On February 7, 2008 in Chicago and then on February 20, 2008 in Springfield, Tom Pender spoke at an IICLE seminar entitled Wrongful Death and Survival Actions. His topic was on the Illinois Survival Act, a topic that he has written IICLE publications on for the last 15 years.

2007

UPCOMING EVENT – SEMINAR
On November 13, 2007, Andrew Kopon, Jr. will be speaking on Employment Law Practices for Catholic Employers at the National Catholic Risk Retention Group in Columbus, Ohio.

NEW ASSOCIATE AT CKSS
We are pleased to announce a new associate to our firm, Rachel E. Yarch. Rachel will be working with Andy Kopon and her practice will focus on employment law and complex civil litigation. Prior to joining our firm, Rachel spent five years counseling clients and litigating employment law matters.

UPCOMING EVENT - SEMINAR
On September 20, 2007, Chip Spina will be speaking at the IDC’s Construction Insurance Symposium being held in St. Louis, Missouri. Chip will be part of a panel speaking about “The Employer’s Impact on Coverage” which specifically addresses the cases of Kotecki, Braye and Virginia Surety.

DEFENSE VERDICT!
Chip Spina successfully defended Galto Trucking, Inc. against a $1.2 million contractual indemnification claim at a trial in Cook County Circuit Court in late June, 2007. The party seeking contractual indemnification, Material Service Corp., had paid $775,000 in settlement and nearly $400,000 in legal fees defending a personal injury suit brought against it by a Galto driver.

2007 EMPLOYMENT LAW MANUAL
Andy Kopon and Shanon Shumpert have recently updated the Employment Law manual for 2007. The manual contains an in-depth analysis of many of the federal statutes regulating an employer’s conduct in the workplace. The Employment Law manual also provides practical recommendations in the areas of conducting job interviews, progressive discipline and terminations of employees. If you would like a hard copy of our publication please contact us at #312/601-9673. Otherwise, you can access these materials by clicking the following link. Click here for a PDF copy of the Employment Law Manual.

UPCOMING EVENT IN EMPLOYMENT LAW!
On April 30, 2007, Andrew Kopon, Jr., Kimberly Ross and Shanon Shumpert will be presenting an advanced, full-day program, designed for those who have some experience with administering leaves under the FMLA. The sessions are designed to provide solutions to the most complex FMLA challenges and to ensure that your organization is in compliance with all state and federal leave and disability laws.
You will learn practical strategies for managing your organization’s FMLA conundrums, acquire the cutting-edge knowledge you need to stay in compliance with the FMLA and other leave laws, manage complicated leave challenges arising from chronic conditions, receive the answers to your most complicated FMLA questions and resolve discipline and termination issues that sometimes arise under an FMLA leave.
In addition, by attending the seminar, you will acquire the skills necessary to gain control of intermittent and reduced-schedule leaves, develop proactive strategies for dealing with uncooperative employees, curb your organization’s FMLA misuse and abuse via assertive leave management practices and minimize the risk of liability to your organization.
The cost of the program is $399 if registered before March 23, 2007; $499 after March 23, 2007. To register please call #800/942-4494, fax #941/373-1290 or email registration@counciloned.com and mention the Advanced FMLA Update 2007.

UPCOMING EVENT!
On April 19, 2007, Heather Watterson will be presenting at the Casualty Adjuster’s seminar on the recent amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the impact of electronic discovery on general practice.

LEGAL UPDATE - CHANGE IN PROCEDURE
On December 1, 2006, amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence took effect regarding electronic discovery. It is important for anyone involved in litigation to understand these changes and how it impacts their current and future cases. A summary of the new e-discovery rules and their impact has been prepared by associate Heather R. Watterson who recently attended a comprehensive seminar on the topic. Click here for a PDF copy of the summary.

SEMINAR
On January 30, 2007, Andy Kopon and Shanon Shumpert gave a presentation on Employment Law at Crawford & Co. in Schaumburg, Illinois. The presentation focused on the anatomy of a discrimination trial and provided guidance for claims analysts on controlling litigation costs and expenses in the defense of employment cases. The recently updated 2007 Employment Law Manual For Employers was distributed for everyone in attendance. If you would like a free copy of the 2007 Employment Law Manual For Employers please contact Shanon Shumpert at #312/980-3003 or Meghan Riley at #312/980-3019. Shanon and Meghan concentrate their law practice in the area of counseling and defending employers in the area of employment law.

NEW ASSOCIATE AT CKSS
We are pleased to announce a new associate to our firm, Colleen T. Tierney. Colleen will be working with Chip Spina and her practice will focus on insurance coverage litigation.

RECENT COURT OPINION
On January 19, 2007, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its decision in Virginia Surety Company, Inc. v. Northern Insurance Co. (Docket No. 102036), a case which was handled by Chip Spina for Northern Insurance Co. This is a very significant case for construction industry carriers which issue CGL and Employers Liability insurance policies. The Supreme Court overruled three prior cases issued by the 2^nd and 4^th appellate courts. Two prior cases (Nicholas and Mulligan) had held that CGL carries owed coverage to named insured employers who were sued as third party defendants in personal injury suits brought by their employees, despite the employers liability exclusion in CGL policies (2^nd District). The other prior 4^th District case held that Employers Liability carriers did not owe coverage to their named insured employer third party defendant for exposure in excess of the Kotecki cap on liability resulting from waiver agreements found in construction contracts (Christy-Foltz). Click Here for a PDF copy of the ruling.

We are pleased to announce a new associate to our firm, Alexandra C. Relias. Alexandra will be working with Andrew Kopon, Jr. and her practice will focus on employment litigation and general tort defense. Alexandra received her J.D. from University of Illinois College of Law in 2005. Prior to coming to CKSS, Alexandra worked as an Assistant Attorney General at Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s Office in Chicago.

2006

The partnership is pleased to announce that Timothy Hoerman has accepted an invitation to join the partnership, effective January 1^st. Tim has been with the firm since 2001 and concentrates his practice on construction litigation, products & premises liability litigation, commercial litigation and real estate transactions and litigation. Tim earned a J.D. from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 1998.

We are pleased to announce a new associate to our firm, Jessica L. Lesniewski. Jessica will be working with Tom Pender and her practice will focus on tort defense litigation. Jessica was received her J.D. from John Marshall Law School in 2006.

Tom Pender secured a defense verdict for his client, Berkot’s Super Foods, in a slip-and fall suit brought by a 75 year-old customer who caught her foot on the corner of a pallet of grapefruit in the store’s produce aisle. The case, entitled Lou Ann Darnall v. Berkot’s Super Foods, was tried before Judge Susan O’Leary in Will County. Tom’s clients contended that the pallet of grapefruit was placed in the produce section with its sides parallel to the path of travel in adjacent aisles. All witnesses testified that the pallet and box of grapefruits was open and obvious. Plaintiff admitted that she was not looking down, but that if she had looked down she would have seen and avoided the pallet. Plaintiff also admitted that she still shops at Berkot’s. The plaintiff asked for substantial damages resulting from a fractured hip and surgical placement of four permanent screws across the fracture site. The jury deliberated a mere 43 minutes, which included time for a pizza lunch, before returning a verdict in favor of Berkot’s.

Tom Pender recently secured summary judgment on behalf of one of the country’s largest churches, Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, in a significant premises liability case. The member-parents of a 12 year-old boy sued the Church in the Circuit Court of Cook County seeking recovery for injuries the child sustained during a game of “tag” that he was participating in during the Sunday school program, called “Promiseland.” The parents alleged that their child had a “collision” with another child during the game, and that the Church was liable for allowing the game to be played by too many children in a confined space. Mr. Pender had the initial complaint for negligence dismissed pursuant to the School Immunity Act, which has been extended to private schools and Sunday school programs. The plaintiffs re-filed an amended complaint, alleging that the Church’s conduct was willful and wanton and not protected by statutory immunity. The Court granted summary judgment, concluding that allowing children to play “tag” did not rise to the level of willful or wanton misconduct. While the motions were pending, the plaintiffs attempted to accept the settlement offer that had been extended before suit was filed. However, Mr. Pender had made that offer revocable upon the filing of the suit and his client made no offers while these motions were pending.

2005

The partnership is pleased to announce that Stacy Dolan Fulco has accepted an invitation to join the partnership, effective January 1^st. Ms. Fulco has been with the firm since 2002 and concentrates her practice on professional liability and serious personal injury/wrongful death defense litigation. Ms. Fulco earned a J.D./M.B.A. from the DePaul University College of Law in 1997.

Several attorneys have also joined the firm as associates, including new bar admittees Lindsey Vacco, Katherine Haussermann, Meghan Riley, as well as Eric Alvine, William Shea, Kevin Glynn and Scott Helfand.

Shannon Shumpert recently joined the firm from DePaul University where she developed her expertise in employment and university matters. Ms. Shumpert also recently received her LLM in health care law from the DePaul University School of Law.

Tom Pender has just completed work on a treatise entitled Subrogation and Recovery of Property Losses Under Illinois Law. This work provides a detailed history of equitable and conventional subrogation decisions, defenses to subrogation, and includes a discussion on recoverable damages. For anyone seeking a copy of Mr. Pender’s treatise, please contact him at tpender@cksslaw.com.