Chicago Legal Malpractice Lawyer Blog
The case is captioned Robert Iuffues Webb II v. Janice Holmes, 2018 IL App (3d) 170167. Webb, who is not licensed to practice law, alleged that he had assisted Holmes with certain federal litigation. It is not clear exactly what the federal litigation involved. He alleged that he entered into an oral agreement with Holmes that he would assist her with the federal litigation in exchange for $150 plus 10% of any settlement. Eventually, after the case was filed, Holmes retained an attorney and settled her case.
The trial court dismissed Webb’s complaint and the Appellate Court affirmed. The court based its decision on the Illinois Attorney Act 705 ILCS 205/1 which prohibits a nonlawyer from earning compensation as a lawyer.
Conclusion: obviously the court reached the correct result. What is somewhat remarkable is that these allegations resulted in a published opinion given the well-settled law.