Court Opinion

ID: 9712793
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 05:00:13.793289+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:14.421577
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE MORAN, dissenting: The majority states that “[cjertainly the hearing and review boards cannot be faulted for recommending disbarment since the misconduct in this case commenced less than a year from the conclusion of the earlier disciplinary proceedings.” (95 Ill. 2d at 492.) I agree, and would therefore adopt the boards’ recommendation. Respondent neglected a legal matter entrusted to him and failed to return the $500 retainer fee. If this were the extent of respondent’s misconduct, I would agree that case law supports the sanction herein imposed. However, additional circumstances require harsher discipline than that which is meted out in a typical neglect case. As noted in the majority opinion, respondent gave assurances to his client which “constituted a calculated misrepresentation of the truth and were fraudulent.” (95 Ill. 2d at 490.) A default judgment entered against him in a malpractice suit has not been satisfied. Especially significant is that respondent violated his duty to attend the disciplinary proceeding before the Hearing Board. Although disbarment was recommended, he failed to file exceptions with the Review Board. This behavior manifests the same nonchalant attitude with which respondent has treated his clients’ affairs. Further, because of his failure to cooperate with the disciplinary commission, the mitigating circumstances which he urges, and upon which the majority partially relies, cannot be adequately appraised. Today’s opinion nevertheless concludes that the sanction of probationary suspension is sufficient to safeguard the public and maintain the integrity of the legal profession. This conclusion is belied by the fact that respondent has already been disciplined for professional misconduct on two prior occasions. In one instance, he was reprimanded. In 1978, he was suspended for three months for neglecting clients’ affairs, the same misconduct with which he is currently charged. (See In re Chapman (1978), 69 Ill. 2d 494.) Despite these sanctions, he has persisted in engaging in conduct unbecoming to a member of the legal profession. I am not persuaded that he will conform to professional standards in the future. Finally, the majority’s reliance on In re Driscoll (1981), 85 Ill. 2d 312, is misplaced. In that case, respondent was suspended for converting clients’ funds during a period of alcoholism, from which he recovered. However, in imposing the sanction of suspension, the court noted that where there is “no detailed evidence to show the attorney’s drinking was crucial to his misconduct,” disbarment is appropriate. (85 Ill. 2d 312, 315, citing In re Smith (1976), 63 Ill. 2d 250.) I fail to see upon what evidence the majority relied in concluding that respondent has controlled his alleged drinking problem, since he failed to appear or introduce any evidence before the disciplinary commission. Further, the respondent in In re Driscoll led an “exemplary life” prior to the misconduct charged in that case. .The court considered this factor as a mitigating circumstance. (85 Ill. 2d 312, 317.) That respondent in the instant case lacks a prior unblemished record is obvious. His inability to accord proper attention to his clients’ affairs is equally clear. We should not “permit this respondent to continue the practice of law and thus invite the public to retain the purported services of one to whom the common obligations of his profession mean so little.” In re Feldman (1982), 89 Ill. 2d 7, 13, quoting In re Clark (1956), 8 Ill. 2d 314, 321. For these reasons, I believe that disbarment, rather than probationary suspension, is the appropriate sanction. RYAN, C.J., joins in this dissent.