Hello Bloggers - Welcome to Fall in the City! What a beautiful day.
I have spent the week fighting some pretty nasty fights. When at one time I could have easily called myself a Plaintiff's lawyer, most of my work this week has been playing D-E-F-E-N-S-E! And wow, am I tired. Tired of dealing with nasty attorneys from big firms who have NO idea how to play by the rules. Tired of protecting clients from would-be-experts who bribe judges, play games at their campaign parties, and spend more time kissing judges asses than they do practicing law. Why, I even got a call from a lawyer's boss twice this past two weeks, and presumably she was not going to agree with me when I gave him a piece of my mind. So what did I do? I told her to fly a kite in many many words, and now I am here to remind you, my flock, of various strategies you can do, when the collection snakes are at your door. A few bits of News You Can Use, from the Trenches.
When Things Are Looking Down at Trial: Be Sure You Have a Court Reporter and Obtain Transcripts
I cannot explain to lay people how important a transcript is. You have to hire court reporters for your cases. The judges, the written documents, are NEVER (I repeat - NEVER!) enough to show an appellate court what happened. Remember this if nothing else: Court-Reporter-Must-Do. When the case is over, if there is any appeal (and remember time limits are sensitive for these things), the Appellate Court must have a transcript of the trial. Must. Do. That.
In Collections, State Law Provides for Exemptions - Not Everything is Up For Grabs
If you are a Defendant/Debtor -and a collection firm, lawyer or court is chasing you down, do not forget that you may have some very simple things you can do to protect some assets. Most states provide for a personal exemption. In Illinois it's known as the "wild card" exemption and you can claim $4000 of value - of anything - to protect in the face of a creditor claim. There are also claims like pensions, IRAs, funds allocated for child-support or dependent support, and others. Check your state - but know this: You have some options. Never let a creditor take your last dime, even if you owe them. You have rights - exercise them.
If You Can Get a Bond, Insurance Policy or Put Up Collateral As Security to Stay Enforcement During Appeal - Do That
In most circuit courts and state Appellate Rules, there are provisions that can help stop dead in their tracks, a collection case, while something is pending in court. This is called a "stay." A "stay" simply put, just means a stop-order. A court, a person, a law firm must stop, and wait. As such, stays are important tools in the Debtor's arsenal - but they have rules, and state to state, they must be respected. In many jurisdictions, to get a stay, you need to put up security. This is money you put up, or security, so that the creditor is protected during appeal and it prevents the Debtor from getting rid of assets. A good idea, but hard to do sometimes. Any time you are in litigation, and especially if you are in a bad situation that might not go your way, you must anticipate the appeals process, and in so doing that, you need to know that you can stop enforcement, garnishing of wages, freezing bank accounts, repossession, etc - but you need to use the state rules to do so. Time limits are sensitive, and courts have to approve a stay. When indoubt, ask and get legal counsel. It's important enough to appeal? Then it's important enough to try to get a bond. The term you need to research is "Appeal Bond" or "Supersedeas Bond".
Overall - you need legal help any time you are not familiar with collections rules, courts and legal terminology. Hire competent counsel in your area, and do not forget, these are just a FEW IDEAS you can use. Your state may have additional methods to stop creditor action (and to be sure, this list does not include bankruptcy - even though that does work to stop creditors!). You have options. Be sure to explore them.
Levin Law, Ltd. is a full service appellate, plaintiff-defense-everything-for-justice kind of law firm and we help individuals, businesses, and all-around good people, fight the fight, in Chicago. We serve many kinds of clients and we do national trial consulting and we aim to serve law firms around the country with seasoned litigation consulting, trial consulting and second-chair trial assistance and we do guest lecturing, speech writing and public speaking. We even have a tv-show in Chicago called Chicago BarTalk. Come check us out!
www.levinlawltd.com or see us on Yelp under Levin Law Ltd in Chicago.
Happy Day!
- Alisa
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Yelp is Making Me Famous! Wahoo!!!
Hello to the faithful and welcome to Fall in Chicago! Ready for the brisk weather? I am and so is Yelp. I wanted so share some wonderful comments about my practice so that in case you are not familiar with my work, you soon will be:
- 10/6/2015If in any reason you need an Real Estate Attorney, go to Mrs Alisa Levin.
Absolutely brilliant personality, she combines the strategy and tactics of an experienced lawyer with and attentive interlocutor with a great sense of humor. Her advice has been extremely effective and she give me this incredibly helpful advice before I even sign a retainer.
I was absolutely surprised with her wonderful energy and I will definitely retain Alisa for my any future legal needs and I would definitely recommend her to anyone in need of a competent lawyer. -
9/23/2015
As you've may have read from other reviews below... my story is the same. Alisa has been helping me with tenant/landlord issues for well over 2 months right now (even without a retainer). When I first reached out to her, she was very prompt with communicating (she had been on vacation and still managed to help me out during some of the tough parts of the process).Through communication, you can tell Alisa knows her stuff. She is very knowledgable, professional and puts you at ease (these things can be very stressful). The experience has been as good as it can get with legal problems, I cannot recommend her enough. -
8/18/2015
Highly recommend Alisa Levin. She is extremely knowledgeable of real estate law. Her integrity, abilities, professionalism, advice are surpassed by none. She has always been willing to give advice at a moments notice many times not even charging for her valuable expertise. Her advice has been extremely effective and allowed me to move forward with my real estate needs in the most competent and efficient manner. Alisa will take care of your needs and surpass your expectations. Do not hesitate to contact her. -
7/19/2015
I can't say enough about Alisa Levin. Professional, straightforward, honest, and extremely capable. She recently helped me with a tenant/landlord situation and not only did she give me incredibly helpful advice before I even had her on retainer, she won my case and achieved the best possible outcome for me, AND she even charged me less than I originally thought and agreed to because she was so honest about the actual time she needed to win my case for me.
I will definitely retain Alisa for any legal needs I have in the future and I would recommend her to anyone in need of a competent lawyer. -
6/26/2015
I'm a Chicago landlord looking to evict one of my tenants for taking in a roommate without my consent. Alisa Levin reviewed the lease and pointed out that it was non-compliant with the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance (CRLTO) and my lease had several flaws that can make it more costly and take longer to evict a tenant in Chicago. Alisa suggested some options and I decided to allow my tenant to terminate the current lease and sign a new lease adding the roommate with an agree rent increase. She provided me a copy of the CRLTO and a sample Chicago compliant lease to use with my Chicago tenants. Alisa places her clients' interest first. She could have gone forward with the eviction and made a lot of money in the eviction process. But Alisa did what was best for me (not to mention saving me a lot of money by talking me out of the eviction). Her honesty and integrity will keep me coming back whenever I need an attorney or legal advice. -
5/6/2015
Alissa Levin handled a few legal problem related to construction that I had. She well versed in construction litigation. By the time I was done in her office I walked out with a feeling of security. All my questions and concerns were answered. My legal issues were resolve with swift action. She packs a punch and make sure whomever she is representing she will go extra mile. I would recommend her to anyone and she wi stand by your side all the way to end. -
12/21/2014
Wonderful experience!!! I knew I made the right choice to have Ms.Alisa Levin on my side. Very knowledge in her field of law! Alias takes the time out to make you understand every aspect of your concern, she makes sure you recognize what's going on, and thoroughly explain your possible outcomes. Ms. Levin is and forever will be recommended to friends and family. I will always contact Alisa for all my legal assistance! - 11/17/2014
Alisa is one of the best attorney's that I have ever had the pleasure to work with. Her mix of industry expertise, professional courtesy, honesty and sense of humor make her great to deal with. I have worked with her on various occasions over the course of five years and I can honestly say that I have never had a bad experience or outcome. She displays an impressive knowledge of real estate laws and has the ability to successfully negotiate, and if needed litigate, on your behalf. She is efficient in how she conducts business, responsive to inquiries and demonstrates the ability to hold others accountable. To top it all off, she has strong interpersonal or soft skills that allow her to communicate complex concepts or courses of action in a manner that is easy to understand and makes you feel comfortable. Alisa has worked diligently to secure my condo association a property lien against a seriously delinquent owner, she litigated a personal property case for me and she was able to successfully re-negotiate a credit for my home purchase after my real estate agent had pre-maturely negotiated a deal that was not in my favor. I found Alisa through a search engine like Yelp and she's been my attorney ever since (boy did I hit the jackpot!). I consider her to be a friend and I'd recommend her to anyone seeking legal assistance. - 9/24/2014
We highly recommend Levin Law, Ltd! Alisa's law practice exemplifies the comfort one hopes for when having to engage an attorney. Alisa has the talent for sniffing out details, making people accountable, recognizing options, and overall just making you feel like you made the best choice when it comes to seeking out legal support. I also believe her fees are very fair.. We will be working with Alisa again very soon to establish estate will's. -
3/12/2014
Alisa was wonderful to work with. She took the time to learn about my issues and we came up with a plan to resolve the matter. She's efficient, authoritative and knowledgable. I recommend her services to anyone looking for real estate law, litigation or business matters. -
4/26/2011
I have nothing but great things to say about Alisa. She helped me through some contractor nightmares to push for what I needed to be fixed. Not only did she help me understand the situation better and what my rights were, she also coached me through multiple options. I'd refer Alisa to anyone as she is very knowledgeable, trust worthy, and a great listener.
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