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It has been several months since I posted a blog here with personal reflections on 9/11. Unfortunately, the timing of this Memorial Day blog compels yet another reflection on tragedy but with a small suggestion for what each of us might do to make this post Memorial Day different from years past.

For many, Memorial Day is the celebration of the unofficial start of summer while we also pay homage to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Both are good and right things to do. But I would be completely tone deaf not to acknowledge the
Continue Reading Make This Post Memorial Day Different

In Chicago, September 11, 2001 began as a beautiful crisp fall day—not a cloud in the sky. About 8:00 a.m. I entered the building at 221 N. LaSalle to start my usual day as a law clerk at Fishman Fishman & Saltzberg. It was also my third year of attending Chicago-Kent law school at night. There was a restaurant bar as you entered the building on the LaSalle street side and you could see a TV inside.

As usual, the TV was tuned to CNN. It was my routine to glance at the TV to see if there was any
Continue Reading Personal Reflections on 9/11

You may remember that the restaurant franchisor Jimmy Johns made news a few years ago by trying to enforce restrictive covenant agreements to keep even low wage sandwich makers from going to competitors. Starting January 1, 2022, the Illinois Freedom to Work Act (IFWA) will effectively prohibit employers from imposing restrictions on low wage workers when they jump ship to a competitor.

Old Rules

Non-Compete Agreements are very common for higher wage workers or other professionals who gain extraordinary access to confidential company sales and marketing plans and other type of trade secret protectable intellectual property. However, under Illinois law
Continue Reading Restrictive Covenants Get Restricted: Illinois' New Freedom to Work Act

On October 7, 2020, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the matter of Google v. Oracle. The justices are being asked to decide whether Google’s copying of certain Oracle code in its Android platform for mobile devices was illegal. A decision is expected this June. In this blog, I will take you through a basic understanding of a key legal argument: what is fair use in copyright law?

I Can’t Just “Google It”?

The issues in Google v Oracle are whether the Oracle’s code in a computer program is even entitled to its current legal protection, and
Continue Reading Fair Use: Will the Supreme Court Know it When it Sees It?