The Non-Billable Hour

Episode 21: Dan, Beth, and Joe try their hand at an interview! Senior Mediator, the Honorable Judge Lorna Propes (Ret.), was kind enough to join the Nonbillable Hour Podcast to discus her life and career as an attorney, judge, and now mediator. Judge Propes received her B.S. from Indiana University, Bloomington and her Master’s Degree in Secondary School Guidance from Columbia University. Judge Propes graduated from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and then began her legal career as a Cook County State’s Attorney, where she remained for several years, before transitioning to private practice. In 2010, she was appointed to a circuit judgeship in Cook County, in the 1st Municipal District. In November 2012, she was elected to a full six-year term. In February 2013, she was reassigned to the Law Division’s trial section, where she presided over jury trials in tort and breach of contract cases. While on the bench, Judge Propes was a member of the Judicial Conference of Illinois. After nearly thirteen years on the bench, Judge Propes retired from judicial service on January 27, 2023. She currently serves as a Senior Mediator at ADR Systems, using her 32 years of legal experience as a trial lawyer and nearly 13 years as a trial judge to successfully mediate a variety of matters. To learn more about Judge Propes, you can click here: https://www.adrsystems.com/neutral/hon-lorna-e-propes-ret/Check us out at www.nonbillablehourpodcast.com. Intro Track: "Liquid Sky"Music provided by https://Slip.streamFree Download/Stream: https://get.slip.stream/IXedqX

Episode 20: Can you believe it? We’ve reached twenty episodes so far! Wow! As a gift to the listeners, Dan, Beth, and Joe get into the holiday spirit and talk about several holiday centric cases! The NBH Team goes dashing through the desert sands of Arizona (Christmas capital of the United States (source: trust us, bro) all the way to the middle of Michigan, before finally ending up on the Upper East Side of New York. You’ll learn that folks like Sheriff Joe Arpaio (yeah, that guy) loved Christmas music so much that he decided to torture inmates for 12 hours straight by playing it on repeat. You’ll also find out that Anthrax (the band) actually consists of entrepreneurs – not just artists. You’ll hear about a Menorah display that annoyed a Flagstaff, AZ resident. And, finally, about the feud between two neighbors in NYC who had nothing better to do than…well…feud. Anyway, from all of us at the Non-Billable Hour Podcast, have a fantastic Christmas, a wonderful Hanukkah, and a happy holiday season.Check us out at www.nonbillablehourpodcast.com. Intro Track: "Liquid Sky"Music provided by https://Slip.streamFree Download/Stream: https://get.slip.stream/IXedqX Outro Track: "At The End Of It All"Music provided by https://slip.streamDownload / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/brypjx

Episode 19: This is the episode where Dan takes Beth and Joe, and you, the listener, on his mental health journey. It's a discussion about how, even at what may seem to be your lowest, there is, truly, a light at the end of the tunnel waiting for you as you get through the hard times. It's an in-depth view into the psyche of an experienced litigator who had the courage to tell his story about the challenges he faced and how he overcame them. The hope is that Dan's journey can help those going through similar struggles overcome them and reach their potential. If you, or anyone you know, is struggling with depression or addition, Dan would be happy to be a resource for you; you can contact him through the www.nonbillablehourpodcast.com. You can also call or text the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988. You can also contact Alcoholics Anonymous at www.aa.org. The National Institute of Mental Health also has numerous resources available at www.nimh.nih.gov. For attorneys struggling with substance use and/or mental health issues, and are in need of assistance, you can reach out to various Lawyer Assistance Programs (LAPs) located throughout the United States. The American Bar Association has a directory of those LAPs available by visiting the ABA website at: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/lawyer_assistance/resources/lap_programs_by_state/.Check us out at www.nonbillablehourpodcast.com. Intro Track: "Liquid Sky"Music provided by https://Slip.streamFree Download/Stream: https://get.slip.stream/IXedqX Outro Track: "At The End Of It All"Music provided by https://slip.streamDownload / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/brypjx

Episode 18: In this week’s episode, the NBH team lets you know that even if the law may not care about your feelings, the NBH does! Throughout the episode, Bethany teaches Dan and Joe about the Illinois Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism’s Bullying in the Legal Profession Report, educating them on the groups of legal professionals who are the most bullied, the types of bullying they face, and how to address and stop it. Along the way, Dan gets bullied because he doesn’t know how to use social media, Joe gets accused of bullying an old man in court (which did not actually happen) and shares how prior to law school he believed that “women were fine” with respect to equal rights (spoiler: they were not fine, as he learned), and Bethany explains how the bullying she’s faced is, basically, just various forms of sexual harassment.Check us out at www.nonbillablehourpodcast.com. Intro Track: "Liquid Sky"Music provided by https://Slip.streamFree Download/Stream: https://get.slip.stream/IXedqX Outro Track: "At The End Of It All"Music provided by https://slip.streamDownload / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/brypjx

Episode 17: Tune into a special episode of the Non-Billable Hour podcast before you trade your work pants for fat pants, gorge yourself on turkey, stuffing, and all those good trimmings, and pass out from all the tryptophan while football players give each other CTE (callback, baby! That's how the NBH does!). This week, in honor of every red-blooded American’s favorite holiday, we cover litigation arising out what can happen when Thanksgiving goes horribly, horribly wrong. First, Beth tells us why you should never throw away your spoiled Thanksgiving ham. Dan fills us in what food slime is, and Beth ends the episode with a rant on prisoner’s rights, rat poison, and carrot cake. You'll also get updates on Freedom Phase and random pop culture references to keep things just festive enough. Happy Thanksgiving!Check us out at www.nonbillablehourpodcast.com. Intro Track: "Liquid Sky"Music provided by https://Slip.streamFree Download/Stream: https://get.slip.stream/IXedqX Outro Track: "At The End Of It All"Music provided by https://slip.streamDownload / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/brypjx

Episode 16: In the second half of the NBH Team’s exploration into CTE and the litigation resulting therefrom, Dan, Beth, and Joe follow their game plan by beginning with a discussion focused on the lawsuit that started it all – Maxwell v. NFL. Throughout the episode, Beth shows off her knowledge and legal prowess by, essentially, reading Dan’s mind before he discusses the relevant points. Joe forgets the definition of almost every legal term except for “discovery” (figures). And Dan does a great job of ensuring that Beth and Joe stay on task (a commendable and thankless job). He also teaches them how to pronounce “Tinnitus” (tin-uh-tis). The NBH team goes through the “X’s and O’s” of the NFL players’ core offensive onslaught against the NFL, while discussing the NFL’s defense(s) against those claims, and the fact that over 4,000+ former NFL players joined the litigation, as well as the billion dollar, uncapped settlement fund set aside to pay out CTE-related claims (basically the price of a one-minute ad during the Superbowl). The team gets into whether or not the NFL honored the terms of the settlement agreement (Uhm, kinda? Was there a system in place that may have chosen not to connect former players’ cognitive deficits with their playing days in order to avoid making settlement payments? Maaaaybe). As they make their way to the endzone, the team also discuss their views on the NFL (generally positive; some not as much) and whether or not the NFL will survive as more parents become aware of the dangers associated with playing football.  Check us out at www.nonbillablehourpodcast.com. Intro Track: "Liquid Sky"Music provided by https://Slip.streamFree Download/Stream: https://get.slip.stream/IXedqX Outro Track: "At The End Of It All"Music provided by https://slip.streamDownload / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/brypjx

Episode 15: Nothing says November like daylight savings time (boo!), crisp weather (yay!), Thanksgiving (woo!), and American football ('Murica!). What do we think of when we talk about good ol' American football? That's right - concussions! Uhm, no, we mean, touchdowns! Well, it's both. Nowadays you can't watch any sport without asking, at least once per game, if someone suffered a concussion (chronic traumatic encephalopathy (“CTE”) (yes, we typed that without checking. Please clap)). In the first half of this two-part episode, Dan, Beth, and Joe learned why CTE is only diagnosed after someone dies (isn't that nuts!?). They also talk about Steelers great Mike Webster, Dave Duerson (member of the '85 Bears (GO BEARS!)), and legend Junior Seau, how CTE affected their lives, and the sacrifices they made to increase CTE awareness. Then Dan talks about the Aaron Hernandez (catch American Sports Story on FX now! (that's cross-marketing, folks)) and how CTE probably (see: definitely) played a part in his tragic downfall. Then, the team stops just short of a touchdown as they tease what's to come in next week's episode.Check us out at www.nonbillablehourpodcast.com. Intro Track: "Liquid Sky"Music provided by https://Slip.streamFree Download/Stream: https://get.slip.stream/IXedqX Outro Track: "At The End Of It All"Music provided by https://slip.streamDownload / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/brypjx

Episode 14: This week, the NBH Team does their best John Grisham impression by taking you on a journey into the best legal thriller you'll ever hear about (but that was never made into a film). (In the voice of Bill Hader's iconic Stefan): This episode has everything: corrupt judges, undercover FBI agents, Chicago, Chicago corruption, bribes, back alley deals, and potential (hypothetical) organized crime hits! As you'll learn, there's so much to uncover and, surprisingly, not too much information. Operation Greylord remains cryptic for reasons that Dan, Beth, and Joe still can’t figure out. However, you can rest assured! We not only tell you everything you want to know about this absolutely insane corruption story, we cast the movie that should, nay, MUST be made! With Ryan Gosling playing the main character, Terry Hake. Until then, you’ll have to rely on the Non-Billable Hour Podcast to get the full story. This is the story...of Operation Greylord. *Insert John Williams Thriller Theme Music Here*The NBH team wants to give a huge shoutout to the FBI Retired Case File Review Podcast with Jerri Williams. The information we learned from her interveiw with Terry Hake was invaluable. You can check out the FBI Retired Case File Review Podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@FBICaseReview.Check us out at www.nonbillablehourpodcast.com. Intro Track: "Liquid Sky"Music provided by https://Slip.streamFree Download/Stream: https://get.slip.stream/IXedqX Outro Track: "At The End Of It All"Music provided by https://slip.streamDownload / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/brypjx

Episode 13: For our THIRTEENTH EPISODE (cue ultra ominous music and, to a lesser extent, Taylor Swift), we present, for the approval of the Non-Billable Hour Podcast, the stories of the Haunting of Ackley House and the Watcher of Westfield – some extra creepy stories in honor of Beth’s second-favorite holiday, Halloween. The gang tries (but probably fails) at explaining the difference between poltergeists, demons, and ghosts. Then Joe decides that the podcast is where he should give his hot (and absolutely wrong) take on Beetlejuice after watching it for the first time (it’s been out for over 36 years, guy). Dan and Beth then delve into the world of property and contract law, both of which are terrifying enough on their own; moreso when dealing with haunted houses and straight-up crazy stalkers (or maybe someone, or something…otherworldly). Throw in some sexy ghosts and Halloween soundtracks, and take a listen to the spookiest episode of the Non-Billable Hour Podcast yet. Listener, beware…Check us out at www.nonbillablehourpodcast.com.