers and trial consultants who shared their vast knowledge on a range of topics. The afternoons then involved various workshops where small groups of three to four attorneys focused on specific cases and topics.

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Yesterday Chicago personal injury attorney Robert Kreisman attended a breakfast at Chicago’s Union League Club featuring Sergeant James “Eddie” Wright (USMC, Retired) as its speaker. The retired sergeant was wounded while serving on active duty in Iraq and has since become a spokesperson and fundraising advocate for Wounded Warriors, a program that assists wounded combat veterans as they adjust to civilian life.

Sergeant Wright comes from a military family and had dreamed of becoming a Marine ever since his childhood. He graduated from Boot Camp and Camp Pendleton’s School of Infantry (SOI) and was deployed to Iraq in February 2004 as part of the Operation Iraqi Freedom II campaign.

Within two months of his deployment Sergeant Wright’s company came under heavy fire, leaving Wright severely wounded. His bravery and composure on that day earned him the Bronze Star. Wright spent a year recovering and rehabbing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center before returning to complete two years of active duty. Wright instructed his fellow Marines in hand-to-hand combat as part of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Commitment of Excellence (MACE).

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The Union League of Chicago’s Public Affairs Committee presented a forum on money and free speech in American politics coming on the heels of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, No. 08-2005 (decided January 21, 2010).

Citizens United arose out of a claim that the conservative group’s funding of “Hillary: The Movie”, a rather scathing account of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign, violated the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. However, as the case progressed it came to stand for whether it was constitutional to ban corporations and labor unions from using their own general funds in support or in opposition to political candidates.

The Supreme Court ruled that corporations are allowed to spend freely in a supportive manner or in opposition to candidates for federal campaigns, including those for president and for the United States Congress. The Supreme Court’s ruling overturned a 20 year-old ruling that said that corporations could not use money from their general treasuries to pay for campaign ads.

Arguments both in support of or against the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding money and free speech in America politics were led by two local Chicago legal scholars. Robert W. Bennett, a member of the law faculty of Northwestern University School of Law since 1969, took the viewpoint that the decision was wrong on the law. The opposing point of view supporting the propriety of the decision was represented by Richard A. Epstein, the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, who has been teaching at University of Chicago Law School since 1972.

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Like any urban setting, Chicago has its share of crime and violence. In just the last month over 30,000 various crimes have been reported in the Chicago area according to Every Block Chicago. While these numbers might seem overwhelming and the violence inevitable, certain groups are working towards making Chicago a safer place.

Safe Youth Chicago is an organization focused on finding ways to make Chicago a safer place for the city’s youth. Chicago personal injury attorney Robert Kreisman is a member of Safe Youth Chicago, a program affiliated with the Union League Club of Chicago’s Public Affairs Committee. On May 24, 2010, the organization held a luncheon to raise awareness about Chicago youth violence and open up a forum on possible ways to reverse the violence.

United States Marshal Darry McPherson addressed the issue of youth violence and discussed his department’s work with the superintendent of the Cook County Sheriff’s Department Gang Intelligence Unit. In addition, the Chicago Police Department’s Frank Diaz and Cook County Sheriff’s Criminal Intelligence Unit’s Franco Domma spoke about their personal experience dealing with Chicago youth. Their stories and knowledge provided invaluable insight into what is happening on Chicago’s streets and demonstrated ways we as individuals can become more aware of the warning signs of violence.

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Yesterday, General David H. Petraeus, the senior-most U.S. commander in Iraq, spoke to Illinois and Chicago residents at the Union League Club of Chicago. The question and answer luncheon was put together by the club’s Public Affairs Committee and was attended by Chicago attorney Robert Kreisman.

A 1974 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, General Petraeus is went on to earn a MPA and Ph.D. degree in international relations from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. General Petraeus received his current appointment to the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in October 2008 following his command of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq.

The General has received many awards during the course of his career and service, including two Defense Distinguished Medals, two Distinguished Service Medals, two Defense Superior Service Medals, four awards of the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal for valor.

General Petraeus started the luncheon with a brief statement and then took an assortment of questions from the audience. The discussion focused on the ongoing efforts by the U.S. in Afghanistan, Iraq, and across General Petraeus’s command. General Petraeus spoke as to his effort to foster cooperation with the U.S., respond to ongoing crises, and deter further aggression in an effort to promote stability and security in the Middle East. Of particular interest were all the General’s comments and insight into the challenges and difficulties he faces on a daily basis.

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Yesterday Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor presented a lecture on “Ethics, Civility, and Public Service” as part of the Paul H. Douglas Education Lecture series. The lecture was hosted by the Union League Club of Chicago and the University of Illinois. Chicago personal injury attorney Robert Kreisman was in attendance.

Justice O’Connor received the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government in 2008. The Douglas Award was established by the University of Illinois in 1992 in honor of Paul H. Douglas, an Illinois lawmaker often called the “conscience of the Senate”. The annually presented award is given to a public servant who exemplifies ethical behavior in government.

At the end of Justice O’Connor’s lecture she took questions and comments from the audience. One attendee asked her opinion regarding Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagen, who is a non-judge. Justice O’Connor responded that the Supreme Court requires diversity of background and that she therefore welcomes a jurist to the Supreme Court who has no prior experience sitting as a judge.

Justice O’Connor’s judicial career began with her election to the Maricopa County Superior Court in 1975, where she served until being appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals in 1979. In 1981 Justice O’Connor became the first female nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court when she was appointed by President Reagan in 1981 as a replacement for retiring Justice Potter Stewart.

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