The state’s highest court has ordered a Cook County judge convicted of mortgage fraud to present the court with reasons why the state should not yank her license to practice law and should not bar her from continuing to hold office as a judge.
A lawyer who was accused of mishandling about $700,000 in client funds has been disbarred, along with two others, according to the latest round of attorney disciplinary actions announced by the Illinois Supreme Court. The state high court also suspended five lawyers, including a lawyer accused of representing the city of Berwyn when she was not properly registered with the court to practice law.
A Chicago real estate lawyer convicted of defrauding banks for allegedly boosting a scheme to con mortgage lenders out of $1.5 million in loans on behalf of sham condo purchasers, has been suspended from practicing law in Illinois, one of 16 lawyers disciplined this month by the Illinois Supreme Court.
A federal judge has affirmed a bankruptcy court judge was correct in finding a 63-year-old lawyer is still required to repay $500,000 in student loan debt, and not allowing him to shift the burden "at the expense of American taxpayers."
The Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) recently released its 2016 annual report, which shows the fewest number of grievances since 1988.
John L. Steele, a Chicago lawyer already indicted for his role in the Prenda Law shakedown scheme targeting downloaders of online porn, has been disbarred. On May 19, the Illinois Supreme Court announced its action against Steele, as well as six others who were disbarred by the court in attorney disciplinary orders handed down May 18. The court also suspended nine other attorneys and censured or reprimanded six more.
A Forest Park lawyer accused of skipping out on his client's trial and costing his client $33,000 in opponent attorney fees was among six lawyers disbarred in March by the Illinois Supreme Court, which also suspended 11 others and censured three.
The Illinois Supreme Court has issued a new rule, at the urging of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), concerning lawyers who opt to practice law without malpractice insurance.
A lawyer and businessman who formerly owned the Skybox on Sheffield rooftop club overlooking Wrigley Field has been disbarred just days after he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for allegedly concealing more than $1 million in revenue. Marc Hamid was one of four Illinois attorneys disbarred by the Illinois Supreme Court in January; eight others were suspended.
An Illinois appeals panel has backed up a Cook County judge in declaring the law should be interpreted to allow a write-in candidate who is seeking to win a judicial seat against a former law clerk accused of impersonating a judge to receive votes cast for her on Election Day. However, neither the appellate justices nor a Cook County judge have yet declared the write-in candidate the winner of the Nov. 8 election, saying the answer to that question should come from the Illinois Supreme Court.
A Cook County judge accused of urging and allowing a now-fired law clerk to preside over cases from the bench as if she were a judge has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and is no longer fit to continue as a judge, a state judicial discipline board has reported.
The Illinois Supreme Court will not allow a law clerk accused of impersonating a judge and presiding over cases in a Cook County courtroom to take the judicial oath of office, should she win election to the bench in the Cook County Circuit Court this month, pending the outcome of a state disciplinary investigation into her alleged misconduct.
Regulators of Illinois’ legal profession have asked the Illinois Supreme Court to take immediate action to block Rhonda Crawford, an attorney and fired Cook County Circuit Court law clerk, who was terminated this summer over allegations that she impersonated a judge from the bench, from being sworn in as an actual judge, should she win election in November.
An Oak Brook lawyer convicted of bank fraud for allegedly providing legal cover to help a South Side real estate seller offload property onto buyers “who could not legitimately qualify for mortgage loans” and to help a South Loop condo developer sell unsold units to straw buyers, was among 13 attorneys disbarred in September by the Illinois Supreme Court. The state high court also suspended 16 other attorneys for a range of rules violations, as part of the most recent round of lawyer disciplina
A lawyer who led the defense of Drew Peterson has launched a court fight with a pair of prominent Chicago patent litigation lawyers, saying the Chicago firm of Niro McAndrews owes him more than $32 million for allegedly horning in on a patent lawsuit against the makers of supermarket canned soup dispensers, while maneuvering to secure a chunk of a financing deal through leading lawsuit financier Gerchen Keller Capital, and cutting him and another attorney out of the case altogether.
CHICAGO – While disciplinary complaints among Illinois attorneys are down overall for the third year in a row, a trend likely to continue, more than half of such complaints in 2015 were aimed at older, seasoned attorneys, a newly released report says.
Five attorneys were disbarred in Illinois and an addition dozen were suspended in the latest round of disciplinary actions handed down by the Illinois Supreme Court.
A lawyer who allegedly took $15,000 from a client for his own use, was charged with criminal trespass for attempts to enter the Kane County Jail without proper attorney credentials, and then allegedly repeatedly threatened judges and other Kane County justice officials, accusing them of engaging in a racist conspiracy against him, was among five lawyers disbarred by the Illinois Supreme Court. The court suspended 14 others.
The Illinois State Supreme Court has disbarred a Highland Park attorney who a state lawyer discipline panel found had sexually harassed five female former employees, a neighbor and a woman he did not know who was walking down the street. On Nov. 17, the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission announced it had disbarred Paul M. Weiss and four other attorneys, while suspending 13 others.
