A physician’s job can be one of the most challenging careers a person can embark on. To become a licensed doctor, a person must go through years of schooling, rigorous training, and testing before being certified to practice medicine. However, like many other occupations, physicians who work for a hospital or practice may be required to sign an employment contract. These legal documents often contain complicated language regarding important issues, such as medical malpractice. Therefore, it is essential that a skilled legal professional reviews the details of the contract before you sign it. An attorney can protect your rights and negotiate the terms of your employment in the event you leave or are terminated for any reason. 

Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation Agreements

A non-compete agreement or clause in the medical field is similar to one in the business world. This document states that a doctor agrees not to work for another medical practice or hospital within a specified amount of time after leaving his or her job. Non-compete agreements can specify a duration between one and five years after a doctor leaves a practice.

This can also apply to another medical facility within a certain distance from his or her current place of employment. For example, geographic limitations can range from within 5 miles to 150 miles. In some cases, physicians may work in large hospital systems that have various satellite offices and the non-compete agreement can include all of these locations. Failure to adhere to the non-compete agreement may result in penalties, such as fines, that are typically outlined in the physician’s contract.

The end of employment after many years at one company can bring on many feelings for an employee. He or she may be angry, sad, shocked, or even relieved. Being terminated or “let go” can often come as a surprise if the employer suddenly had to downsize. In certain situations, an employer may offer a severance package to the dismissed employee. A severance agreement is a legal document that outlines the responsibilities and rights of each party involved. It generally provides a certain amount of severance pay for the employee in return for meeting certain requirements. For professionals who are at the executive level, it is imperative to have an experienced attorney review the terms of this type of agreement before signing it. 

What Is Severance?  

A severance package typically includes a portion of an employee’s salary, as well as certain additional benefits. The severance agreement offered by the employer may release the company from liability, including wrongful termination lawsuits or claims of sexual harassment or discrimination. It may also include non-compete, non-disclosure, and non-solicitation agreements that place restrictions on the former employee.

In addition to any regular pay that is owed to the worker, a severance package may include the following:

Although many people do not expect their marriage to end in divorce, statistics show that approximately 40-50 percent of U.S. marriages do not stand the test of time. Regardless of the reasons for wanting to legally end their union, there are many decisions that a couple needs to make before they can finalize their divorce, including the division of property, spousal support, or child-related issues. Under Illinois law, a spouse may ask the court to order the other spouse to pay spousal maintenance (alimony). However, in some cases, the ex-spouse may fail to follow the order. That is why it is important to have an experienced family law attorney help you enforce the order and protect your rights to this type of financial support.

How Are Support Payments Made?

In many divorce cases, one spouse is awarded spousal support to ease the transition to living on one income instead of two. For example, if one partner gave up a career to raise children during the marriage, he or she may be at a disadvantage financially immediately following the divorce. Spousal support is typically meant to last until the spouse obtains employment or becomes self-sufficient. The court may order these payments to be made for a designated amount of time, or in some instances, for an indefinite period. 

Spousal maintenance can be paid in the following ways:

The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives Americans the right to keep and bear arms. However, federal and state laws regulate who can own and possess guns and other types of weapons. Under Illinois’ Concealed Carry Act, individuals must have a permit to carry a gun in public. In addition, all gun owners must have a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card (FOID). Carrying a gun without the required paperwork can result in fines and even jail time. There are additional actions that constitute the unlawful use of a weapon (UUW). In some cases, a person may not realize his or her actions are illegal. That is why it is important for all Illinois residents to understand the laws since violations can result in serious criminal charges. 

Illegal Weapons Use

There are many ways that an individual can commit actions that result in charges for the unlawful use of a weapon. In addition to not having a valid permit or FOID, a gun owner may face UUW charges if he or she has a loaded gun accessible in his or her car. Unloaded firearms with ammo readily available in a vehicle may also result in UUW charges. In addition, a person under the age of 21 cannot possess a firearm. 

This crime can also occur when someone sells, manufactures, purchases, or possesses a weapon such as a:

Starting a new job can be exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. In many cases, companies require new employees to sign an employment contract. This legal document includes information on salary, paid time off, job duties, benefits, and more. A contract may also include a “non-compete” clause. Essentially, this means that a worker cannot leave the company and go work for a competitor. These clauses protect businesses from employees taking specific information, skills, and client data and using it against them while working at another company. Similarly, a non-solicitation clause prevents a worker from contacting other workers at the same company or customers of the employer in an attempt to lure them to a competitor. It is imperative that an experienced business law attorney reviews these contracts in order to protect an employee’s rights.  

What Does “Reasonable in Scope” Mean?

A non-compete clause usually contains a restriction on time and geographic location, meaning if an employee resigns, he or she cannot work for a competing company within a certain period of time after leaving his or her present company. Likewise, the contract can include a mileage radius in which a former worker may not go to seek employment if he or she quits. 

A non-solicitation clause may include provisions addressing situations in which an employee leaves to work for a competing firm or starts a similar business on his or her own. It can also have a stipulation that an employee cannot ask coworkers to leave with him or her when departing the company to start a competing enterprise together.

The law firm of Khan Nayyar & Associates, LLC in Oakbrook Terrace is proud to announce that two of our attorneys/partners were selected as Rising Stars of 2020 by Super Lawyers. Attorney Omar F. Khan received the distinct honor for his work in Immigration. Attorney Faraz Nayyar was honored for his efforts in Employment and Labor law. 

Rising Stars Selection Process

Super Lawyers is a rating service compiled of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have acquired a high caliber of peer recognition and professional performance. Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars selection process includes independent research, plus peer nominations and evaluations. To be eligible for inclusion in Rising Stars, a candidate must be 40 years old or younger or have been in practice for 10 years or less. 

Most couples enter into marriage thinking it will last “til death do us part.” Although that may have been more common years ago, statistics show that almost half of all marriages in the United States now end in divorce. Once the decision has been made to legally terminate a marriage, there are many issues that need to be resolved, such as asset and property division, spousal maintenance, and child support if a couple had children together. Child support in Illinois is determined based on several factors, and one question parents might have is what will happen if the paying parent falls behind on payments or refuses to pay altogether? Regardless of the reasons why a non-custodial parent may not be paying, he or she may face legal ramifications. 

Parental and Legal Obligations

Every parent is responsible for the emotional and financial well-being of their children, whether they are married, divorced, separated, or were never married. Several laws are in place to make sure children receive what they need to live a healthy and happy life. In most cases, the parent with the majority of the parenting time (the custodial parent) will receive child support payments from the other parent (the non-custodial parent). 

Child support payments are calculated by taking various factors into consideration, such as the income of each spouse, the children’s needs, and a parent’s other financial obligations. Illinois courts now use the “Income Shares” model when determining child support. With this approach, the total amount of child support is calculated based on the combined net income of both parents, and this obligation is divided between the parents according to the percentage of the combined income each parent earns.

The state of Illinois passed several new laws that went into effect on January 1, 2020. One of the more notable laws made it legal for people 21 and over to purchase and use recreational marijuana. An Illinois adult can possess up to 30 grams (approximately one ounce) of the cannabis flower. A person can use marijuana in his or her own home and on-site in certain marijuana-related businesses.

Although marijuana is now legal in Illinois, it is essential to understand how the new law relates to U.S. immigration if you are currently living in the country (or visiting) as a non-citizen (i.e., you are not a U.S. Citizen).

Previous Convictions for Non-Citizens

The new Illinois marijuana law also affects people who had previous convictions for possession of the drug. As of January 1, 2020, those who were charged with having under 30 grams of cannabis prior to legalization will have their records automatically expunged if the charges were dismissed or if they were acquitted. Those who were convicted of possession of less than 30 grams will have their records referred to the state’s Prisoner Review Board and then to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker for a pardon. However, the convictions must not have involved a violent crime. 

Immigration has been an integral part of the United States since the Europeans discovered the “New World” in the 1400s. Each year, the U.S. sees tens of millions of visitors from around the world, many of them staying in the country long-term or permanently. Though some of the biggest immigrant populations in the U.S. are comprised of people from countries such as Mexico, China, and India, there has been an increase in recent years in the number of immigrants from African countries. The majority of African immigrants are from sub-Saharan countries, and one that is rapidly growing is South Africa. Estimates from the Migration Policy Institute show that there were thought to be around 100,000 immigrants from South Africa living in the U.S. in 2017.

Family-Based Visas

Family-based immigration is one of the more popular ways to immigrate to the U.S., no matter the country you are emigrating from. You may be eligible to receive a family-based visa if you are:

• A spouse of a U.S. citizen

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By far, one of the most common ways that Illinoisians lose their driving privileges is by being arrested or convicted of driving under the influence (DUI). Illinois law states that any person who fails, refuses to submit to, or does not complete a chemical test to determine their blood-alcohol content (BAC) is subject to a statutory summary suspension of their license. This suspension length is six months for a failed chemical test, meaning a driver’s BAC was 0.08 or higher. If a driver refuses to take a chemical test, they will have their driver’s license suspended for one year. Statutory summary suspensions are administrative actions, independent from any criminal actions taken against a person’s driver’s license due to being convicted of DUI. 

Losing your driving privileges can make life extremely difficult because you most likely depend on your ability to drive to get yourself to and from work. If your driver’s license has been suspended or revoked because of a DUI arrest or charge, do not fret. You can get your license back with a little bit of effort and the assistance of a skilled attorney. In any case, you will have to attend either a formal or informal hearing to have your license reinstated. The type of hearing required to get you back behind the wheel depends on the nature of your revocation or suspension.

There are many issues that could arise between an employer and an employee. Wage disputes, discrimination, and retaliation claims are all common types of employee/employer disputes. When things like this are brought to light, it is often discovered that not just a single employee is experiencing these issues. This is when a class action lawsuit can come into play.

How Is a Class Action Lawsuit Different From a Regular Lawsuit?

A class action lawsuit is a claim that is taken to court that represents a group of people who have all been affected by an employer’s actions. Rather than multiple individual lawsuits against an employer, a class action lawsuit allows an attorney or group of attorneys to recover damages and compensation for all victims of an issue at once. In these cases, multiple individual lawsuits against a single employer may be impractical, and class action lawsuits can be an efficient way to process claims against an employer.

No matter the reason for the breakdown of your marriage, the divorce process will typically follow the same basic steps. After one spouse files a petition for divorce, the two of you will go through the discovery and negotiation process, and eventually you will reach a settlement, which will be entered in court as your final divorce decree. Though the process is fundamentally the same for all couples, some people will experience the process a bit differently, especially if they have a high net worth. In these cases, certain areas of the divorce process, such as discovery and negotiations, tend to be more contentious and drawn out because of the assets that are at stake. Here are a few other ways that a high net worth divorce may be different from typical divorces:

High Net Worth Divorces Typically Take Longer and Cost More

If one or both spouses earn a large income, they will typically have many more assets of significant value than the average couple. This can cause problems when it comes to divorce, and there may be more contention when it comes to asset division. These types of disputes may result in a longer negotiation process, which in turn will lead to more lawyer’s fees or court costs if the case goes to trial.

Child Support May Be Calculated Differently

When it comes to child support, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) sets forth guidelines of how support will be calculated. This is done using figures from a table that correspond to the couple’s combined net income and the number of children being supported. If the couple’s income exceeds the maximum income amount listed in the table (around $30,000 per month), then the court will determine child support on a case-by-case basis, looking at what amount of support will be necessary to meet the children’s needs following the divorce.

Preventing driving while under the influence (DUI) has been the subject of many organizations and government entities for years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has had many past and present campaigns aimed at reducing the number of drunk driving incidents that occur. According to the NHTSA, there were nearly 11,000 people who died from drunk driving accidents in the United States in 2017. Another way that lawmakers are attempting to reduce the number of drunk driving fatalities is by placing harsh penalties on drunk driving offenses. The state of Illinois is no exception and a DUI conviction in Illinois carries serious consequences. 

DUI Penalties

DUI penalties in the state of Illinois are based on the details of the case. For example, penalties can vary depending on the offender’s age, the offender’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC), whether there was a child in the vehicle at the time of the stop, whether the driver was driving the wrong way on a one-way road, and whether or not the driver has had previous DUI convictions. Any of these aggravating factors can increase the severity of the penalties.

Most people do not ride their motorcycles all year, especially in Illinois. Summertime means there are typically more motorcycles out on the roads than any other time of the year. In general, more traffic accidents tend to occur during the summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and when those accidents involve motorcyclists, they can become even more serious than usual. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were more than 5,100 cyclists killed in motorcycle accidents in 2017. Because of the nature of motorcycles, riders are 27 times more likely to be killed in a traffic accident and 5 times more likely to be injured than other motorists.

Keeping Yourself Safe on the Road

Motorcyclists only account for a small number of motorists, but they disproportionately account for nearly 14 percent of all traffic fatalities. As a cyclist, there are certain precautions you should take when riding to keep yourself safe:

• Keep up on regular bike maintenance. While it may sound like common sense, making sure your bike is in good working order can be key to keeping you safe on the road. The last thing you would want is to be on the road when you find out that your brakes do not work properly.

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During the Civil War, Congress became concerned that certain suppliers of goods were not being entirely truthful with the products that they were supplying. Because of this, the False Claims Act (FCA) was created in 1863 with the purpose of prohibiting any person, entity, or company from defrauding the federal government. Since its beginnings, the False Claims Act has been amended dozens of times. Currently, the FCA also gives employees of companies and other private parties the opportunity to file what is known as a qui tam action against a party who they think has defrauded the government.

FCA Liability

The FCA specifically states certain actions that are forbidden. These actions can include any time a person or party knowingly presents a fraudulent claim to the federal government, makes or uses a fraudulent statement in order to gain money or avoid paying money owed to the government, or conspires to defraud the government by getting a claim paid. An important element to establish under the FCA is whether or not the offender had knowledge that he or she was acting in a false way. The person or entity must have submitted a false claim or statement to the government with the knowledge that information in the claim or statement was indeed false.

In the United States, property crimes are fairly common. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), property crime includes offenses such as burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The FBI states that around 90 percent of property crimes reported in the U.S. in 2017 were either theft or burglary crimes. Though the current trends suggest that property crime has decreased in the past five years, it still remains a common issue in Illinois and throughout the U.S.

Burglary

According to the Illinois Criminal Code of 2012, burglary occurs when a person knowingly enters a watercraft, motor vehicle, aircraft, building, home, or other dwelling without authorization and intends to commit a felony or theft. The classification of burglary crimes depends on a couple of different factors. If a person does not cause damage to the place they are entering, then the crime is a Class 3 felony, carrying a sentence of two to five years in prison. If damage is caused to the place they are entering, then the crime is a Class 2 felony and carries a sentence of three to seven years in prison.

Theft

General theft occurs when a person knowingly obtains unauthorized control over someone else’s property, including through the use of threats and deception. The classification of theft crimes depends mostly on the monetary value of the property that was taken. If the property was valued at less than $500, then the crime is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying a sentence of less than a year in prison. Charges can range all the way up to a Class X felony if the value of the stolen property was more than $1,000,000, which can mean a possible sentence of six to 30 years in prison. 

While everyone makes mistakes, when it comes to professionals like doctors, they are held to a higher standard because, in their work, lives are often on the line. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), medical malpractice is the third-leading cause of death in the United States, trailing behind heart disease and cancer. 

Being the victim of medical negligence typically involves much more than a physical injury. It can also result in significant emotional strain and financial loss as well. Medical malpractice cases are often confusing and tedious because there are so many laws surrounding them. Having a good understanding of these cases can be critical in prevailing in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Many states in the country have what is called “at will” employment. This means that an employer can fire an employee at any time for any reason. This can be problematic for many reasons, but thankfully, there are exceptions to this rule. One of those exceptions is the Illinois Whistleblower Act. This act protects and actually rewards employees who expose corruption, wrongdoing, and fraudulent behavior in their workplace. Many people fear employer retaliation, such as firing or demotion, if they are discovered to have reported issues at their companies, but the Whistleblower Act prohibits employers from doing so.

What Is the Whistleblower Act?

In 1991, the Illinois Whistleblower Act was created and enacted to allow employees to expose the fraudulent or illegal activity of employers, specifically government entities. The Act applies to all employers who have one or more employees and includes state and local government entities.

Prohibited Acts By Employers

According to the Illinois Whistleblower Act, no employer is allowed to:

Each year, thousands of immigrants become permanent citizens of the United States. As the country was founded by immigrants, the U.S. promotes family unity by allowing U.S. citizens to petition for their foreign-born spouses to come to the U.S. to live with them permanently. In some cases, you can also petition for your spouse’s children to also come live permanently in the United States. Immigration law is extremely complex, and it can sometimes be difficult to understand what exactly you must do to file a petition. A knowledgeable Bolingbrook immigration lawyer can help you understand the process and the steps that must be followed.

Beginning Steps

The first thing you must do when petitioning to have your spouse come to the United States is fill out Form I-130, which is the Petition For Alien Resident form. If your spouse has already entered the United States lawfully, they must fill out Form I-485, which is the Application to Register Permanent Residence, and this must be submitted along with Form I-130. When you submit this form, you must also submit the filing fee, which is currently $535.

Supporting Evidence

In addition to your applications, you must also submit all required supporting evidence for your petition. If you are a U.S. citizen, you must prove your status by submitting a copy of one of the following:

Nothing is perfect -- not even the criminal justice system. Though we often put our faith in the system, sometimes mistakes do happen, and innocent people are convicted while those who are really guilty walk free. Because there is no way to eliminate mistakes entirely, United States and Illinois law allows for certain actions to be taken if you or your lawyer believe that you were wrongly convicted or that you did not have a fair trial. Whether a mistake was made intentionally or unintentionally in a criminal case, you always have the right to file an appeal.

Filing an Appeal

The time directly after conviction and sentencing is critical. You only have 30 days from your sentencing to file a Notice of Appeal with both the Illinois Circuit Court and the appropriate appellate court. In order for your appeal to be valid, it must be based on an error that took place during your trial. The Court of Appeals will not re-try your case -- they will be looking at the mistakes that were made, which can include:

• Errors concerning evidence, such as the exclusion of evidence that the jury should have heard or the inclusion of evidence that was unfair or prejudiced
• Misconduct, whether intentional or unintentional, by prosecutors
• Defense errors, such as insufficient or inadequate defense

Making a Decision

After the higher court looks at the case, the evidence toward errors, and the errors themselves, the court will make a ruling. The court can: