Bridging Peace Across Continents: Rwanda’s Peace and Values Curriculum Comes to Milwaukee

As a Social Security disability attorney, Lyme disease cases represent a complex, frustrating, and often misunderstood type of disabling chronic illness. While the acute phase of Lyme disease is widely recognized and typically responsive to antibiotics, a subset of individuals develop long-lasting symptoms—often referred to as “chronic Lyme disease” or “Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome” (PTLDS). These cases are challenging both medically and legally, particularly when pursuing Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. In this blog post I will discuss winning strategies that I have used over the past few years to develop a compelling case for benefits based on Lyme disease. Lyme Disease – the Basics Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi, transmitted by ticks. While early-stage Lyme disease is well understood, PTLDS is still gaining wider medical acceptance. A…

Legally, you can date during a divorce in DuPage County, but that does not mean you should. Many aspects of dating could affect the split, perhaps prolonging the process, complicating custody talks, and stressing you financially. A divorce lawyer in Illinois can help you be proactive about dating and divorce and your responsibilities as a parent or spouse. Call Erlich Law Office at (630) 538-5331 for advice. Can Dating During Divorce Impact Child Custody and Support? Dating during divorce can affect child custody and support. That does not mean it always does. Illinois family courts focus on the best interests of the child. While dating alone is not necessarily a negative factor, the circumstances of your dating life may raise concerns. The following variables related to dating could be harmful: A new partner with a questionable background (examples: undermining the child’s relationship with the other parent, a criminal history, substance abuse issues,…

Swen Werner, My Digital Truth, has published The Physics Of Law. Here is the abstract. This paper interrogates the structural preconditions of lawful decision-making by showing that law is a symbolic system grounded in logical coherence, semantic stability, and operational consistency. It argues that contemporary legal interpretation increasingly abandons these foundational requirements, leading to a form of institutional dysfunction where law devolves into a belief system. Drawing from Roman legal architecture, computational logic, and legal theory, the paper reframes rights not as normative entitlements but as structurally necessary constraints within a rule-based system. It proposes a non-normative justification for private property as a logical gate enabling coherent legal action among actors with equal rights and no default duties. Through critical analysis of machine adjudication, AI unreliability, and copyright enforcement, it illustrates how legal coherence is…

By Eric Geringswald | CSC Five Recent Decisions Featured in CSC’s 2025 Annotated Edition Five full-text cases covering recent legal developments—ranging from LLC ownership and foreign corporations to taxation of pass-through entities, successor liability, and the formation of unintentional partnerships—are now included in the 2025 edition of Virginia Laws Governing Business Entities Annotated , published by CSC . These new cases, along with more than a dozen additional case notes added since the 2024 edition, offer essential insights into how Virginia courts are interpreting the state’s business entity laws. For quick reference, the Table of New Annotations lists all new case notes, which are also flagged with gray bars throughout the text. Updated Statutes and Legislation from the 2025 Assembly Session The 2025 edition includes the full text of key Virginia statutes affecting business entities: Securities Act Stock Corporation Law Limited Liability…

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 38-year-old man was killed Tuesday morning after his motorcycle collided with a semi-truck on Southern Boulevard near Lang Road. According to reports, Francisco Renta was riding a 2005 Suzuki GSXR 1000 at the time of the crash when a semi-truck was making a left turn from westbound Southern Boulevard onto Lang Road when the motorcycle, traveling eastbound in the center lane, struck the rear axle area of the trailer. Paramedics arrived to find the motorcyclist unresponsive. Renta was pronounced dead at the scene. Commercial trucks have a responsibility to adhere to safety rules Truck drivers must always keep in mind that they share the roadways with smaller vehicles (such as motorcycles). This is why they must be careful not to misjudge distance, be aware of blind spots, avoid distractions during driving, and maintain a safe speed. Semi-trucks have a responsibility to follow road safety rules. When they fail to do this, and someone is seriously or…

LEON COUNTY, Texas – Two men from Bryan lost their lives in a fatal crash Wednesday morning at the intersection of FM 39 and County Road 344. According to reports, a 1999 Peterbilt tractor-trailer was heading north on FM 39 and was turning onto CR 344 when a 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe, also traveling northbound, crashed into the trailer and became lodged underneath it. The driver of the Hyundai, 44-year-old Matthew Sovick, and his passenger, 49-year-old Christopher Gorman, were both pronounced dead at the scene. No further information is currently available. Fatal accidents with large trucks must be thoroughly investigated to determine all factors that led to the collision Many unanswered questions here. What happened in the moments leading to this tragic crash? Was the truck still completing its turn when the collision occurred? Was the truck driver making a wide or slow turn that left the trailer crossing active lanes of traffic? Many times, dashcam footage and records from…

Gender-Affirming Care Skrmetti: Treating a Disease Label, Not a Child In the highly polarized case of United States v. Skrmetti, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s legislative denial of two types of medical care for gender dysphoria in young people. In so doing the decision conscripted medical decision-making for trans youth from doctors and vested it in the legislature. Published July 21, 2025 Author Barbara Pfeffer Billauer Share Share on LinkedIn Share on X Share on Facebook Share on Reddit In the highly polarized case of United States v. Skrmetti, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s legislative denial of two types of medical care for gender dysphoria in young people. In so doing, the decision stripped medical decision-making for trans youth from doctors and vested it in the legislature. To sidestep the plaintiffs’ equal protection argument (that states…

Trump has nominated a guy named David LaCerte to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (FERC)  There’s sparse public material available about LaCerte, a tribute to his prior accomplishments.  LaCerte’s record is almost devoid of relevant experience and expertise. “FERC Commissione”r is not usually considered an entry-level job in energy law. FERC cases involve the management of the entire U.S. energy grid, except for part of Texas. Energy law and regulation are extraordinarily complex and technical, but the issues are big – management of massive U.S. electricity markets, permitting of natural gas pipelines, setting rates for electricity transmission, and ensuring grid reliability. So far as I can tell, LaCerte has no professional background involving any of these issues. LaCerte has served in two significant positions.  He was the head of the Louisiana  Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs. (He resigned from that in…

Inside the Trademark Mills: How Foreign Filing Abuses Are Undermining the U.S. Trademark System Earlier today, I received an unsolicited email from a Chinese IP firm—or someone claiming to be one. It’s similar to other messages I’ve received over the years from so-called “firms.” It read as follows: We are __________ Intellectual Property Co., Ltd., a Chinese trademark law firm specializing in U.S. trademark registration, enforcement, and strategic consulting. Given our shared focus on global IP protection, I believe we can complement each other to better serve clients expanding to China or the United States. We currently provide you with approximately 80–100 cases per month, primarily serving clients in industries such as e-commerce and consumer goods. If this matches your interests, please consider this opportunity. I look forward to hearing from you. At first glance, this might seem like a standard business development message. But a…

Two recent memoranda from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Division of Advice and the General Counsel have clarified the agency’s position on surreptitious recordings, including those made by employees in the workplace and those occurring during collective bargaining sessions. The memoranda address the general treatment of surreptitious recordings under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), highlight that recordings made during collective bargaining may constitute per se violations of the NLRA, and clarify that certain secret workplace recordings may lose protection under the Act. Surreptitious recordings may lose protection notwithstanding Section 7 activity The NLRB has long held that overly broad workplace policies that categorically prohibit recordings are likely unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), as employees are generally permitted to make audio or video recordings while engaging in Section 7 activity, such as documenting…

WEST POINT, Miss. – A 21-year-old Aberdeen man was killed Tuesday morning in a workplace accident at an industrial facility in West Point. Authorities identified the victim as Tyquavious McMillian. According to West Point police, the incident occurred at Plum Creek Environmental while McMillian was assisting with the operation of a forklift or front loader. During the task, the vehicle reportedly ran over him. Emergency responders pronounced McMillian dead at the scene. No further information is currently available. The site needs to be investigated for safety procedures in place When a fatal work accident happens, families are often left heartbroken and asking, “How could this happen?” Many feel they don’t have a clear picture of what went wrong. While waiting for answers, it is often revealed that safety failures play a major role in fatal incidents. A common factor in forklift accidents is the lack of proper training for workers on operating a…

CLAY, N.Y. – A Syracuse man was killed last Thursday in an industrial accident involving heavy construction equipment at a worksite in the Town of Clay. The Sheriff’s Office has identified the victim as 41-year-old Rendolph Larose. According to reports, Larose was struck and run over by a double-drum ride-on roller used for asphalt paving. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The construction crew had been working on paving operations at the site for more than a week before the incident. No further information is currently available. Fatal workplace accidents must be thoroughly investigated to provide surviving families with answers This is so tragic. No one expects their loved one to leave for work and not return because they suffered a fatal injury at work. In similar cases we have seen throughout the years, we know when incidents like this happen, the surviving family is left with many lingering questions, and rightfully so. How does a double-drum ride-on roller…

When facing the overwhelming prospect of divorce or family law issues, understanding how the legal system protects parental rights becomes crucial for Dallas-area families. A recent Texas appellate court decision in the case of Interest of S.H.V.V. provides valuable insights into how courts approach parental rights reinstatement and the procedural requirements that govern family law cases. As a Dallas divorce attorney with over 25 years of experience, I’ve witnessed firsthand how complex family law matters can become, especially when children’s welfare and parental rights intersect. This recent ruling offers important lessons for parents navigating divorce, custody disputes, and other family law challenges in Dallas, Irving, Garland, Richardson, and surrounding communities. What This Case Teaches Us About Parental Rights in Texas This Texas Court of Appeals case from June 2025 addresses the relatively new parental reinstatement provision in the Texas Family Code,…

Employers sometimes find it necessary to make the difficult decision to undergo a reduction-in-force (RIF), resulting in employee layoffs and/or terminations. Before moving forward with an RIF, employers should develop an implementation gameplan to help minimize legal risk and ensure the process goes as planned. Selection decisions should not run afoul of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and other laws relating to employee terminations. Some initial considerations include the following: Selection Criteria. Are there established criteria to assist in determining who will be laid off or terminated, e.g., performance reviews, job duties, position elimination, years of services/seniority? In other words, what are the non-discriminatory business reasons for the selection decisions? Is there contemporaneous documentation supporting the proposed selection decisions? In a unionized workforce, does the applicable collective bargaining agreement govern the criteria and process for…

Virginia employers face increasing scrutiny over how they pay their workers. The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI), along with the federal Department of Labor (DOL), continues to crack down on wage theft and the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. For employers across the Commonwealth, these enforcement efforts carry real financial consequences—ranging from hefty fines to multimillion-dollar settlements. Understanding the scope of Virginia’s wage laws, what constitutes a violation, and how to stay compliant is critical. With enhanced legal tools available to workers and aggressive government oversight, businesses that fail to take wage compliance seriously could face serious liability. What Are Wage Theft and Employee Misclassification? Wage theft occurs when an employer fails to pay a worker what they are legally owed. Common examples include (1) not paying an employee overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek,…

When patients seek emergency medical care, they expect hospitals to focus on safety and recovery. That sense of trust matters even more for older adults, who may face higher risks of complications during surgery. Recent research raises concerns about how hospital ownership structures, particularly private equity investment, can affect the quality of care. In some cases, the outcomes have been fatal. What the Data Says A new study examined 298,000 surgeries performed on Medicare patients at 701 hospitals nationwide from 2011 to 2020. Researchers were surprised to find that patients who had emergency surgeries at hospitals owned by private-equity investment firms were 42 percent more likely to die within 30 days compared to those treated at hospitals not owned by private equity. Researchers evaluated four common emergency procedures: appendectomies, gallbladder removals, partial colon removals and hernia repairs. The 30-day death rate was 6.4 percent in hospitals not…

Here is my recent Daily Record column. My past Daily Record articles can be accessed here. ****   Are you committing malpractice if you don't use AI? It's safe to say that litigators who fail to understand how social media platforms work in 2025 are committing malpractice.  Had I stated this in 2010, when the book that I wrote about social media for lawyers was published, most lawyers would have disagreed. After all, social media was still an emerging technology, and unworthy of attention. The majority of lawyers thought it was irrelevant to the practice of law and posed more risks than benefits. It only took a few years for perspectives to change. Social media became pervasive, and online interactions became pivotal pieces of evidence in litigation. When this happened, lawyers began to change their tune.  2014  was the first year I was asked to present on mining social media for evidence.  Over the next five years, I…

A lawsuit originally filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana by photographer David E. Kelly has been transferred to the federal court in Arizona as of June 17, 2025. Kelly, who resides in Carmel, Indiana, brought the case against a wide range of individuals and entities, including private citizens, public officials, and corporations such as eBay and the United States Army Procurement Division. The suit alleges unauthorized reproduction, sale, and distribution of a copyrighted photograph he captured during the 2001 World Series. According to the complaint, Kelly registered the copyright for the photo in 2002 and operated a business called Big League Photos LLC. He claims that one of the main defendants, Raymond Cedric Young, illegally reproduced and sold counterfeit versions of the photo, while fraudulently claiming to own the business. Kelly says he issued over 70 cease-and-desist notices and reached a handful of out-of-court settlements, but was…