Everyone is talking about what AI can do.
Write marketing copy. Analyze contracts. Screen resumes. Answer customer questions. Summarize meetings. Build code. What far fewer people are talking about is what happens when AI gets something wrong.
That is where I see businesses getting into trouble.
Most business disputes do not start with bad intentions. They start with contracts that were written for a business environment that no longer exists.
The vendor agreement you drafted three years ago did not account for tariffs reshuffling your supply chain. The independent contractor arrangements your company relies on were built before enforcement agencies started looking much harder at how businesses classify workers. The employment practices you put in place assumed a set of rules that several states, including Illinois, have now rewritten.
In 2026, the distance between what your legal documents say and what the law now requires has grown wider, faster, than most business owners have had time to notice. That gap is where disputes begin, audits are triggered, and litigation gets filed.
What Is a Business Divorce?A business divorce refers to the breakdown of a working relationship between business partners or co-owners that makes continued collaboration impossible.
Unlike personal divorces, business divorces involve disputes over control of the company, financial transparency, ownership rights, and fiduciary responsibilities.
Most business partnerships do not collapse with dramatic confrontations or lawsuits.
They unravel quietly.
Communication slows. Financial transparency fades. Strategic decisions begin happening without discussion. One partner gradually pulls away while another assumes more control.
Chicago Business Attorney Blog