Christina is the owner of RC Immigration. RC Immigration is a boutique law firm focusing exclusively on U.S. immigration issues. Christina Coleman, owner, has the requisite expertise in this niche field to develop comprehensive immigration strategies in a challenging landscape. Christina’s services are billed on a flat fee basis, providing you and your organization with predictability and transparency. As an immigrant herself, Christina understands the importance of delivering personalized and responsive counsel to every client.

Brianne is an attorney at Tannehill Law LLC and has unparalleled experience having worked both in a prestigious Chicago-based law firm as well as for the nationally renowned, Noble Schools, as the organization’s first lead counsel. Bri represents individuals as well as public and private organizations in real estate transactions, contract drafting and negotiations, business planning, estate planning, education, and labor and employment matters.

Questions? Contact Agruss Law Firm today!

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If you don't make your payments on time, your account will eventually become past due and—if you miss enough payments—fall into default. If you default on a credit account, an apartment lease or another type of service, the creditor may assign your debt to a third-party debt collector, or collection agency. These companies attempt to collect debts from consumers whose accounts are in default with their original creditors. Collection agencies are allowed to report your collection accounts to the three credit reporting companies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

The debt collector will likely contact you by phone or letter asking that you make payments to them to satisfy the debt. When you make payments to the debt collector, they will keep a portion of the amount as their fee and return the rest to the original creditor. Once your collection has been paid off, your credit reports will be updated to show the account has been paid and reflect the new zero balance.

Collection accounts, like most negative credit report entries, can remain on your credit reports for up to seven years from the date your account first became delinquent with the original creditor. Collections can cause your credit score to suffer. When you settle a debt with a collection agency, we can help try to get that account removed from your credit report.  We’ve helped thousands of consumers with debt collectors and credit report problems. Contact Agruss Law Firm today to learn about your consumer rights.

If you don't make your payments on time, your account will eventually become past due and—if you miss enough payments—fall into default. If you default on a credit account, an apartment lease or another type of service, the creditor may assign your debt to a third-party debt collector, or collection agency. These companies attempt to collect debts from consumers whose accounts are in default with their original creditors. Collection agencies are allowed to report your collection accounts to the three credit reporting companies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

The debt collector will likely contact you by phone or letter asking that you make payments to them to satisfy the debt. When you make payments to the debt collector, they will keep a portion of the amount as their fee and return the rest to the original creditor. Once your collection has been paid off, your credit reports will be updated to show the account has been paid and reflect the new zero balance.

Collection accounts, like most negative credit report entries, can remain on your credit reports for up to seven years from the date your account first became delinquent with the original creditor. Collections can cause your credit score to suffer. When you settle a debt with a collection agency, we can help try to get that account removed from your credit report.  We’ve helped thousands of consumers with debt collectors and credit report problems. Contact Agruss Law Firm today to learn about your consumer rights.

Normally, collections are disputed because the debtor believes they are incorrect for some reason. For example, if you review a copy of your credit report and you see a collection account that you believe belongs to another person, has an incorrect balance, or is greater than seven years old, you can file a dispute. If the collection account turns out to be accurate, we can help you settle the debt, and try to get the account deleted from your credit report. We’ve helped thousands of consumers with debt collectors and credit report problems.  Contact Agruss Law Firm today to learn about your consumer rights.

Normally, collections are disputed because the debtor believes they are incorrect for some reason. For example, if you review a copy of your credit report and you see a collection account that you believe belongs to another person, has an incorrect balance, or is greater than seven years old, you can file a dispute. If the collection account turns out to be accurate, we can help you settle the debt, and try to get the account deleted from your credit report. We’ve helped thousands of consumers with debt collectors and credit report problems.  Contact Agruss Law Firm today to learn about your consumer rights.

How long a collection stays on your credit report depends on the type of loan you have. Derogatory items may stay on your credit report for 7 to 10 years or more, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. But here’s the good news: As they age, negative items have less of an impact on your credit scores. We’ve helped thousands of consumers with debt collectors and credit report problems.  Contact Agruss Law Firm today to learn about your consumer rights.

How long a collection stays on your credit report depends on the type of loan you have. Derogatory items may stay on your credit report for 7 to 10 years or more, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. But here’s the good news: As they age, negative items have less of an impact on your credit scores. We’ve helped thousands of consumers with debt collectors and credit report problems.  Contact Agruss Law Firm today to learn about your consumer rights.

The thing that I like most about personal injury cases is helping the clients in their time of need. I've personally been in a couple of wrecks and it's a really scary situation so being somebody that can help support a client through a really scary time is important.

The thing that I like the most about consumer rights clients is helping to educate them on what their rights are when it comes to working with debt collectors and that kind of thing. It can be really awkward situations that they're dealing with and a lot of times they don't realize that they've got rights when it comes to dealing with these companies.

The thing that I like the most about plaintiff's work is making sure that the little guy has a voice and that we can do what's right by the law in solving the problems that we encounter.

My favorite animal is a ferret. The app that I use the most is Spotify. My favorite food is Italian food, I love pasta. My perfect vacation would be a dream vacation at Bora Bora. Weekends are for fun. They are always varied, always with friends and family, just trying to relax and have a good time. If I were not a legal assistant, I would probably be a nurse like my mom. My favorite book is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. My favorite movie is probably the animated Beauty and the Beast.

Working at Agruss Law Firm is a lot of fun. It's a great team environment and we really do put people first so every day is different. It keeps me on my toes and I love the variety.

Several consumer rights statutes contain a fee shift provision, which means that if we prevail, the defendant must pay our attorney's fees and costs. Our consumer clients appreciate the work that we do, and that makes my job rewarding. What I like most about plaintiff's work is getting to know our clients, understanding the facts of what happened, and how the occurrence affected our client. As an attorney, we are given a set of facts, and it is our job to create a timeline and story of events. We must put ourselves in the shoes of our client, whether that be at the scene of the accident, or months after at home learning how to adapt to a disability. Having had a family member sustain a life-altering injury, I can relate with my clients and their family members, and this fuels my passion for what we do, putting people first.

My favorite animal is a dog. The app I use most is Apple News. It's hard to say what my favorite food is, because it depends on what I have a taste for, but generally I like steak and seafood. I love to travel, and Florida is one of my favorite places to escape to, because you can go to the beach, play golf, and eat at great restaurants. I like my weekends like I liked my weekdays, which is busy. I like being outside, whether that's going for a run along the lake, golfing, or skiing. I spend time with family members and friends. I love having people over to cook for and to try new recipes with. Since I was born, I knew I would be a lawyer or a doctor. I learned early on that I did not care for science, which made it easy for me to pursue a career in the law. My job is perfect for someone with a passion for the law and medicine, because these two areas coincide with personal injury and medical malpractice cases.

I enjoy reading John Grisham books, and I've acquired quite a collection over the years. I'm always up for watching a new movie, but generally I enjoy the classics like Goodfellas and Father of the Bride. At Agruss law firm, we are a hardworking team of people who are determined to maximize results for our clients. Each member of our firm plays an important role in the success of our practice. Our focus is to ensure that we are available to communicate with our clients, and to ensure they have the representation they need. We are dedicated to putting the needs of our client first above all.

We recently adopted a Rat Terrier named Penny. She had been abandoned. So, Penny is my favorite animal. I hate to admit it, but Instagram is the app that I use most. I love those memes. Oh, this is a hard one. My favorite food. I would say pizza. There's such a big variety here in Chicago. My perfect vacation would either be somewhere on a nice beach or snowboarding in the mountains. Weekends are hopefully for a little bit of relaxation. What would I be if I wasn't a lawyer? I really don't know. My favorite book, that's easy, the dictionary. My favorite movie, that's another tough one. All I can tell you is that I watched Die Hard on Christmas. What is it like to work at Agruss Law Firm? Well, we all work together as a team really well, and obviously, that's important and allows us to serve our clients better.

I love that personal injury is very state-specific. This is my first year practicing law, and every time we get a new personal injury case, I get to learn more about Illinois state law, which is really cool to me. I also love the intimacy of it. I know that's a weird word to use, but each client has been through something awful; this injury or accident happened to them. Throughout our client-attorney relationship, we get to build trust, we get to communicate, and we get to make the client whole again, which is always the goal with any personal injury case. I really love that.

What I like most about consumer rights clients is they're very grateful and they're very eager to learn. As opposed to personal injury law, which is very state-specific practice, consumer rights law is dictated by a handful of federal statutes, so it's a national practice. I can be here and I can help anybody in America. When you start thinking about it, everybody in the world, everybody in America, is a consumer, but very few people know about their rights. When we're able to get a favorable verdict or settlement for our client, they're super grateful, because they didn't even think that was a possibility. Every time we handle a client's consumer rights case, they're a more informed and educated consumer.

What I like most about plaintiff's work is I get to advocate for people that have been injured physically or economically. I've always been passionate about advocating for people. Doing plaintiff's work allows me to shift power back to people. Usually we think of these large institutions, or these people that have all the power, and I sleep better at night knowing I can give, even if it's a little bit of power, back to the people.

My favorite animal is a cat. I used to think I was a dog person, and then I got a cat. Cats are so fiercely independent, so I am definitely a cat person now. The app I use the most is definitely Twitter.
My favorite food is seafood. I also love anything that's spicy. I'll give anything a try once. Weekends are for relaxing, they're for rejuvenating, and self-care. If I was not a lawyer, I would be on HGTV flipping houses. My favorite book is "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," by Robert Kiyosaki. My favorite movie has to be "The Notebook." I watched it for the first time in 2021, and I was mad at myself that I went 27 years without watching "The Notebook," because I love the movie.

Working at Agruss Law Firm is comfortable; it feels like home, almost. I'm so glad I was able to find this position right out of law school. I get to work under some amazing attorneys that have made it so easy for me to learn some areas of law that are kind of complicated. They are always open to me asking questions, even when I feel like, "These are dumb questions," but it feels comfortable, and I'm glad I've found that at Agruss Law Firm.

We've been helping out a lot of clients recently who've had issues with ADT, or Vivint, and some of the other security system companies. And consumers throughout the country are protected under UDAP statutes. And UDAP stands for unfair deceptive acts and practices and, under these laws, consumers can get money damages back. And there's a fee shift provision so that means the other side pays our fees and costs.

So when clients come to us with security system issues, we help them. We help them resolve the issue. They get money damages. And the other side pays our fees and costs, so our clients never pay us a penny for our time.

Under various UDAP statutes consumers are entitled to money damages, and there's what's called a fee shift provision. That means our fees and costs are paid for by the other side. So if you're being harassed by a rent-to-own company, and they are some of the most aggressive companies I've seen go after consumers, whether it's harassing phone calls, contacting family, friends, or neighbors, you can contact my office. 

We will immediately get the harassment to stop, and not only are you entitled to money damages but based on the fee shift provision these rent-to-own companies have to pay my fees and costs, so you're not going to owe me a penny for my time. 

So, oftentimes my clients are having problems with internet companies, cable companies, cell phone providers, security systems, all of which have arbitration clauses in the contract. We then sue these big companies in arbitration. It's inexpensive and it gets quick results for our clients. Our clients have leverage over these big companies because in order to fund the arbitration case, the big companies have to spend thousands of dollars to just file an appearance, and then they've got to pay their own lawyers to defend the case. And when you're talking about a case that doesn't have a lot of money in damages, but there is a valid claim, it gives us leverage and we settle these cases quickly. And our arbitration cases are all over the country. We're able to file them no matter where the consumer is located.

And these gig companies are doing employment background checks, and oftentimes, our clients have inaccurate criminal activity on their background report. They will come to us. They are protected under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We dispute the inaccurate information and if it's not fixed, we go after the company reporting it. And under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, our clients are entitled to a fixed employment background report.

They're entitled to money damages and whoever's reporting that information is required to pay our fees and costs. So if you have a background check run on you and there's inaccurate information, you can contact us, we will dispute it for free. And if it's not fixed under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, we will go after that company, get it fixed, you're entitled to money damages, and that company pays our fees and costs, so you're not going to owe us a penny for our time.

The thing that I like most about personal injury cases is being able to handle the paperwork and the headache for clients while they focus on getting better. Dealing with the insurance and the different companies can get very stressful and so being able to take care of that so they don't need to worry about it is the thing that I like most.

The thing that I like most about consumer rights clients is how grateful and appreciative they are to learn that they have rights too. Everybody goes through different things and just finding out that whether you owe the debt or not, that the big businesses aren't the only ones that have protections is very helpful for people and I love being able to teach them that and help them through those hard times.

The thing that I like most about doing plaintiff's work is being able to be a voice for people who need one.

My favorite animal is a dog. I love all dogs. The app that I use most is a combination of quite a few different games. I like watching the stock market and Facebook. My favorite food is cheese. Everything needs cheese on it. My perfect vacation would be the beach. Any beach, as long as it's warm. Weekends are for family and spending time together and sleeping. If I was not working at Agruss as a legal assistant, I would be working as a teacher. My favorite book is the Hunger Games series. My favorite movie of all time, hands down, is The Princess Bride. Nothing holds a candle to that.

Working at Agruss is really nice because of how well we all get along, the comradery. How everybody helps everybody. I never have to be scared to ask a question. If I don't know the answer, I know that I can go to any one of my colleagues and I'll get that answer.

The thing I like most about consumer rights is that it gives individuals a voice to exercise their rights against big companies. A lot of individuals don't understand how many rights they do have when it comes to credit or harassment, so our clients are always very pleasantly surprised with the amount of help that we can provide for them.

I like being a plaintiff's attorney mostly because at the end of the day, I feel good about the work that I'm doing. I think it's important to understand who your clients are as an individual, as a person. I think if you can understand who your clients are, you can be a better advocate for them.
My favorite animal would definitely be a dog. If I had to pick just one, I'd go with Australian Shepherd. They're very energetic and intelligent and also very adorable. The app that I use the most would be Apple music. I'm constantly listening to music, especially while I'm working.

My favorite food would be steak and potatoes. My perfect vacation would be anywhere on a beach with warm weather. Weekends are for getting together with friends and family and socializing, finding new bars and restaurants in the city and just exploring Chicago overall.

I can't imagine doing anything other than being a lawyer and since I can remember, I've always wanted to be a lawyer, so I can't imagine any other job besides this one. My favorite book is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I think I read that entire book in three days. My favorite movie is the 2013 version of The Great Gatsby.

At the risk of sounding extremely cheesy, I genuinely like coming to work each day. Agruss Law Firm has a very cohesive and welcoming environment. We do a lot of intense work without the intense stress that comes with it. So, it's a very enjoyable place to work.

I use that every single day. It's a great stress reliever for me. My favorite food is Italian. I grew up on Italian dishes, so anything Italian is what I love. My perfect vacation would be anything on a beach, warm weather with ocean views. Weekends are for hanging out with friends and family. When it's summertime in Chicago, I really like to get outside and do a lot of activities outdoors. If I were not a paralegal, I would likely be some sort of investigator. I think solving crimes would be a very rewarding job to have. My favorite book is Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. My favorite movie is My Cousin Vinny with Joe Pesci. The work environment at Agruss Law Firm is very open and welcoming. I really enjoy coming into the office every day and working as a team with my fellow coworkers.

What I like most about our consumer rights clients is how incredibly grateful they are for the services we provide. Most of our clients were faced with unforeseen circumstances and we have the ability to get them back on track. Our clients express their gratitude through email, over the phone and on reviews on our website. I can't tell you how many clients refer us to their family and friends because they are so pleased with their results. A referral is the best compliment an attorney can receive.

What I like most about doing plaintiff's work is fighting for the underdog and making a difference. Most of our clients, from the second they are injured or the second they accrue debt, the odds are against them and we are oftentimes the only people that can help them. For example, when someone's in an auto accident, immediately after, they're struggling with issues with their property damage claim and those issues maintain throughout the personal injury claim. I can ensure that my clients aren't taken advantage of by insurance companies.

So I have never had a pet, but I would have to say a dog is my favorite animal. I hope to have one, one day. And in the meantime, I enjoy when Mike brings his dogs into the office. The app I use the most is Apple News. I think it's a great source for news from various resources. I don't have a favorite food. It really depends on what I have a taste for. I like sushi and enjoy cooking and trying new recipes at home.

Most of my trips are filled with adventure, from skiing to sightseeing and tourist activities. My favorite vacation is to Florida, where I can play golf and spend the afternoons by the pool or on the beach. Weekends are for spending time with family and friends. I actually grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and I'm fortunate that most of my friends and family are in the area, which makes it easy to get together, to try new restaurants and play a round of golf together.

If I was not a lawyer, I would be a medical doctor. I learned in high school chemistry class that I did not care for science, which made it easy for me to pursue a career as a lawyer. I think being a lawyer and doctor are pretty similar in that the hustle and bustle of a hospital is similar to being in a law firm. I believe that doctors have a need to continuously learn and develop professionally, like we do at Agruss Law Firm. And, of course, doctors get to help people, which is why I love my job as an attorney.

I will read just about any John Grisham book and have accumulated quite a collection of his books over the years. I don't have a specific favorite movie, but I love a good Rom-Com such as The Proposal or How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

Working at Agruss Law Firm is like being part of a team. Mike is our coach, who will guide us along and provide us with the tools that we need to succeed. We succeed when our clients are happy. Every person at the firm has a role and there is pressure to perform and do their job to ensure that they don't let the team down and make sure that out clients are happy.

What do I like most about personal injury cases? Someone who has just been injured is often overwhelmed and their life has just been turned upside down. Their focus should be on getting treated for their injuries and getting their life back to normal. At Agruss Law Firm, we are able to give our clients some peace of mind that we're taking care of the rest. We're dealing with the insurance company and the other legal aspects of their case.

What's great is that most consumer rights laws are federal statutes. This allows us to help people across the country. Consumer rights issues affect nearly everyone in one way or another. Most of us have received unwanted robocalls. Many of us have had inaccurate information on our credit reports. Many people have had tough times financially and they're being harassed by their creditors and debt collectors for payment. Even if someone owes a debt, creditors and debt collectors still have to follow certain rules when they're attempting to collect these debts, and those rules are often violated and we are here to help.

The plaintiff's work that we do means that we represent regular people; regular people to go against big corporations, banks, debt collection agencies, and insurance companies. Most of these places have armies of lawyers at their disposal, and regular people often don't have the money to hire an attorney. Here at Agruss Law Firm, we represent clients on what's known as a contingency, which in simple terms means that we only get paid if our clients get paid. This sort of arrangement is often referred to as giving regular people the key to the courtroom.

Most animals are pretty cool, but I have to say that my favorite animal is Chance the Snapper. You might have to Google that one. The app I use most is Words with Friends. Yes, people still play that.
There are so many great restaurants here in Chicago with all different types of cuisine, but I'm going to have to say that my favorite food is pizza. It's hard to go wrong with pizza.
I try to go on a snowboarding trip once a year. Really, anywhere where I can relax and have fun. Weekends are for hopefully doing something fun, hopefully relax, and hopefully not too much work. But being a lawyer, sometimes that goes with the territory.

Working at Agruss Law Firm, it's great. Honestly, we all work very well together. The high level of teamwork allows us to effectively and efficiently work on our client's cases. Although Mike is the boss, he is involved with every case that we sign up.

Mark Galler: Great, Mike. Thank you so much for having me on. I appreciate the invite here and this is a really wonderful setup you have.

Mike: Yeah, thanks. Absolutely. I just started doing this video podcast and when I was thinking about doing it, I knew for sure, I would have someone on early on to talk criminal law. When I was in law school, I loved criminal law. I love criminal procedure. My wife and I are total junkies for Law and Order, Dateline. I love the documentary series, Making a Murderer and the Aaron Hernandez Show that also recently came out. Tell me a little bit about what you do at your firm.

Mark Galler: Yeah, thank you Mike. My firm has been in existence since November 2018. I primarily practice and I'd say about 80% of my practice is criminal defense. I handle everything from simple traffic violations up into, including homicide and class acts offenses, everything in between. I'd say the real nuts and bolts of my practice would involve cases of possession of firearms, illegal possession of a firearm, drug cases and also, DUI practice as well.

Mike: Okay, and I think you'd agree with me that I think criminal law and family law and I'm sure there's other areas of law that are sort of their own separate animal, right? Tell me the difference between a criminal case and a civil case, what's the difference?

Mark Galler: That's a great question and a lot of times, I get that even from my clients or people that don't really understand how criminal law works. Criminal law is initiated by a victim of a criminal offense. Someone that they were either harmed by and they felt that they have been wronged so they go to the police, they file a report or complaints with their local police departments and then the police from there will initiate the proper procedure of filing a formal report. Maybe if it's a felony level, they'll reach out to the local states attorney's department.

Mark Galler: They will look to see if the assistant states attorney, that's in charge of maybe felony review, thinks that there is enough evidence or proper procedure to bring in a case in front of either a grand jury or a preliminary hearing which is where the officers or other victims would come in to testify or witnesses would testify if there's enough probable cause to bring a case. It's really, where the government comes in and steps in to protect individuals who have been harmed and they try to set an example for anyone else looking to commit a crime and saying, "Hey, if you do this, these are going to be the repercussions and we're going to protect the citizens of our state or our government."

Mike: Okay, and you just briefly touched on it as far as like the process from the time someone is arrested until trial. Walk me through all of the stages from what happens from day one until trial.

Mark Galler: Exactly, so there's a couple of ways that the criminal case can be initiated. The crime could have already occurred and the individual might not have been caught yet, okay? What often happens is, if the victim has some idea of the identity of that individual or maybe there is a video recording at a store location or from someone's cellphone, they will then try to track that individual down. Try to look at the person's identity. If they can identify the person through visual quality or if they have a name and then they'll issue an arrest warrant and that is to bring in that individual to face the charges against them. If they were arrested on the spot of committing the crime, say, they were trying to break into a phone store and the police were nearby, somebody saw them breaking in and they arrested them on the spot, then formal charges would start at that point.

Mark Galler: Now, the way that the next step works is once you're arrested, they have a certain amount of time to bring you in for a bond hearing. Typically, it's the next day. If it's in the morning hours, they'll bring you in, in the afternoon at the same day, where you'll go in front of a judge and try to get a bond set and hopefully be released from custody. Custody is where you remain in the protection of the police. That's the first step. The second step then is, they have to bring you in front of either a grand jury which is roughly 16 members of the community that'll hear evidence and testimony from witnesses from police officers who will basically explain to the jury, under oath, what they saw.

Mark Galler: Try to prove that there is problem ... the government is trying to prove then through question that there's probably cause to bring a formal case against that individual.

Mike: Let me jump in there because I've got a quick question about that. Is there always a grand jury depending on what type of charge, whether it's state or federal or if it's like a minor DUI or I don't know if you would consider that minor but is there always a grand jury?

Mark Galler: Great question, no, it really only applies to felony level cases which is anything ... class four felony is the lowest level of felony in Illinois and that's because you can spend at least 366 days in jail or longer. What separates a misdemeanor from a felony is simply that. The highest level of misdemeanor is misdemeanor A and you could spend up to 365 days in jail there. What Cook County did specifically for the longest time was, they would go through a preliminary hearing, which affords criminal defense attorneys like myself the opportunity to go into court, with my client and then question the officer or witness, under oath.

Mark Galler: Then ultimately be able to argue to the judge that there is no probable cause to bring the case and try to get it dismissed at that point but it's easier for the state now to just skip that step, bring the evidence and the officers into court and essentially, feed them the questions that they need without opposition from somebody like me and their chances of getting the grand jury to indict the individual is extremely high.

Mike: When someone is indicted, what is the next step?

Mark Galler: After they're indicted, then if the individuals are already in custody, then they have to go through an arraignment process and that's where they are brought into court. They're formally read the charges that are being brought against them. They're told the possible punishment and jail time that they could face and from there, after that arraignment takes place, now, you're in a full-fledged case.

Mike: Got it, and during the full-fledged case, I know what it's like in a civil case when you go through the discovery process, you answer interrogatories or questions, you turn over documents, parties sit for depositions and I want to know what's the difference in that discovery phase in a criminal case, right, like are there depositions, do you answer written discovery? How does that work?

Mark Galler: Yes, absolutely, the very first thing at least I do and most ... I would say most attorneys do in the criminal setting is they file right away a motion for discover...