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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 Monday, November 28, 2005 10:00 A.M. LAWYER DISCIPLINARY ORDERS INFORMATION RELEASE The Supreme Court of Illinois on Tuesday November 22, 2005, 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. 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 over 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: In re STEPHEN CRAIG ALLEN,
Attorney Number 3123140 Mr. Allen, who was licensed in 1979, was disbarred. He misappropriated more than $241,000 of funds belonging to his law firm. In re MARC DAVID BERLIN,
Attorney Number 6207887 Mr. Berlin, who was licensed in 1991, was suspended for six months and until further order of the Court. He neglected a client’s post-conviction criminal matter and failed to return unearned fees. He did not participate in the disciplinary proceedings. In re JOHN FRANCIS BRENNAN,
Attorney Number 6187302 Mr. Brennan, who was licensed in 1984, was suspended for three months and until he completes the program offered by the Illinois Institute for Professional Responsibility and enrolls in a law office management course. He neglected a driver's license reinstatement claim and a foreclosure case. He also made misrepresentations to the client in the foreclosure case. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re CHARISSE ANGELA BRUNO,
Attorney Number 6186409 Ms. Bruno, who was licensed in 1983, was suspended for one year, with the suspension stayed after the first thirty days by probation with conditions. She neglected two different civil matters. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re JILL COURTNEY CHENAULT,
Attorney Number 6194389 Ms. Chenault was licensed in Illinois in 1986 and admitted in Michigan in 1990. She was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court in Michigan after she neglected a client who had paid her a retainer. Further, she failed to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation and defaulted in the formal disciplinary proceeding. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended her for one year and until she is reinstated in Michigan. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re ANTHONY CUDA,
Attorney Number 3126045 Mr. Cuda, who was licensed in 1980, was censured. He advanced $16,515 to nine different clients while representing them in pending or contemplated litigation. The advances were made to cover their living expenses, credit card bills, and child support payments. In re DANIEL ANTHONY CWYNAR,
Attorney Number 3124186 Mr. Cwynar, who was licensed in 1979, was suspended for three years. He converted over $91,000 he was supposed to be holding in trust. In addition, he paid a client a purported settlement when, in fact, he had never undertaken any action on that client’s behalf. He also deposited a check drawn on a closed account and failed to disburse promptly settlement funds in a personal injury matter. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re SAAD EL-AMIN,
Attorney Number 727717 Mr. El-Amin was licensed in Virginia in 1969 and admitted in Illinois in 1977. He resigned from the Virginia State Bar while disciplinary charges were pending against him. He charged an unreasonable fee, failed to adequately explain his fees, failed to withdraw from a case where he was required to do so by Virginia rules, did not adequately supervise non-lawyer employees, engaged in a conflict of interest, neglected cases, converted client funds and filed a frivolous suit. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him until he is reinstated in Virginia. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re KENNETH J. FERRIGNO,
Attorney Number 6271087 Mr. Ferrigno, who was licensed in 2000, was disbarred upon consent. He pled guilty to unauthorized publication or use of communications in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He illegally sold 2,604 DSS card-reprogramming devices that enabled a purchaser to decrypt satellite signals from DirectTV satellites by allowing the user to receive regular programming, pay-per-view program, and premium channel programming, without authorization or payment to DirectTV. In re JERRY FINNEY,
Attorney Number 811378 Mr. Finney, who was licensed in 1974, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court. He intentionally backed up his automobile into a person who had come to repossess the vehicle and then drove forward while the repoman was hanging onto the rear of the automobile. At the time of the misconduct, he was employed as an assistant county prosecutor. Following a bench trial, he was found guilty of two counts of reckless conduct and two counts of reckless driving and was sentenced to a twelve-month term of probation. He violated almost every term of the probation and it was subsequently revoked by the sentencing judge. Mr. Finney was previously disciplined for unrelated misconduct. In re STEPHEN EDWARD FORD,
Attorney Number 846457 Mr. Ford, who was licensed in 1977, was disbarred upon consent. He misappropriated more than $70,000 that he recovered in a wrongful-death case for a client; converted another $1,000 in earnest money; battered a former client by choking and punching the man outside a sandwich shop, and used a fraudulently-obtained credit card to purchase electronic goods and other items. In re WILLIAM FRANCIS HALEY,
Attorney Number 3122643 Mr. Haley, who was licensed in 1978, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed after sixty days pending completion of a two-year period of probation with conditions. He neglected five personal injury matters, mismanaged client funds, and initially failed to cooperate with the disciplinary process. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re KEITH HUNT,
Attorney Number 6190675 Mr. Hunt, who was licensed in 1985, was
suspended for thirty days for filing pleadings in federal
class action litigation in which he omitted and
misrepresented information regarding his intent to collect
contingent fees from his clients. The contingent fee was to
be collected notwithstanding the fact that he was going to
also receive court-awarded fees from a settlement fund
established by the defendant. The suspension is effective on
December 13, 2005. Mr. Jadron, who was licensed in 1989, was censured. He neglected a real estate matter and failed to return escrow funds relating to that matter for over one year. In re STANLEY F. KAPLAN,
Attorney Number 1400975 Mr. Kaplan, who was licensed in 1962, was suspended for one year, with the last three months stayed by probation with conditions. He misappropriated funds in two client matters and mismanaged his client trust account despite previously being sanctioned for similar misconduct. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re SHARRON LAMOREAUX,
Attorney Number 6217216 Ms. Lamoreaux, who was licensed in 1993, was suspended for three months and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of probation subject to conditions. Following a DUI arrest, she was involved in an altercation with police officers, injuring one of the officers. She subsequently pled guilty to misdemeanor battery and DUI. In re BITA LOGHMAN,
Attorney Number 6204841 Ms. Loghman, was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1990, and in California in 1992. She was suspended by the Supreme Court of California for ninety days followed by a two-year period of probation for engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. She continued to represent clients during a prior suspension of her law license. The Illinois Supreme Court suspended her for ninety days as reciprocal discipline. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re JAMES GEORGE MADDEN,
Attorney Number 1726013 Mr. Madden, who was licensed in 1960, was suspended for one year. He was convicted in federal court of three counts of willful failure to file income tax returns. Federal authorities had earlier determined that he had failed to file or pay income taxes for eleven years. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re WILLIAM D. MOORE Jr.,
Attorney Number 1952781 Mr. Moore, who was licensed in 1976, was disbarred upon consent. He misappropriated funds from a church where he was employed as senior pastor, falsified documents and made misrepresentations to the church regarding those funds, and converted funds in relation to two separate client matters. In re BRUCE NASH,
Attorney Number 6200502 Mr. Nash, who was licensed in 1989, was suspended for one year. He prepared documents for a real estate transaction while suspended for unrelated misconduct. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re PAUL IRA NEMOY,
Attorney Number 3121930 Mr. Nemoy, who was licensed in 1978, was suspended for one year, with the suspension stayed after the first six months by probation with conditions. He mismanaged more than $100,000 in client funds and commingled personal funds to cover shortfalls in his client trust account. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re JEFFREY JOSEPH NEPPL,
Attorney Number 6226555 Mr. Neppl, who was licensed in 1995, was disbarred upon consent. In early 2004, he began purchasing cocaine from a client on a regular basis. He used some of the cocaine himself and sold or distributed the rest. He also received cocaine in exchange for providing legal services. He pled guilty in the United States District Court on charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine In re JAMES BRIAN PIERCE,
Attorney Number 3124698 Mr. Pierce, who was licensed in 1979, was suspended for five months, with the last two months stayed pending completion of a twelve-month period of probation with conditions. He mismanaged approximately $4,000 in client funds, neglected civil matters, and attempted to conceal the neglect of one client’s matter from the client. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re LAWRENCE L. PRATT,
Attorney Number 6217237 Mr. Pratt was admitted in Missouri in 1992 and in Illinois the following year. He was reprimanded by the Supreme Court of Missouri for neglecting a client’s criminal post-conviction matter. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded him. In re MICHAEL WILLIAM PRZYBYLSKI,
Mr. Przybylski, who was licensed in 1998, was suspended for forty-five days. While employed by the Cook County Sheriff’s Department as a civilian computer system technician, he accessed the Sheriff’s Criminal History Records and Information System to obtain arrest records of approximately fifty individuals who had recently been charged with criminal offenses. He then sent postcards to the individuals, including one juvenile, whose record was sealed and confidential, with the intent of soliciting legal work for his private law business. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re KATHERINE ANN RODOSKY,
Attorney Number 6225948 Ms. Rodosky, who was licensed in 1994, was censured. She assisted other lawyers in filing pleadings in federal class action litigation where material information was omitted and misrepresented regarding the intent of the plaintiffs’ lawyers to collect contingent fees from their clients. The contingent fee was to be collected notwithstanding the fact that the lawyers were going to also receive court-awarded fees from a settlement fund established by the defendant in the case. In re MARK SCIBLO,
Attorney Number 6220562 Mr. Sciblo, who was licensed in 1994, was suspended for one year with the suspension stayed after thirty days by a period of probation subject to conditions. He aired a series of misleading advertisements on certain foreign language radio stations. In addition, he referred personal injury matters to another attorney without obtaining his clients’ written consent. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re BARRY MICHAEL SELTZER,
Attorney Number 6184869 Mr. Seltzer, who was licensed in 1983, was suspended for sixty days. He knowingly signed a false affidavit stating that he had contacted the lenders regarding a home his parents were purchasing and that the lenders had agreed to a lesser purchase price than was listed in the closing documents. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re JAMES SCOT TUKESBREY,
Attorney Number 3124219 Mr. Tukesbrey, who was licensed in 1979, was suspended for thirty days for mismanaging client funds and initially failing to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re EDWARD ROBERT VRDOLYAK,
Attorney Number 2912481 Mr. Vrdolyak, who was licensed in 1963, was suspended for thirty days for filing pleadings in federal class action litigation in which he omitted and misrepresented information regarding his intent to collect contingent fees from his clients. The contingent fee was to be collected notwithstanding the fact that he was going to also receive court-awarded fees from a settlement fund established by the defendant. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re DONALD G. WEILAND,
Attorney Number 3126481 Mr. Weiland, who was licensed in 1980, was suspended for eighteen months, with the last six months stayed by probation with conditions. He converted client funds that he was supposed to spend on litigation costs and he obtained loans from clients without appropriate warnings that he failed to repay until the clients took the matter to arbitration. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re JOHN VANDER WEIT, Jr.,
Attorney Number 2886510 Mr. Vander Weit, who was licensed in 1974, was suspended for twelve months and until he makes certain restitution to two clients and completes the program offered by the Illinois Institute for Professional Responsibility. He neglected two client matters, failed to return unearned fees to those clients, and did not cooperate with the disciplinary investigation. The suspension is effective on December 13, 2005. In re TIMOTHY JAMES WYLLIE,
Attorney Number 6204585 Mr. Wyllie, who was licensed in 1990, was disbarred upon consent. He was convicted in Indiana on child molestation charges and was sentenced to a thirty year-term of imprisonment in the Indiana Department of Corrections. In addition, he was convicted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois for knowingly transporting and shipping child pornography. In the federal court matter, he was sentenced to a ninety-seven month term of imprisonment, followed by three years supervised release, and was the subject of a forfeiture order regarding the equipment he used in connection with his criminal conduct. He was suspended on interim basis on October 25, 2005. The Following Disciplinary Orders Were Entered By The Court Before The November 2005 Term But Were Not Included In Any Previous Information Release In re JORGE A. MARRERO,
Attorney Number 6209275 Mr. Marrero, who was licensed in 1992, was suspended for six months and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed after thirty days by a two-year period of probation with condition with conditions necessary to monitor continuing treatment. He was convicted of driving while his license was revoked and aggravated driving under the influence. The suspension was effective on November 1, 2005. In re TERRENCE R. McGLYNN,
Attorney Number 6192135 Mr. McGlynn, who was licensed in 1986, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. A Hearing Board earlier concluded that he misappropriated funds that he was supposed to use to pay his client’s real estate taxes. He also converted escrow funds and then misrepresented to a court that he had distributed all of the funds to his client. Finally, he wrongfully took other funds in the amount of $26,886.59 from eleven other clients. |