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NEW FILINGS,
HEARING SCHEDULES AND CLERK'S OFFICE Recent Disciplinary Decisions from Supreme Court | Recently Filed Complaints and Reports | Announcements | Schedule of Hearings | Clerk’s Office Services ANNOUNCEMENT OF DISCIPLINARY DECISIONS Tuesday, March 16, 2004 10:00 A.M. LAWYER
DISCIPLINARY ORDERS
The Supreme Court of Illinois on Friday March 12, 2004 and Monday March 15, 2004, announced the filing of disciplinary orders involving a number of licensed lawyers. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law. Discipline ranged from reprimand to disbarment. The name of each disciplined lawyer, the address at which the lawyer last practiced, and a brief summary of the misconduct that led to the sanction, can be found in the attached material. The announcement of the orders may be reviewed at the Supreme Court of Illinois website: www.state.il.us/court. The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), an Illinois Supreme Court agency, investigates alleged wrongdoing by Illinois attorneys,holds hearings on specific charges, and recommends discipline where warranted. The Supreme Court is, however, the only authority that can discipline lawyers for misconduct. The Supreme Court generally announces lawyer sanction orders during each formal term of Court. The Court convenes in term every January, March, May, September and November. There are approximately 80,000 attorneys in Illinois. A yearly fee of $229 is imposed on Illinois lawyers and helps to fund the ARDC. There are no tax dollars used to support the disciplinary system. The ARDC is composed of seven members, three of whom are non-lawyers. Attorney Benedict Schwarz II is the Commission Chairman. The ARDC Administrator is Mary Robinson. For additional information concerning these disciplinary orders contact:
James J. Grogan, Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission,
Chicago. 312-565-2600 or 1-800-826-8625 In
re WILLIAM OLIVER ARNOLD, Attorney Number 6198300|33
North Dearborn Street, Suite 500 File
Information: M. R.19149, 02 CH 118 Mr. Arnold, who was licensed in 1988, was disbarred. He misappropriated $15,145 from two clients, one of whom was an elderly woman.
In re
ALAN SCOTT BELKIN, Attorney
Number 160059 File
Information: M. R.19207, 03 RC 1517
Mr. Belkin was licensed
in Illinois and Ohio in 1972.
He resigned from the Ohio bar while a disciplinary
action was pending against him alleging that he had
neglected client matters and had engaged in a pattern of
misconduct. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal
discipline by suspending Mr. Belkin until he is reinstated
in Ohio.
In re THOMAS J.
BURNS, Attorney
Number 6236798 File
Information: M. R.19203, 02 CH 28 Mr. Burns, who was licensed in 1996, was suspended for sixty days. Without authority, he used two checks belonging to his then-girlfriend to pay approximately $800 he owed the telephone company. He also made a false statement in an application for a credit card, by claiming to be employed as an attorney at an annual salary of $58,000 when he was actually unemployed. In
re ROBERT J. EMERY, Attorney Number 6184876 File
Information: M.R. 19316, 02 CH 101, 03 CH 39 Mr. Emery, who was
licensed in 1983, was disbarred on consent.
He misappropriated at least $70,000 of client and
third party funds, neglected a client matter, and engaged in
conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or
misrepresentation. He
was suspended on an interim basis on December 4, 2003.
In re DENNIS LINLY
HALL, Attorney Number 6203332 File
Information: M.R. 19204, 03 RC 1518
Mr. Hall was licensed
in Illinois in 1990 and in Arizona the following year. The
Supreme Court of Arizona concluded that he had commingled
client funds and failed to follow required trust account
guidelines. He was censured and placed on probation for one
year, during which time he must attend a trust account
ethics enhancement program. The Illinois Supreme Court
censured him, as reciprocal discipline, and placed him on
probation for one year subject to the conditions of his
Arizona probation.
In
re RODNEY LANE HARRISON, Attorney
Number 6210623 File Information: M.R. 19281, 02 SH 84 Mr.
Harrison, who was licensed in 1992, was suspended for one
year and until further order of the Court, with the
suspension stayed by a five-year period of probation with
conditions. He
neglected traffic and criminal cases, and did not adequately
communicate with his clients. He also misrepresented the status of a case to a client and
failed to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation.
In re WILLIAM JAMES HOGAN, Attorney
Number 6194364 File Information: M.R. 19291, 03 SH 73 Mr.
Hogan, who was licensed in 1986, was disbarred on consent.
He misappropriated more than $83,000 from four
individuals while falsely representing to them that he had
invested the money on their behalf.
He also sent those investors statements and e-mails
that were false.
In
re PHILIP CHARLES HORN, Attorney Number 6201317 File
information: M.R. 19300, 03 CH 80 Mr.
Horn, who was licensed in 1989, was suspended for two years
and until further order of the Court. He neglected a
personal injury case and a real estate matter, failed to
cooperate with the disciplinary investigation, and did not
appear at his disciplinary hearing.
In
re ROBERT HOWARD KAEDING, Attorney Number
1379534 File Number: M.R. 19208, 03 CH
30
Mr. Kaeding, who was licensed in 1974, was suspended for
ninety days. Mr.
Kaeding engaged in a
conflict of interest when he served as both a real estate
broker and an attorney for two clients in their purchase of
two condominium units.
In
re BILL J. MILNER, Attorney Number 6193136 File
information: M.R. 19264, 03 SH 74 Mr. Milner, who was licensed in 1986, was suspended for
three months and until further order of the Court, with the
suspension stayed by two years of probation with conditions.
He was convicted of battering a sheriff’s deputy who was
responding to a domestic dispute, and he violated the terms
of probation by using alcohol and illegal drugs. In
re REID SCOTT NEUMAN, Attorney Number 2039729 File
information: M.R.19255, 02 CH 21 Mr. Neuman, who was
licensed in 1977, was disbarred.
He neglected twelve separate client matters, failed
to communicate with his clients, failed to refund unearned
fees and misappropriated client funds.
He also failed to participate in the disciplinary
hearing.
In
re JOSEPH AMBROSE PEIFFER, Attorney Number 6189834 File
Information: M.R. 19206, 03 RC 1519
Mr. Peiffer was licensed in Iowa in 1982 and in Illinois in
1985. He was reprimanded in Iowa after he failed to conduct
an adequate review of his clients’ documents pertaining to
a loan from the credit union to purchase a boat.
The clients sold the boat to a buyer who had no
knowledge of the credit union’s perfected security
interest, and the clients invested the proceeds of the sale
in exempt assets which they could retain after filing for
bankruptcy. Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and
reprimanded him.
In
re PAUL G. PETERSON, Attorney Number 6183940 File Number: M.R. 19162, 01 CH
83
Mr. Peterson, who was licensed in 1982, was suspended for
thirty months and until further order of the Court. He
possessed a controlled substance, cannabis, in violation of
Illinois law. He also
threatened to present, and did present, professional
disciplinary charges against another attorney to obtain an
advantage in a civil matter.
In
re ROBERT P. RITACCA, Attorney Number 312764 File
Information: M.R. 19254, 02 CH 79
Mr. Ritacca, who was licensed in 1980, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a one-year period of probation with conditions. He failed to disclose the identity of his client when required to do so, contacted a represented person without permission, and failed to supervise properly a non-lawyer subordinate.
In
re JOSEPH KINGSLAND ROBBINS, Attorney
Number 6192370 File
Information: M. R.19205, 03 RC 1516 Mr.
Robbins was licensed in Missouri in 1985 and in Illinois the
following year. The Missouri Supreme Court placed him on
probation for one year, subject to conditions, for
neglecting two client matters.
The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal
discipline by suspending him for one year, staying the
suspension in its entirety, and placing him on probation for
one year subject to the conditions of his Missouri
probation.
In
re JAMES JOSEPH ROMANEK, Attorney Number 2369915 File
information: M.R.19253, 02 CH 61 Mr. Romanek, who was licensed in 1976, was disbarred. He induced family members and a friend to make loans to him after he showed them fabricated documents that purported to prove that he was about to receive a $854,000 settlement check from a former employer. He also fled criminal charges pending against him in Kansas for driving under the influence.
In
re ROBERT V. SHUFF, Jr., Attorney Number 2594285 File
Information: M.R. 19209, 03 SH 51 Mr. Shuff, who was licensed in 1977, was suspended for eighteen months and until he satisfies a judgment in favor of a decedent’s estate for approximately $28,000.00. While he represented the estate, he misappropriated $4,200.00 of estate funds and failed to properly supervise his paralegal/secretary who misappropriated an additional $19,570.00. He also neglected a client’s two workers’ compensation matters.
In re
SHIRLEY LEU-TUAN WONG, Attorney
Number 3126498 File
Information: M. R. 19202, 02 CH 65 Ms.
Wong, who was licensed in 1980, was suspended for six
months. She mismanaged $38,297 in insurance proceeds that
she had agreed to hold in escrow for the restoration of an
apartment building. THE
FOLLOWING DISCIPLINARY ORDERS WERE ENTERED BY THE COURT
BEFORE THE MARCH TERM BUT WERE NOT INCLUDED IN ANY PREVIOUS
INFORMATION RELEASE
In re MARY ELIZABETH GORECKI,
Attorney Number 6208279 File Information: No. 96299, 01 CH 9 (Mandate issued January 30, 2004) Ms. Gorecki, who was licensed in 1991,
was suspended for four months. She falsely stated or implied, in a series of messages left on a
telephone answering machine, that she had the ability to
influence a public official if bribe money was paid to that
official.
In re PETER
ANGELO LOUTOS, Attorney Number 1695835 File Information: M. R. 19263, 04 CH 3 (Mandate issued February 5, 2004)
Mr. Loutos, who was licensed in 1964, was suspended
on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. He
was convicted in federal court of aiding and abetting a
false statement and was sentenced to a 37-month term of
imprisonment.
In re LEONARD THOMAS
TIMPONE, Attorney
Number 2835827 File
Information: No. 93178, 98 CH 73 (Mandate
issued February 20, 2004)
Mr. Timpone, who was licensed in 1970, was suspended for 42 months and until further order of the Court, effective March 26, 2001, the date of his interim suspension. He engaged in a conflict of interest by obtaining a $35,000 loan from a client, misappropriated more than $19,000 in settlement funds belonging to another client, and made misrepresentations to the disciplinary authority regarding his handling of those settlement funds.
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