Can Student Loans Ever Be Discharged?
Yes, and there’s a new tool to help bankruptcy lawyers deter
mine whether clients qualify
Contrary to common perception, not all student loans can be wiped out in bankruptcy court. Although the Bankruptcy Code does protect federal loans and some private loans from discharge, student loans can be discharged if the debtor can prove an “undue hardship,” which usually means you’re living in poverty and not likely to escape any time soon.
BIG WOES FOR ZILLO
Zillo, the gigantic online real-estate database company, has a gigantic headache, legally speaking. It is currently the target of a class action lawsuit in Illinois. Zillow is the website that allows a person to search for properties for sale–properties located just about anywhere. And Zillow’s cornerstone feature–Zestimate–allows one to look up the estimated value of a property–most any property, most anywhere, whether it is for sale or not. (Your own home may well be listed there right now; just go to the site and put in your address.)
Lots of people love Zillo; it is free, comprehensive and convenient. Its legal problems stem from its Zestimate feature.
CYBER-SECURITY–A VITAL PRECAUTION
It is time for businesses to give cyber-crime protection high priority; the sooner the better. The mounting numbers of cyber-attacks on businesses are a serious threat to every sort of commercial enterprise. Cyber intrusions have become really dangerous, sophisticated, and commonplace.
Businesses are attacked (whether they know it or not) on an average of 16,856 times a year, according to statistics compiled by IBM. That’s 46 attacks every business must deal with every day — or nearly two attacks an hour. Most of these–the vast majority of them–never get past a business’s firewall. But on average, about 1.7 attacks get through.
In our information age – the Age of Google, you might say – everybody knows that free speech is protected by the first amendment. And many believe that one can say whatever one wants on social media.
THIS IS SIMPLY NOTE TRUE – and that is not an alternative fact! Free speech does have limits, and threats to others are not protected speech.
2016 Tax Bills Coming Soon: Here’s What You Can Expect
The Cook County Clerk recently published 2016 property tax rates. This is the final step in the billing process. Second installment
2016 tax bills will be mailed by the end of June and will be due on August 1, 2017. Here are some notable facts that will affect this year’s tax bills.
DRIVERLESS CARS: THE FUTURE OF PRODUCT LIABILITY LITIGATION?
Any business that will contribute to the production of driverless vehicles must give serious thought to the risk of products-liability lawsuits. And that includes suppliers, even of minor parts. We may think of driverless cars as a phenomenon of the future, but that future is closer than you think.
“Driverless car” is generally defined as a vehicle which, for most of a journey, will take charge of steering, accelerating, indicating, and braking. For the near future, the technology is intended only to assist the driver, not to replace him. It is expected that the driver will be able to take control of the “driverless” vehicle at any time.
Are Employee Non-Compete Agreements Still Valid for Low-Level Employees? 
Non-compete arguments are staple in every Chicago Business Lawyer’s legal arsenal and a necessary to protect a business under certain circumstances. A non-compete agreement, also known as a non-competition covenant or clause, is an agreement between an employer and an employee that places restrictions on the employee after the employment relationship ends. Non-compete agreements can be useful tools for businesses that want to protect their investment in the training and development of their staff. Typically, these agreements restrict former employees from working for certain competitors for a specified period of time. Although Illinois courts tend to dislike non-competes, courts will enforce a non-compete agreement if drafted property.
When considering the enforceability of non-compete agreements, Illinois courts look to see if the agreement is reasonable and supported by adequate consideration. In particular, when determining the reasonableness of a non-compete, the court considers whether the terms of the agreement are no more than what is required to protect the legitimate business interest of the employer, and narrowly tailored in terms of time, activity and place.
What is Equity Crowdfunding? Is this the Future of Raising Investment Capital?
It seems that while nearly everyone has heard of crowdfunding, the concept of equity crowdfunding is not as well known but is gaining traction. For those Chicago business owners that are new to this developing area, prior to May 2016 crowdfunding was available only to accredited investors (those with an annual income of at least $200,000 or a net worth of more than 1 million, not including the value of a primary residence). Although the 2012 federal Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act[1] (JOBS) provided for non-accredited investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) did not authorize equity crowdfunding to begin until May 2016.
Since that time, Article III of the JOBS Act has seen 49 successful offerings with 11.5 million dollars committed according to a November 17, 2016, Forbes report[2] on the state of equity crowdfunding. While the report suggests that the large majority of startups are not yet using non-accredited crowdfunding under Title III, it is anticipated that equity investment platforms will see tremendous growth moving forward.
CAUTION! WATCH OUT FOR THESE WAGE-AND-HOUR PITFALLS
The U.S. Department of Labor has been cracking down on wage and hour infractions, and it may be time to review your overtime procedures and policies–it is all too easy to violate wage and hour regulations unwittingly.
Sometimes DOL complaints seem trivial. We lawyers have a saying–the “de minims” rule, which says “some things are too trivial to merit consideration.”
How We Operate Our Business is Changing
The technological revolution that has enveloped our society has made technology an important part of our lives. The use of computers and information technology has become an integral part of business, and it is doubtful there will ever be a return to traditional methods of conducting business. The efficiency to conduct business, to provide products and services at a faster, more efficient rate, has radically changed how we do business. Effective use of technology can be helpful to every business, large and small.
This trend towards increased use of technology will not diminish and will only increase. Technology is affecting the way you work and where you work. With the rise of mobile and cloud computing, business owners can work and manage their businesses from anywhere. For example, 50% of workers check email on the weekends and 34% check email while on vacation? The good news is that technology has increased our productivity by over 400% since 1950.
