Matter of O’Hare (2013 NY Slip Op 05320). The New York Appellate Division has suspended a lawyer from the practice of law for one year for creating an online profile on a lesbian dating site. The lawyer who is male was also convicted of attempted aggravated harassment. The Court described…
Recently, the undersigned encountered an arbitration clause drafted by a successful Chicago law firm. I will quote the relevant language in full and then discuss what the language means for a client. I am not in any way criticizing the clause or the lawyers who drafted it. “This Agreement shall…
GROCHOCINSKI v. MAYER BROWN ROWE & MAW, LLP, Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 2013 – Google Scholar. The Seventh Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of this legal malpractice case filed by a bankruptcy trustee against Mayer Brown Rowe and Maw. This case has garnered some attention in the legal ethics…
Goldfine v. BARACK, FERRAZZANO, KIRSCHBAUM AND PERLMAN, Ill: Appellate Court, 1st Dist., 6th Div. 2013 – Google Scholar. The Illinois Appellate Court, First District, Sixth Division, has affirmed a judgment entered in favor of the plaintiff and against a defendant law firm. The allegation of negligence was that the law…
BEFORE THE HEARING BOARD. This is a complaint filed by the ARDC, the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. The ARDC’s complaint alleges that an attorney, Tina Marie Jacobs, filed a foreclosure case against a homeowner. The ARDC alleges that the lawyer failed to provide the homeowner with a grace period…
VALUKAS v. BOTTI MARINACCIO, LTD, Dist. Court, ND Illinois 2013 – Google Scholar. This is a decision dismissing a divorce malpractice claim on statute of limitations grounds. The plaintiff, James Valukas, hired the defendant law firm to represent him in his divorce. Valukas claimed that the law firm negligently drafted…
Filed June 12. The respondent, an attorney, was the President and Treasurer of her condo association. She allegedly used $5,666.29 in condominium funds for personal purchases. The Condominium association apparently reported her to the ARDC which filed a complaint. The Hearing Board states that the respondent had $175,000 in student…
KLINGELHOEFER v. PARKER, GROSSART, BAHENSKY & BEUCKE, LLP, 20 Neb. App. 825 – Neb: Court of Appeals 2013 – Google Scholar. This case concerns whether a member of an LLC can sue for legal malpractice the lawyers who represented the entity. The Nebraska Court of Appeals held that the plaintiff,…
BEFORE THE HEARING BOARD. This is a disciplinary complaint filed by the ARDC against a lawyer. The ARDC alleges that the 93 year old client entrusted $80,000 to the lawyer. The lawyer used $79,963 of the funds for his own expenses and did not use any of the money for…
This case is a somewhat routine affirmance of a bank fraud conviction and the rejection of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. The Defendant alleged that her lawyer rendered ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to call certain witnesses at the trial of the case. In the criminal world, an…