The ARDC has filed a complaint against a lawyer arising out of his representation of a convicted murderer. The lawyer filed a motion for reduction of the sentence, but failed to take action to obtain a decision on the motion. Unfortunately, the lawyer is also accused of created false correspondence and submitting that correspondence to the ARDC. Count II sets forth the allegations:
“8. On July 12, 2019, the Administrator docketed an investigation of Respondent after receiving a request for investigation from McBride. McBride’s request for investigation stated that Respondent had not communicated with him after an initial contact immediately after Respondent’s appointment to represent McBride. McBride stated that he had made telephone calls and written letters to Respondent but had not gotten responses.
9. On July 23, 2019, Counsel for the Administrator sent a copy of the report to Respondent and requested that he respond to the report within 14 days. Respondent did not respond.
10. On August 14, 2019, Counsel for the Administrator sent Respondent a second letter stating that his response had not been received, he had a duty to comply, and that he should provide his response within seven days.
11. On August 25, 2019, Respondent provided a written response to the ARDC in which he stated he had had two telephone calls with McBride and that he had responded to correspondence from McBride.
12. Respondent’s statements in his August 25, 2019 response were false, because he had not had two telephone calls with McBride and he had not responded to McBride’s correspondence.
13. Respondent knew at the time he provided the August 25, 2019 response in paragraph 12 that the response was false.
14. On February 14, 2019, Respondent appeared for a sworn statement in the ARDC’s Springfield office. Prior to the commencement of the sworn statement, Respondent provided Counsel for the Administrator with 15 letters and represented that the letters were the correspondence he had mailed to McBride.
15. Respondent’s representation that he had mailed the 15 letters to McBride was false, because he did not mail the letters to McBride and created them at a later date.
16. Respondent knew at the time he provided the 15 letters to Counsel for the Administrator that they were false.
17. Respondent generated the letters described in order to mislead the Administrator.
18. During his February 14, 2019 sworn statement, Respondent stated that he provided 15 letters to Counsel for the Administrator which represented his correspondence he had sent to McBride.
19. Respondent’s representation during his sworn statement that he had corresponded with McBride in 15 letters was false, because he had not sent the letters to McBride.
20. Respondent knew at the time he made the statement in paragraph 18 that it was false.
21. During his sworn statement, Respondent also stated “I can’t speak to why he [McBride] wasn’t getting the letters. I mailed them to him.”
22. Respondent’s statement in paragraph 21 that he had mailed the letters to McBride was false, because he generated the letters at a later date to mislead the Administrator.
23. Respondent knew at the time he made the statement in paragraph 21 that it was false.
24. By reason of the conduct described above, Respondent has engaged in the following misconduct:
1, engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, in violation of Rule 8.4(c) of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct (2010), by conduct including knowingly making the false statements described in paragraphs 11, 14, 18, and 21 and by creating and presenting 15 letters to Counsel for the Administrator which Respondent falsely represented that he had sent to McBride.”
Comment: I have not included the lawyer’s name because these charges have not been proven or admitted. The obvious point here is that if you make a mistake you should tell the truth and own up to it and accept the consequences. Creating false paperwork is only going to make the result worse than it otherwise would have been. Should you have a question concerning an ARDC inquiry, do not hesitate to contact me. I am always available to take calls from lawyers who have questions about the ARDC process.
Ed Clinton, Jr.
Legal Ethics Lawyer 