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Clifford Law Offices of Chicago is sponsoring a free two hour continuing legal education program webinar on “The Ethics of Conflicts of Interest” next Thursday, February 19, 2015. This is the eighth annual Clifford Law Offices Continuing Legal Education Series. The webcast will provide interested lawyers and judges answers to the following questions: When are you barred from representing multiple clients or appearing adversely to a current or former client? When is the representation permitted…

In 2014 Robert A. Clifford, Senior Partner at Clifford Law Offices, spoke to the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Litigation at a 3-day conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Clifford participated in a panel discussion during the all-day program titled “An Anatomy of a Trial.” Clifford disseminated the following legal advice to a packed room where many of the attendants were law school students: “Credibility is the most important thing you will ever have in a…

According to a new study conducted by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, the main mechanism for tracking and documenting serious side effects associated with medications is deeply flawed, according to The New York Times (“Drug Maker’s Data on Side Effects Is Called Lacking in a Report,” Feb. 2, 2015). The study found that this problem is attributable to drug manufacturers themselves, alleging that these companies are submitting incomplete information in the reports to the…

Following a number of recent aviation tragedies in Southeast Asia, it is being reported that the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation plans to publish safety ratings of all scheduled Indonesian airlines perhaps as early as next month. It also is being reported that the Ministry of Transportation plans to encourage the entire airline industry to put safety as a priority, according to a statement by the transportation minister as reported by the Aviation Safety Network: http://news.aviation-safety.net/2015/01/29/indonesian-ministry-of-transportation-to-publish-airline-safety-ratings/…

The Malaysian government officially declared the disappearance of Flight 370 an “accident”, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, thus allowing the families of the victims on board to officially begin seeking compensation, according to the Chicago Tribune (“Malaysia Declares MH370 Crash An Accident To Clear Compensation,” 1/29/2015). Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation released a statement that all 239 passengers aboard Flight 370 are now presumed to be dead, NBC News Reported (“Malaysia Airlines MH370 Declared An…

Pamela Sakowicz Menaker, Communications Partner at Clifford Law Offices, authored an article in the most recent issue of the American Bar Association (ABA) Litigation Journal on whether a law firm should blog. “To Blog or Not to Blog. That’s a Question?” was published in the Winter 2015 issue of the flagship publication that is distributed to more than 70,000 members of the Section of Litigation. In the article, Menaker discusses how law blogs or “blawgs”…

Pamela Sakowicz Menaker Writes Article for ABA Litigation News on New Case Dealing with Failure-to-Warn Regarding Drugs and Their Labels As a Contributing Editor of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Litigation News. Pamela Sakowicz Menaker, Communications Partner at Clifford Law Offices, authored an article discussing a recent case in federal district court in New Jersey that concluded “the plaintiff failed to allege a failure-to-warn claim against a drug manufacturer [who] complied with Food…

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday (Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015) released a number of recommendations, some of which it has been asked to consider for decades, calling for improvements in locating downed aircraft and to obtain flight data more quickly and without the need for underwater retrieval. Many of these recommendations, which were issued to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for action, have been demanded by families who have lost loved ones in recent…

January 23, 2015 Bradley M. Cosgrove, partner at Clifford Law Offices, obtained a record $3.157 million verdict late Thursday evening in Rockford in a medical malpractice case involving a 65-year-old man who had his left leg amputated as a result of a doctor’s negligence. The seven-man, five-woman jury returned the verdict after less than five hours of deliberations following a two-week trial in the Winnebago County courthouse. Donald Johnson, 65, a former lieutenant with the…