EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this article contained incorrect information regarding actions to disbar an attorney. That information has been corrected in this version. We regret the error.
The Illinois Supreme Court has disbarred 11 attorneys, including four lawyers who were charged with separate federal offenses.
In addition to the disbarments, the justices suspended 35 attorneys, including a Highland Park attorney accused of engaging in sexual misconduct with six different women. The justices also censured or reprimanded five others.
The state high court actions make official actions recommended by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
Attorneys charged with federal offenses are Marguerite Elise Dixon-Roper, Theodore Levy Freedman, Roxanne Bryant Jackson, and Constantine Peter Kallas.
Marguerite Elise Dixon-Roper, of Chicago, was disbarred on consent after pleading guilty to a federal charge of mail fraud in connection with a purported scheme to purchase and refinance properties using loan applications containing knowingly false information.
Theodore Levy Freedman, of Pine Plaines, NY., was disbarred in the state of New York following a felony conviction in connection with tax evasion. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline.
Roxanne Bryant Jackson, of Matteson, was disbarred on consent after pleading guilty in a federal court in connection to bribery and kickbacks paid to an employee of the Illinois Department of Public Health in exchange for federal grants and contracts.
Constantine Peter Kallas, of Glen Ellyn, was disbarred on consent. While serving in the legal offices of the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement service, he illegally charged immigrants between $10,000 and $20,000 to submit false documentation to obtain immigration status. He and his wife collected at least $950,000 through this scheme. He was found guilty and sentenced to a 212-month prison term.
Other attorneys disbarred by the Supreme Court include:
Charisse Angela Bruno, of Buffalo Grove, who was disbarred for representing a client while serving under a previous law license suspension for professional misconduct.
Keith Joseph Hays, of Indianapolis, was disbarred on consent. The ARDC said “he falsely represented to a court and opposing counsel that his mother had died in a car accident,” and “that he was suffering from medical issues.”
Judd Barton James, of Hollywood, Fl., was disbarred after representing immigration clients while under suspension.
Michael Raymond Lippner, of Lemont, was disbarred on consent. The ARDC said it's investigation had found Lippner had taken "approximately $900,000 from a trust for which he was acting as an attorney.”
John H. Peiss, of Naperville, was disbarred after representing clients while under suspension and misappropriating client funds.
Daniel Rozenstrauch, of Chicago, was disbarred. The ARDC said “without authorization, he used more than $295,022 belonging to various clients.”
Robert M. Stephenson, of Chicago, was disbarred for misappropriating more than $339,000 he was to hold in trust for his two minor children.
Attorneys suspended by the Illinois Supreme Court include:
Jeffrey Thomas Abbott, of Bloomington, who was suspended for one year and until further order of the court after pleading guilty to DUI, battery and disorderly conduct charges. Abbott also failed to disclose the existence of cash assets when filing bankruptcy pleadings for a client.
Joshua Mark Bradley, of Marion, was suspended for two years and until further order of the court.
Roger Aaron Clay III, of Chicago, was suspended for six months and until further order of the court .
Steven Mark Cloh, of Chicago, was suspended for one year, with the suspension stayed after three months, followed by an 18-month probation.
Jeannette M. Conrad, of Chicago, was suspended for six months and until further order of the court .
Mark W. Costa, of Murphysboro, was suspended for one year and until further order of the court .
Christopher K. Davies, of Boca Raton, Fla, was suspended for two years and until further order of the court after being arrested and charged in Florida with a felony possession of controlled substances, including ecstasy. Those charges were eventually dismissed after a judge found officers didn't have probable cause to search his car. However the ARDC said he failed to cooperate with the subsequent ARDC investigation.
Joanne Marie Denison, of Niles, was suspended for three years and until further order of the court. The ARDC said “she repeatedly made false statements concerning the integrity of judges and others in weblog postings.”
Celestine Dotson, of St. Louis, Mo., was suspended for six months and until further order of the court after engaging in dishonest conduct in connection with a disciplinary action in Missouri.
Andrew Thomas Freund, of Crystal Lake, was suspended for two years and until further order of the court.
Todd Alexander Gordon, of O’Fallon, was suspended for one year and until further order of the court in connection to client neglect and drunk driving offenses. He is also required to make restitution.
Laurel Sue Hickman, of St. Charles, was suspended for one year, with the last six months stayed by a period of conditional probation.
Kaci L. Holguin, of Glen Ellyn, was suspended for six months and until further order of the court, with the suspension stayed in full in favor of a one-year probation.
Shawn Kelvin Hu, of Chicago, was suspended for one year and until further order of the court.
Edwin John Hull III, of Chicago, was suspended for 90 days.
Theodore Roosevelt Jamison III, of Chicago, was suspended for 18 months and until further order of the court.
Melanie Cheri’ King, of Flossmoor, was suspended for six months.
Kevin M. Lynch, of Naperville, was suspended for one year.
Thomas Margolis, of Carbondale, was suspended for 30 days.
Linda Rose Montgomery, of Chicago, was suspended for eight months and until further order of the court.
Peter Owen Muldoon, of Geneva, was suspended for six months and until further order of the court.
Sarah A. Naughton, of Tinley Park, was suspended for 30 days. The ARDC said “during the time she was employed as an Assistant Cook County State's Attorney, she entered a retail store with a companion after consuming alcohol. She engaged in disruptive behavior both inside and outside of the store. Police who were called to the scene handcuffed her and placed her in a police SUV. Thereafter, she repeatedly identified herself as an Assistant State’s Attorney and swore at a female officer, calling her derogatory names, and, after she was taken out of the SUV, sat on a curb screaming obscenities.”
David Edmund Neely, of Chicago, was suspended for two years and until he makes restitution.
Corey Michael Novick, of Chicago, was suspended for 60 days.
David Alan Novoselsky, of Waukegan, was suspended for six months.
Neil Allen Payne, of Peoria, was suspended for one year and until further order of the court.
George Nicolas Panagoulias, of Des Plaines, was suspended for one year and until further order of the court in connection to driving under the influence of alcohol.
Donald Paul Rosen, of Carpentersville, was suspended for three years and until further order of the court after failing to cooperate with a disciplinary investigation into thefts and fabrication of bank records. The ARDC said he also attempted to blame the investigated actions on his 82-year-old mother.
David M. Schrauth, of Winnetka, was suspended for 30 days for misleading a client to believe that a case was still pending for five years, while it had been dismissed.
Wanemond Smith, of Chicago, was suspended for two years for mismanaging funds. The suspension was stayed after 60 days, followed by a two-year probationary period.
Bruce Joseph Tackowiak, of Los Angeles, was suspended for two years as reciprocal discipline to a suspension in California.
Kelly Patrick Ward, of Dixon, was suspended for two years and until further order of the court. He was charged with a misdemeanor conviction after leaving the scene of an automobile collision, and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol while appearing in court.
Paul M. Weiss, of Highland Park, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the court. The ARDC said he “engaged in criminal conduct of a sexual nature against six different women, four of whom were his employees,” and “was previously disciplined for making obscene phone calls to a 17-year-old high school girl whom he had never met.”
David Paul Wiener, of Chicago, was suspended for one year and until further order of the court.
David Leo Wisniewski, of Prospect Heights, was suspended for six months and until further order of the court.
Attorneys reprimanded and censured include:
Paul D. Buhl of East Hampton, Conn.; Finis E. Williams Jr., of Concord, N.H.; Ernest Kurt Koehler, of Highland Park; James Joseph Gende II, of Pewaukee, Wisconsin; and Ronald Richard Duebbert, of Belleville.