Chicago lawyer David C. Wise is alleging his estranged law partner, Francis P. Morrissey, wrongly sued Wise for allegedly hiding a $5 million fee from him, to cover up that Morrissey was allegedly "not fit" to stay in the firm because of his allegedly "poor work ethic" and alleged alcohol-related indiscretions.
On Jan. 5 in Cook County Circuit Court, Morrissey sued Wise and another lawyer, John Nisivaco and Nisivaco's firm, Chicago Injury Law. Morrissey alleged Wise and Nisivaco conspired to conceal from him a multimillion-dollar personal injury settlement, allegedly depriving Morrissey of his share of the $5 million fee coming to Wise Morrissey LLC.
Wise claimed the suit is "unfounded" and Nisivaco claimed it is "baseless."
On Feb. 3, Wise countered with his own suit against Morrissey. Wise alleged Morrissey lodged an "incendiary and sensational" suit, made with the "malicious intent of publicly obscuring the real dispute between the parties: Morrissey's failure to work and contribute to the Firm as a 50/50 partner and his extracurricular missteps which brought damaging notoriety to the Firm."
Wise claimed Morrissey filed the suit on behalf of himself and Wise Morrissey LLC, without Wise's consent. In addition, Morrissey "recklessly" included in the suit confidential financial information about the firm and its employees, and wrongly painted the firm's financial condition as poor, Wise alleged.
Wise alleged Morrissey concealed the suit from Wise for four days, so Morrissey could obtain from Wise his six-figure partner distribution, a distribution Morrissey knew Wise would not have made if he had known of the suit.
One of the negative side effects of the suit's filing, was disquiet within the firm that led to the resignation of one of the firm's top earning lawyers, Wise claimed.
Wise alleged Morrissey's suit is "further proof that Morrissey is not fit to remain a member of the Firm."
Wise listed the other alleged reasons he believes Morrissey should no longer be in the firm.
According to Wise, Morrissey was "inexplicably absent from work for substantial periods" and would "regularly delegate" work to other lawyers in the office, causing "morale and management problems." Wise asserted that he, Wise, worked full time, carrying double the caseload of Morrissey.
"This stark disparity in work ethic, and results and Morrissey's refusal to meaningfully correct it, harmed the Firm. Not surprisingly, it also gave rise to a great and growing disparity between Wise and Morrissey in generating revenue for the Firm," Wise alleged.
Wise also looked askance at two out-of-office incidents allegedly involving Morrissey and alcohol.
In August 2021, Morrissey was allegedly injured at a restaurant-bar and had to be transported away by ambulance. The incident was seen by numerous judges and lawyers, according to Wise.
In April 2022, Morrissey was allegedly in an SUV driven by a drunken Cook County judge that crashed into a parked van, according to Wise and a report by the Chicago Sun-Times. Wise alleged Morrissey "lied" to him about the circumstances of the crash. Wise claimed members of the legal community "ridiculed" him for having believed Morrissey's alleged story.
Wise said he negotiated with Morrissey to change their 50/50 business relationship to an arrangement that reflected that Wise allegedly did more work and produced more revenue. However, talks broke down over this and other issues, with Morrissey engaging in "increasingly irrational behavior," Wise alleged.
Wise wants Morrissey to be declared to have been "involuntarily withdrawn" from the firm and to pay at least $10 million in damages.
In response to Wise's suit, Morrissey and his attorney, Naperville lawyer Eugene Geekie, released the following statement:
"Frank Morrissey's complaint outlines serious legal and ethical misconduct by two licensed attorneys, backed up by real evidence which supports the claims.
"One of the defendants, having seen his professional reputation destroyed by the unrebuttable evidence against him, chose to file his own new complaint - filled with unsupported allegations - in a desperate public relations effort to salvage his reputation, rather than squarely address the claims regarding his misconduct.
"Indeed, Wise and Morrissey signed an eleven-year long-term lease just a few years ago without ever a mention of Morrissey’s alleged poor work ethic Wise now claims has been a problem for years. We are confident that our claims will prevail at trial."
In court on Morrissey's suit, Nisivaco has filed a motion to throw out the part of Morrissey's suit that involves him, arguing there was no enforceable fee-sharing agreement with Wise Morrissey LLC. Nisivaco further contended Morrissey did no work on the personal injury case, and as far as Wise, Wise acknowledged he "did little work on the case to merit a fee."
Wise has been represented by attorneys Martin J. O'Hara and Steven P. Blonder, of the Chicago firm of Much Shelist.
Nisivaco has been defended by Daniel F. Konicek and Amanda J. Hamilton, of Konicek & Dillon, of suburban Geneva.