Justia Legal Services & Lawyers Directory

Jon D. McLaughlin
Bloomington, Illinois


Phone: (309) 828-5600

Fax: (309) 828-9600

www.CannellandMaulson.com


Bar Admissions

Illinois

U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois



Education

University of Illinois College of Law, Champaign, Illinois, 2007
J.D.


Oklahoma State University, 2004
B.A.


Published Works

Mandatory Arbitration Clauses in Employee Manuals, 44 Lab. & Emp. L., Ill. Bar Assoc., Springfield, Illinois, December, 2006

Extinguishing Pension Plans by Partial Termination & Aggregation, U. Ill. J. Bus. L. Soc'y, February 1, 2007

What Relevance Does The ADA Have To HIPAA-Regulated "Bona Fide Wellness Programs?", U. Ill. J. Bus. L. Soc'y, February 10, 2007

Damages in Delayed Construction Claims, 36 Colo. Law. 17, March 2007

Discipline of Exempt Employees Under the FLSA, 95 Ill. Bar J. 600, November 2007

Using Altman's Z-Score to Synchronize the Watches of Courts, Directors, Creditors, and Shareholders, 31 Hamline L. Rev 1, August 2008




Professional Associations and Memberships

Chicago Bar Association Member


McLean County Bar Association Member


Illinois State Bar Association Member


Eleventh Circuit Mandatory Arbitration Program Arbitrator

John L. GreenLeaf, Jr. has been in practice over 30 years representing consumers and businesses in Central Illinois. The firm concentrates in all forms of Bankruptcy, Business formation, and the preparation of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning.

At Law Office of Gale P. Stipes, P.C., our clients always come first. Every client is treated with courtesy and honesty. We will keep you informed through the entire case and pride ourselves on being accessible to our clients. Our experience and integrity have earned us a reputation as one of Madison County, Illinois' premier legal firms.

Whether we are representing you in a divorce, child support, visitation or other family matter or are mediating your divorce or visitation issues our experience and consistent track record of uncompromising ethics instills confidence and trust.

Attorney Gale Stipes is dedicated to representing you honestly and competently to achieve the best possible outcome for every client. At what may be the most difficult time in your life you can be assured that we will be available to you and will do everything we can to bring your case to a quick conclusion.

* Single attorney firm concentrating in employment law since June 1999 representing Plaintiffs in nearly every aspect of their employment including discrimination (e.g., Title VII, ADEA, Illinois Human Rights Act, ADA) and wrong ful dismissal (e.g., FMLA, Workers' Compensation retaliation, whistleblower claims) pension/ERISA, wage and hour, severance and employment agreement review and unemployment appeals.
* Also representing clients in consumer rights actions.
* Experienced in state and federal courts at both trial and appellate levels.
* Admitted to Illinois and Northern District of Illinois Bar 1999, Central District of Illinois 2002, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals 2004.
*15 years of supervisory and management experience operating a Human Resources consultancy specializing in assessment center design, employee selection, test validation, survey development and analysis, and relational database design and development.
* Extensive experience with data manipulation, statistical software, and multivariate statistical techniques.
* Expert in behaviorally-based selection methodologies (e.g., structured interviews, work simulations, assessment centers).

I began my legal career as a Law Clerk for Judge Joseph Barr in the late 1970's. From there, I worked at Dunham, Bowman & Leskera as their Law clerk till January of 1981 when I became an Assistant States Attorney for Madison County Illinois. My tour of duty there lasted 4 years. From January 1985 through December 1996, my legal career had been with both Attorney Ben Allen and Doug Mendenhall. Effective January 1, 1997 I am a solo practitioner, and handle all sorts of legal matters, specializing in Plaintiffs Personal Injury and Criminal Defense. I provide full service legal representation, and can handle most every legal matter you will face in an expert manner. I have been in practice in Madison County, Illinois for over 28 years now, and am well versed in different diverse and overlapping fields of law. Concentrating in State & Federal Criminal Defense work, and am or have been a Public Defender for both our Local State & Federal Courts.

The office generally is open from 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday thru Friday. As I am often in court I ask you call first, and I always return phone calls. For general misdemeanor and traffic matters fees range from $150.00 for a simple speeding ticket, to $400.00 for most simple first time misdemeanors like battery or assault, and $1,000.00 to $3,000.00 for first time DUI's or other more serious misdemeanors, this is a general fee base.

The Bankruptcy Laws changed drastically on October 17, 2005! For chapter 7 Bankruptcy's my fees due to the change in the law & my services after that date as a Debt Relief Agency under that statute will start at $1,000.00 Attorney's fee, with the court fee of $300.00. There will be a Credit Counseling Course, you must take before and after the bankruptcy being filed and you are responsible for paying that. Lastly, we can run a credit report if you request, $30.00 for individuals, $50.00 for a married couple. More complicated cases in Bankruptcy of course require more than the $1,000.00 Attorney's fee for the new Chapter 7 cases after October 17, 2005. As required by statute "We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code."

For most divorce and family matters, as well as civil defense I charge at the rate of $200.00 per hour, plus expenses, and generally require a minimum cash retainer of $750.00, and depending on the case, more. For State Felonies, the fees are $1,000.00 to $2,5000.00 for simple first time non-violent felonies, on up, and the fee is negotiable, based upon the accused's record and the severity of the charge.

For Federal Felonies, the fees start at $2500.00 for simple first time non-violent felonies, on up, and the fee is negotiable, based upon the accused's record and the severity of the charge.

Areas of Practice
Bankruptcy Law
Discrimination
Criminal Law
DUI/DWI
Traffic Violations
White Collar Crimes
Employment Law -- Employee
Estate Planning
Trusts
Wills
Family Law
Child Support
Custody & Visitation
Divorce
Personal Injury -- Plaintiff
Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff
Medical Malpractice
Workers' Compensation Law
Litigation Percentage
90% of Practice Devoted to Litigation
Bar Admissions
Illinois, 1981
U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois, 1985
U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 1997
Education
Saint Louis University School of Law, St Louis, Missouri

Doctor of Jurisprudence - 1981
St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri

A.B. - 1978
Major: Political Science
Representative Clients
Madison County, Special Public Defender Since 1997
Panel Attorney, CJA, Southern District of Illinois, 1997
References
Bob Means, Madison County Merit Commission
Wood River Ford, Inc.
Dr. E. J. Diestelkamp
Classes/Seminars
Asst. Professor, Lewis & Clark Community College, Godfrey, IL, 1985 - Present
Honors and Awards
Outstanding Young Men of America, 1983
Professional Associations and Memberships
Godfrey Village, Trustee, 1993 - 1999
Past Employment Positions
Madison County States Attorney Office, Assistant States Attorney, 1981 - 1985
Smith, Allen, Merderhall, Delaney & Assoc, Partner, 1985 -