Ordinary heroes rise from everyday cases

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By Jeffrey B. Levens

Jeff has practiced law for 29 years with the law firm of Augustine, Kern and Levens, Ltd., in Chicago, and 10 before that in Springfield. He focuses on trial practice, and defending doctors, lawyers and other licensed professionals in disciplinary and related matters, with a national practice representing health care providers. His web site is augustinekernandlevens.com. Send stories and e-mail to Jeff at jlevens@akllaw.com.

Posted May 27, 2015 3:02 PM

Today, we have a story submitted by Susan F. Zwick, who retired from the Cook County Circuit Court after 22 years on the bench, 20 of them in the Law Division. Now, Zwick is a neutral with JAMS Chicago Resolution Center. Since 2005, she has been an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at Notre Dame, and from 2005 to 2013, she was on the faculty of the judicial education branch of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, teaching judicial ethics to new judges.•••••When others learn I am a …

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Court mulls over contract with survival clause

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Joining a decision from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that affirmed a judgment against two “unwary litigants” who were blindsided by “surprise hurdles” created by a combined operation of the Federally Supported Health Centers Assistance Act and the Federal Tort Claims Act, Circuit Judge Amul Thapar wrote separately “to explain how litigants can avoid these traps and preserve meritorious claims.”
By Steven P. Garmisa
Opinions shed light on how justices view shadow docket

The shadow docket has grown at the U.S. Supreme Court in recent years, especially during President Donald J. Trump’s term. In a recent decision by the court, Labrador v. Poe, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh wrote concurrences, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote a dissent. They address issues of emergency applications in some detail.
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Assigned a multidistrict litigation (MDL) that grew from a couple of dozen cases to nearly a thousand, and observing cases that were not properly investigated or attended to by counsel, a judge in the Middle District with Georgia expressed a famous frustration with a process that has only gotten worse in the eight years since.
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Claiming immunity under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act when Eduardo Santos sued for severe injuries allegedly caused by a police officer who shot him in the face with a rubber bullet, Defense Technology — the company that manufactured the “kinetic impact projectile” and KIP launcher — argued the statute’s product-liability exception didn’t apply.
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