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Robert A. Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices and monthly columnist for the Chicago Lawyer magazine, wrote his December, 2013 column entitled, “Laws Evolve on Phones and Driving”. In the article, Clifford discusses a new Illinois law that took effect on January 1, 2013 making it mandatory that cellphone use by drivers must be “hands free,” leaving Illinois as the 12th state to enact such legislation. Clifford also talks about a case in New…

Robert A. Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices and monthly columnist for the Chicago Lawyer magazine, wrote his September, 2013 column entitled, “No Immunity for Negligence.” In his article, Clifford discusses a recent Illinois Supreme Court decision which held that the Chicago Park District was immune from tort liability when they negligently removed snow and ice from a facility parking lot ultimately leading to the death of a patron. Clifford explains that because tort…

Robert A. Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices and monthly columnist for the Chicago Lawyer magazine, wrote his February, 2014 column entitled “If Communication Is Rockin’, the ARDC Won’t Come A Knockin.’” In the article, Clifford discusses the importance of lawyers in Illinois taking time from their busy schedules to call their clients and keep them informed on the status of their cases. Clifford states that it is the client, after all, who is…

Robert A. Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices and monthly columnist for the Chicago Lawyer magazine, wrote his November, 2013 column entitled “Drivers and Cyclists Must Mix.” In his article, Clifford discusses his predictions on what will happen now that the number of citizens choosing to ride bicycles to work instead of driving or taking the train is expanding, especially since the introduction of Divvy bikes in Chicago. Clifford wrote that unless there is…

Robert A. Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices and monthly columnist for the Chicago Lawyer magazine, wrote his November, 2013 column entitled “A Dose of Reality for Law Schools, Students.” In the article, Clifford speaks on the facts that have emerged that law school students upon admission are not being fully informed about the realities of the legal job market after graduation. While this problem has been detrimental on law school graduates, it also…

Pamela Sakowicz Menaker, Communications Partner at Clifford Law Offices, authored an article for the American Bar Association (ABA) Litigation Journal on “The Firm Brochure.” The article dealt with a step-by-step approach as to how a law firm should put together a brochure and how members of a firm, even a solo practitioner, can make solid decisions on how to approach what may appear to be a daunting task. The Headnotes piece appeared in the summer,…

Robert A. Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices and monthly columnist for the Chicago Lawyer magazine, wrote his March, 2014 column entitled “Time for More Accountability in the Health Care Profession.” In the article, Clifford points to the paradox of a decreasing number of medical malpractice lawsuit filings at a time when inquiries regarding medical negligence are on the rise. Clifford contemplates a few reasons for this occurrence, including the astronomical costs of case…

Robert Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices, P.C., wrote an article for the April, 2014 edition of the Chicago Lawyer on the hot topic of legal recourse for data breaches entitled, “Time to Take Data Breaches to Court”. In the article, Clifford questions why many large companies include in every sale a cost component that is allocated specifically for technical systems and security that companies claim is necessary to handle large amounts of data…

General Motors (GM) released today the results of a three-month investigation into the 2.6 million cars it manufactured with defective ignition switches that reportedly led to the deaths of at least 11 people across the country. Anton Valukas, former U.S. State’s Attorney in Chicago and now chairman of Jenner & Block in Chicago, was hired by GM to head the investigation. The question has come up as to the knowledge of GM employees of the…