as of 6/18/2026 6:55:44 AM

James Douglas Cottrell

James D. Cottrell Law Office, P.C.
505 W. University Ave Suite 215
Champaign, Illinois 61820-3915

(217) 693-4905

jdc4@live.com

Date Admitted

May 05, 1983

Illinois Registration Status

Active and authorized to practice law

Malpractice Insurance

In annual registration, the attorney reported that the attorney, or the attorney’s firm, maintains malpractice insurance.

Public Record of Discipline and Pending Proceedings
Case(s) below are identified by caption and Commission case number. If there is more than one case, the cases are listed from most recent to oldest. A case may have more than one disposition or more than one component to a disposition, in which case each disposition and component is also listed separately within that case record, again in an order from most recent to oldest.

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In re Cottrell, James Douglas, 2022PR00069
Disposition Reprimand
Effective Date of Disposition 05/23/2024
End Date of Disposition 05/23/2024
Definition of Disposition A reprimand reflects a determination that the lawyer has engaged in misconduct, but that the violation is not so serious to warrant a sanction that would affect the lawyer’s authority to continue to practice law. As a result, a reprimand does not affect the authority of the lawyer to continue to practice law. A reprimand is the only form of discipline that may be imposed by the Hearing Board or Review Board. All other discipline must be imposed by the Supreme Court.
Case Summary Mr. Cottrell, who was licensed in 1983, was reprimanded. He purchased a retiring attorney’s law practice and accepted the responsibility to distribute $2,902 that was held in that attorney’s trust account and that belonged to various third parties associated with cases involving the retiring attorney’s law practice. He deposited those funds into his own trust account but later knowingly used the funds for his own benefit.
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