We have a unique practice of representing insurance companies and brokers as plaintiffs in law firm and lawyer malpractice cases against their coverage counsel. Carriers and brokers often are the victims of legal malpractice. In the defense context, lawyers retained to defend a carrier’s insured sometimes miss critical settlement opportunities, fail to determine the key evidence during litigation, or fail to assert a potentially dispositive legal defense which results in damages to the carrier client and which would not have been incurred absent lawyer malpractice. With our past experience working for insurance companies, we are uniquely qualified to represent carriers and brokers in these cases and return considerable sums to their bottom lines.
We also have wide experience in bringing legal malpractice cases against attorneys who handle commercial and injury cases, real estate, purchase and corporate acquisitions, taxation and accounting, insurance claims, reorganizations and bankruptcy, municipal law, trust and estate plans, marital dissolutions, workers’ compensation and employment disability claims, mechanic’s liens, ethics and conflicts of interests, and many more areas of the law where attorneys can fail to properly represent a client or beneficiary. A legal malpractice claim is actually two cases: the malpractice case itself which is based upon the underlying matter – the case within the case. We frequently work with nationally renowned legal experts to develop opinions critical to the success of your case. And our firm has the legal knowledge and experience to develop both levels so that you are capable of prevailing at trial or in settlement.
Thus, to the extent that certain commercial, personal, civic, social, or religious activities have been determined by government authorities to be “non-essential”, our legal system exists to provide an impacted party a vehicle by which a determination can be challenged and legally tested according to our robust civil rights laws. Most civil rights cases include “fee shifting” statutory provisions that allow the prevailing party to recover his or her legal fees incurred in asserting the civil rights violation. If you believe that your civil rights have been unjustly or inappropriately violated as a result of an order or guideline of a government authority, the attorneys of Grasso Law, P.C. are standing by to consult with you.
As soon as a petitioner files for bankruptcy protection, an “Automatic Stay” goes into effect which prevents creditors from pursuing collection efforts outside of the bankruptcy case. The statutory provisions of the Bankruptcy Code provide robust procedures for holding automatic stay violators accountable.
The Automatic Stay is among the various “tools” available to the business debtor, which assists the debtor in preventing consequences like eviction, acceleration, and levy. There are particular provisions of the Bankruptcy Code to differentiate between tax or governmental debt, secured and unsecured debt, and other provisions that prioritize a debtor’s various liabilities. The Bankruptcy Code also allows a debtor to continue its operations, including using available cash to fund ongoing obligations, including paying bankruptcy-related fees.
Sometimes debts are disputed or workouts are required for existing obligations, and the Bankruptcy Code is designed to resolve disputes through what is known as “adversary proceedings”. The attorneys of Grasso Law, P.C. are experienced in utilizing the adversary process to achieve their client’s workout strategy.
We have almost twenty years of experience in handling commercial bankruptcy matters, including lease and debt workouts, corporate mergers and acquisitions within bankruptcy proceedings, financings and offerings, and general reorganization. We have helped our clients navigate through the uncertain bankruptcy process, including significant cases such as: In re: Select Snacks, Inc. (Ill. N. Bk.); In re: Comdisco Holding Company, Inc. (Ill. N. Bk.); In re: Montgomery Ward (Del. Bk.) and In re: Wolf Camera, Inc. (Ga. Bk.).
We handle contract claims, insurance disputes, actions based upon commercial transactions, regulatory violations, and security instrument claims including the Uniform Commercial Code, along with joint venture and partnership claims. We are well versed in these areas of the law, and have the practical experience to bring our legal knowledge to bear with the correct strategy that will give you the best position for you to prevail.
However, these same carriers often deny or delay claims for a multitude of reasons, most of which lack legal merit and can be challenged in court. Carriers know that sometimes all they must do to avoid paying out a claim is deny it, because many insureds will not retain an attorney to assert their claim. Our firm has successfully held such carriers responsible for their illegal claims practices, and we know the intricacies of the Illinois Insurance Code and related case law to assert bad faith (which carries extra statutory penalties and attorneys’ fee provisions) and force carriers to honor a client’s legitimate insurance claim. We know the trigger points and concepts that determine these cases, and will achieve the result that the carrier sought to avoid when it first denied or delayed a particular claim.
Not only businesses, but also municipalities and local government or quasi-government units are beginning to experience the effects of the current “pandemic-induced recession” in year 2020. As businesses shutter their storefronts and offices and lay off their employees, the local governments that rely upon tax revenue are at risk of default and jeopardized operations due to inadequate cash.
The attorneys of Grasso Law, P.C. are experienced in assisting clients, including municipalities and government units, navigating through financial difficulties and employing the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code to provide cover, protection, and time to reorganize and workout bad debt or other obligations.
The Bankruptcy Code contains a specific chapter and particular mechanisms for government units. As soon as a petitioner files for bankruptcy protection, an “Automatic Stay” goes into effect which prevents creditors from pursuing collection efforts outside of the bankruptcy case. The statutory provisions of the Bankruptcy Code provide robust procedures for holding automatic stay violators accountable. The Bankruptcy Code also allows a debtor to continue its operations, including using available cash to fund ongoing obligations, including paying bankruptcy-related fees.
Sometimes debts are disputed or workouts are required for existing obligations, and the Bankruptcy Code is designed to resolve disputes through what is known as “adversary proceedings”. With almost twenty years of experience in handling bankruptcy matters, the attorneys of Grasso Law, P.C. are experienced in helping clients navigate through the uncertain bankruptcy process.