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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 Wednesday May 19, 2004 10:00 A.M. LAWYER
DISCIPLINARY ORDERS
The Supreme Court of Illinois on Monday May 17, 2004 and Tuesday May 18, 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 censure 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, is attached. 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 79,000 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 GARY MICHAEL ADELMAN, Attorney Number 15318 File
information: M.R. 19416, 03 CH 58
Mr.
Adelman, who was licensed in 1963, was suspended for 90
days for the unauthorized taking of $1,502 from a workers’
compensation settlement. The suspension is effective on
June 8, 2004.
In
re SCOTT MARTIN BELLER, Attorney Number 164283 File
Information: M.R. 19301, 02 CH 71
Mr.
Beller, who was licensed in 1977, was censured after
representing both the employer and employee in an
immigration matter. When the employee decided to take
another job, he wrote a letter to the INS on behalf of the
employer, accusing the employee of perpetrating a fraud on
the employer and the INS.
In
re JOSEPH JOHN BEMBENEK, Jr., Attorney Number 6197480 File
information: M.R. 19427, 03 SH 103 Mr. Bembenek, who was licensed in 1988, was censured and required to complete the professionalism seminar conducted by the Illinois Professional Responsibility Institute. He neglected a client’s case and the misled the client about the status of the matter. In
re ALONZO Q. BROWN, Attorney Number 6217523 File
information: M.R. 19364, 03 SH 2
Mr.
Brown, who was licensed in 1993, was suspended for two
years and until further order of the Court. He commingled
and converted client funds, failed to return unearned
fees, neglected client cases, and made misrepresentations
in bankruptcy cases that he had filed on behalf of
clients.
In
re LAUREN RENEE BROWN-PERRY, File
information: M.R. 19384, 04 RC 1502
Ms.
Brown-Perry was licensed in both Illinois and in Wisconsin
in 1980. She was suspended in Wisconsin for one year for
mishandling client funds in a real estate matter and for
failing to cooperate in the disciplinary proceedings.
Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended her
for one year, retroactive to the date of her Wisconsin
suspension, and until she is reinstated in Wisconsin.
In
re WARREN J. DOMINICK, Attorney Number 6191799 File
information: M.R. 19332, 03 CH 70
Mr.
Dominick, who was licensed in 1985, was censured and
ordered to complete a program offered by the Illinois
Professional Responsibility Institute. He neglected an
adoption case and a third-party claim in a dissolution of
marriage case.
In
re TIMOTHY LAWRENCE DONAHO, Jr., Attorney
Number
6204129 File
information: M.R. 19356, 03 SH 31
Mr. Donaho, who was licensed in 1990, and who was previously suspended in 2002, was disbarred. He misappropriated money from two clients and his law firm. In
re MICHAEL JOHN DUWALDT, Attorney
Number 6196805 File
information: M.R. 19357, 02 CH 74
Mr.
Duwaldt, who was licensed in 1987, was suspended for six
months and until further order of the Court. He neglected
to complete a settlement in a civil matter, prepared false
documents, and made repeated misrepresentations to a
client.
In
re TIMOTHY J. FITZGERALD, Attorney Number 6208418 File
Information: M.R. 19376, 98 CH 114
Mr.
Fitzgerald, who was licensed to practice in 1991, was
suspended for six months.
He was convicted of criminal damage to property and
of aggravated battery.
He broke into the home of a former girlfriend and
assaulted her and her guest. Later, he attacked another
man who had been on a date with the same former
girlfriend. The suspension is effective June 7, 2004.
In
re AIMEE ELIZABETH FORSBERG, Attorney Number 6244487 File
information: M.R. 19331, 02 CH 111
Ms. Forsberg, who was licensed to practice
law in 1998, was suspended for three months, the
suspension was stayed, and she was placed on probation for
one year. She failed to diligently conclude a probate
estate, ignored another attorney's efforts to settle a
dispute over escrowed funds, and failed to meet with a
client to discuss that client's response to a lawsuit.
In
re GARRY CLINTON GASTON, Sr., Attorney Number 6212211 File
information: M.R. 19372, 02 CH 119
Mr.
Gaston, who was licensed in 1993, was suspended for three
years and until further order of the Court. He settled a
lawsuit on behalf of a client without authorization and
then forged the client's signature to the settlement
documents, misappropriated settlement proceeds belonging
to thirteen clients, and accepted a loan from a client and
then entered into an agreement with the client purporting
to limit her right to pursue any disciplinary proceedings.
In addition, he neglected four separate client matters,
misrepresented the status of three of the matters to the
clients and failed to refund an unearned legal fee.
In
re RICHARD NEAL GOLDING, Attorney
Number 992100 File
information: M.R. 19325, 03 CH 52
Mr.
Golding, who was licensed in 1967, was suspended for one
year and until further order of the Court with all but the
first sixty days stayed by eighteen months of probation
with conditions. He conducted auctions relating to
two bankruptcy matters, collected the monies, failed to
timely remit all funds due, and improperly took his
compensation without prior authorization of the court. As
a result, he was charged with, and pled guilty to, federal
contempt of court. The
suspension is effective June 7, 2004.
In
re MICHAEL STEWART GRANT, Attorney
Number 1034839 File
information: M.R. 19410, 03 CH 11
Mr.
Grant, who was licensed in 1977, was suspended for six
months, with the suspension stayed after sixty days by one
year of probation subject to conditions. He mishandled
funds that he was holding as an escrowee when a proposed
real estate transaction failed. The
suspension is effective June 8, 2004.
In
re JONATHON TAYLOR GREEN, Attorney Number 1043641 File
information: M.R. 19368, 03 CH 27
Mr.
Green, who was licensed in 1977, was suspended for six
months and until further order of the Court, with the
suspension stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of
probation with conditions. He
neglected seven civil litigation matters.
In
re SPURGEON GREEN, III, Attorney Number 6220732 File
information: M.R.19320, 03 CH 44
Mr.
Green, who was licensed in 1994, was suspended for ninety
days. He neglected a personal injury matter, and the case
was dismissed for want of prosecution. After his client
filed a malpractice claim against him and sought to
collect a $160,000 judgment against him, he falsely
claimed in court pleadings that the judgment was invalid.
The suspension is effective June 7, 2004.
In
re JOHN F. HECKINGER, Jr., Attorney
Number 1169491 File
Information M. R. 19411, 03 CH 89
Mr.
Heckinger, who was licensed in 1975, was suspended
for sixty days. He mismanaged $8,039 in funds owed to his
clients or their creditors in four domestic relations
matters and wrongfully took another $4,595 in funds owed
to a client. He
also deposited personal and business funds into his client
trust account. The suspension is effective June 8, 2004.
In re JOHN
DAMORE JESKE, Attorney Number 6198826 File
Information: M.R. 19402, 02 CH 90
Mr. Jeske, who
was licensed in 1988, was suspended for one year and until
further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in
its entirety by a two-year period of probation with
conditions. He neglected a civil matter for which
he had been paid a $9,000 fee advance and provided his
client with false information regarding the status of the
case.
In re SPENCER
JOHNSON, Jr., Attorney Number 6221018 File
Information: M.R. 19337, 03 CH 18
Mr. Spencer, who
was licensed in 1994, was suspended for three years and
until further order of the Court.
In 2002, the Court entered an order placing
Mr. Johnson on disability inactive status. Thereafter, he
continued to represent clients in divorce and criminal
matters. He failed to
participate in the disciplinary proceedings.
In re THOMAS
CHRISTOPHER JONES, File
Information: M.R. 19375, 03 CH 63
Mr. Jones, who
was licensed in 1993, was suspended for thirty months and
until he completes certain restitution in the amount of
$66,389. He failed to refund unearned fees and neglected
sixteen different immigration cases. He also made false
statements to his clients and to the ARDC in order to
conceal his neglect of the cases. The suspension is
effective June 7, 2004.
In
re CHARLES ROBERT KNIGHT, Attorney Number 6212570 File
information: M.R. 19428, 04 RC 1501
Mr.
Knight was licensed in Connecticut in 1988 and in Illinois
in 1993. He was reprimanded in Connecticut for using
confidential information obtained during litigation to the
detriment of a third party. Illinois imposed reciprocal
discipline and reprimanded him.
In
re DANIEL L. KOEHL, Attorney Number 3121871 File
Information: M.R. 19394, 02 CH 116
Mr. Koehl, who
was licensed in 1978, was suspended for two years and
until further order of the Court. He continued to practice
law while previously suspended for misconduct,
misappropriated client funds entrusted to him to pay
property taxes in connection with a real estate
transaction, and made misrepresentations to his client
about the status of that transaction.
In
re LAURIE DIEADRE LAWRIJAN, Attorney Number 3128905 File Number: M.R. 19305, 01 CH 41
Ms. Lawrijan, who was licensed in 1981, was suspended for
six months and until she makes full restitution of $20,000
to a third party insurance company.
She neglected two
family estate matters, took excessive fees from those same
estates, and failed to cooperate with the disciplinary
investigation. The suspension is effective on June 7,
2004.
In re MARC
ERWIN LEVINE, Attorney Number 6180990 File
information: M.R. 19392, 00 CH 50
Mr. Levine, who
was licensed in 1981, was suspended for four years, with
two years of the suspension stayed subject to probation
with conditions. He converted and commingled personal
injury settlement funds and paid fees to non-lawyers for
referring clients to his firm. The suspension is effective
June 7, 2004.
In
re SYLVESTER C. LIN, Attorney Number 6244644 File information: M.R.19302, 03 CH 37 Mr. Lin, who was
licensed in 1998, was suspended for thirty days.
He took no action on a probate matter for which he
had been paid $500, failed to communicate with the client
and failed to refund the unearned fee until the day before
his disciplinary hearing. The suspension is effective on
June 7, 2004.
In
re JAMES J. MACCHITELLI, Attorney Number 6208773 File information: M.R. 19380, 02 CH 112 Mr.
Macchitelli, who was licensed in 1992, was suspended for
six months. He converted $4,000 in escrow funds he was
holding on behalf of a client. The suspension is
effective on June 7, 2004.
In
re SHEILA ELAINE McFARLAND, Attorney
Number 6225599 File Information: M.R. 19393, 02 CH 103 Ms.
McFarland, who was licensed in 1994, was suspended for two
and one-half years and until further order of the Court
and until she makes restitution. She neglected seven
client matters, resulting in a $150,000 default judgment
against one client, failed to refund promptly unearned
fees in four matters, and misappropriated client funds.
In
re DENNIS F. NALICK, Attorney Number 3121841 File information: M.R. 19294, 02 SH 63 Mr. Nalick, who was licensed in 1978, was suspended for
one year. He provided false information in a client’s
bankruptcy petition, failed to comply with the trustee’s
request for information, failed to timely respond to a
pleading, and filed a motion that contained false
information. The
suspension is effective on June 7, 2004.
In
re JAMES DIONISIOS NIFORATOS, File information: M.R. 19370, 02 CH 39 Mr. Niforatos, who was licensed in 1990, was disbarred.
He took, and failed to repay, approximately $3 million in
loans from a client. In addition, he falsely represented
to a third party that he had sufficient resources to
guarantee the return on an investment, but he did not
honor the obligation when it was not paid.
In
re NEIL DANIEL O’CONNOR, Attorney Number 2088363 File Information: M.R. 19328, 01 CH 96 Mr. O’Connor,
who was licensed in 1974, was suspended for thirty days.
Shortly after his law firm dissolved, his former partner,
with whom he had an ongoing dispute, settled a civil case.
Mr. O’Connor contacted his former partner’s opposing
counsel in that case and gave him information that
included the client’s confidential or secret statement
concerning the amount he had been willing to accept in
settlement. The suspension is effective on June 7, 2004.
In re LISA JO PELTON, Attorney
Number 6275677 File Information: M.R. 19327, 02 SH 67 Ms.
Pelton, who was licensed to practice law in 2001, was
suspended for three years and until further order of the
Court. She misappropriated client funds, neglected three
matters, made misrepresentations to clients, and failed to
return unearned fees.
She was also convicted of misdemeanor deceptive
practices.
In
re JOSEPH A. VITELL, Attorney Number 2904470 File information: M.R.19303, 00 CH 95 Mr. Vitell, who was licensed in 1969, was suspended for five months. For eight years, he received and negotiated workers’ compensation disability checks for a dead man, deducted his fee, and sent the balance to the man’s widow. He signed the decedent’s name to the checks pursuant to a power of attorney that he created after the man’s death. The suspension is effective on June 7, 2004. THE FOLLOWING
DISCIPLINARY ORDERS WERE ENTERED BY THE COURT BEFORE THE
MAY TERM BUT WERE NOT INCLUDED IN ANY PREVIOUS INFORMATION
RELEASE
In
re STEVEN J. DELLA ROSE, Attorney Number 6192497 File information: M.R. 19249, 04 CH 2 (Orders
entered March 23, 2004, and April 20, 2004) Mr. Della Rose, who was licensed in 1986, was suspended
on an interim basis and
until further order of the Court.
He was found guilty of mail fraud and sentenced to
a 41-month prison term.
He caused his client’s signature to be forged on
a $80,000 lump sum settlement agreement in a workers’
compensation case. He then recruited another client to
obtain a false identification card from an Illinois
Secretary of State’s Office employee. Using the false
identification card that identified him as the first
client, the second client cashed a $64,000 check that Mr.
Della Rose had made payable to the first client. The check purported to be the client’s settlement proceeds.
The second client gave the $64,000 to Mr. Della Rose. Mr.
Della Rose gave the second client $50 for his part in the
scheme.
In re MICHAEL EDWARD MARSH, Attorney Number
3126250 File information: M.R.19349, 02 CH 15 (Order entered May 4, 2004) Mr. Marsh, who was licensed in 1980, and censured on two prior occasions, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. An ARDC Hearing Board had earlier recommended that he be suspended for two years and until further order of the Court for failing to refund unearned fees to eleven clients despite their repeated requests for refunds and bills, making two false billing entries in one client’s bill, and for failing to respond to a Commission subpoena.
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