Blog | Rifkind Patrick LLC

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 13-Jul-2020

The Importance of Including Arbitration and Mediation Provisions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

For businesses and individuals entering into agreements with any risk of the other party failing to adhere to its obligations - perhaps all contracts - it can be more important than possibly ever to include well-drafted arbitration provisions. In ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 10-Aug-2017

Preparing for a Consultation with Your Business Attorney

If you are in need of a business attorney, you want to be certain that you hire the right one to handle your case. Since most attorneys will provide a free consultation, giving you the chance to determine if he or she is the proper fit, it is crucial ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 7-Jun-2017

Closing a Business in Chicago

Have you decided to close one of your businesses? If so, perhaps the business has not been profitable. Perhaps you want to move on to something else, or perhaps you want to move to another state. Whatever your reason for shutting down operations, ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 1-Jun-2017

Illinois Freedom to Work Act

Are you considering having your employees sign a non-compete agreement? If so, you will need to familiarize yourself with the Illinois Freedom to Work Act, signed into law by Governor Bruce Rauner in 2016. The law was created to discourage and ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 16-May-2017

Most Important Part of a Commercial Real Estate Transaction

Do you know the most important part of a commercial real estate transaction ? It is the “contract of purchase and sale,” which many attest is the road map of the real estate transaction. If a contract is properly negotiated and focused on ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 9-May-2017

Startup Checklist for Entrepreneurs

You have decided to start a business – congratulations! Before you apply for that SBA loan, or tap into your 401(k) for funding, you want to break down the startup process into manageable steps, so you can begin your entrepreneurial journey ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 12-Apr-2017

CoManaging Partner Aaron E. Rifkind Receives Premier 100 Designation from National Academy of Jurisprudence

The National Academy of Jurisprudence (NAJ) has recently recognized Aaron E. Rifkind as one of 100 premier trial attorneys in the state of Illinois. This is a distinction reserved for attorneys who have established themselves through their ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 25-Jan-2017

What is Tortious Interference?

If one party (defendant) intentionally interferes with another’s (plaintiff’s) contractual relations with a third party, the defendant can be liable for damages in a tort action. This is referred to as “tortious interference” ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 10-Jan-2017

Insurance Litigation in Chicago

Insurance law generally has to do with insurance coverage, compliance, and defense litigation. For the purposes of this post, we are going to delve deeper into “insurance litigation.” Insurance litigation typically involves the insured ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 23-Dec-2016

Tax Advantages of an LLC

As tax season approaches, naturally our firm receives more calls from business owners with tax questions, however, tax questions come year-round. All yearlong entrepreneurs ask, “How should I form my small business?” After all, the format ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 12-Dec-2016

Common HOA Lawsuits

Homeowner associations (HOAs) can be great, especially since homeowners have less to think about. When someone buys a condo or townhome with an HOA, they don’t have to worry about caring for their lawn, keeping the gym equipment maintained, or ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 23-Nov-2016

Why Avoid Business Litigation?

When you are running a successful business, you are in the public eye. While you can control how you handle your vendors and customers, you cannot control the actions of outside influences. At some point, someone will probably try to sue your ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 14-Nov-2016

Tax Advantages of Hiring Veterans

Each year in November, the nation celebrates all the brave men and women who served our great country – living and dead – on Veterans Day. We wanted to take a moment to not only thank our veterans for defending our freedom and for making ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 27-Oct-2016

Know the Law Before Cutting Benefits or Employees

It is no secret that a large percentage of businesses will face uncertain financial circumstances at some time. Business owners may reach the point where they must make hard decisions, such as benefit reductions and layoffs. If your business is ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 12-Oct-2016

Insurance Requirements for Chicago Employers

Once you decide to start a business, you have to think about the types of insurance you are legally required to have for your new company. Generally, a business with employees is required by law to carry various types of insurance, such as ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 27-Sep-2016

Privacy: Major Concern for Businesses

In recent years, there have been massive, widely-publicized data breaches, as well as many less-publicized cybersecurity occurrences that have affected American businesses large and small. Today, privacy is something that all companies need to be ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 8-Sep-2016

Tips for Avoiding Business Litigation

If you are a new business owner, you may have heard that it’s only a matter of time before you face litigation in some shape or form. While litigation can seem unavoidable to small and large businesses alike, there are certainly things that you ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 25-Aug-2016

Workers' Compensation Laws in Illinois

Before we had workers’ compensation laws, injured workers would have to file lawsuits against their employers. Doing this meant proving the employer’s negligence, which was a long and arduous process. After the Industrial Revolution, ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 10-Aug-2016

About Business Dissolution

Are you considering dissolving your company? Shutting down operations goes beyond shutting the doors and disconnecting your phone lines. While these will play small roles in the process of ceasing operations, there will be many more steps involved. ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 25-Jul-2016

Business: Handling Legal Concerns

Whether you are starting or buying a business or franchise, you will need a crash course on the legal concerns involving your company, of which there will be many. As an entrepreneur, it makes “good business sense” for you to familiarize ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 11-Jul-2016

Causes of Construction Litigation

Considering the complexity of a construction project and the number of individuals involved, it is no wonder why construction litigation is common in our litigious society. Legal claims and litigation are frequently associated with construction, but ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 21-Jun-2016

Business Owners: What is Your Exit Strategy?

If you built a successful business, or if you purchased an existing business and it continued to grow, you, the business owner, are probably thrilled with the fact that your business is viable and has achieved measured growth since it was ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 8-Jun-2016

When Landlords Want to Evict

What can a landlord do if their tenant has fallen behind on rent, or has violated one or more terms of his or her lease? For starters, we recommend that landlords speak to the tenant and try to come to an agreement. If back rent is the issue, perhaps ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 24-May-2016

3 Types of Partnership

There are many reasons to go into a partnership. Each business partner brings his or her unique strengths to the table, and this can be invaluable. If you are looking for someone other than a family member or spouse, you may be looking for a trusted, ...

Posted By Rifkind Patrick LLC 5-May-2016

Employment Tips for Startups

In honor of the SBA’s National Small Business Week (May 1-7), we wanted to feature some basic legal advice for startups, which by their nature, are “small businesses” for now. As a small business owner, you will soon learn that ...