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Ethics
Lawyers who lied about capital contribution, cursed on hot mic among those sanctioned in Illinois
The Illinois Supreme Court has disciplined or accepted the resignation of several lawyers and two former judges in a series of orders Sept. 21. Image from Shutterstock.
The Illinois Supreme Court has disciplined or accepted the resignation of several lawyers and two former judges in a series of orders Sept. 21.
Among those sanctioned was a lawyer who muttered an obscenity into a courtroom hot mic and a lawyer who lied about his capital contribution to his law firm.
Law360 and the Legal Profession Blog have coverage.
The dispositions include:
• Chicago, Illinois, lawyer James Thomas Rollins, accused of faking documents to make it appear that he had paid much of his firm capital contribution by making vendor payments out of his pocket. He later paid his full $100,000 capital contribution. He is suspended for five months.
• Sugar Grove, Illinois, lawyer Alison H. Motta, accused of muttering an obscenity in a hot mic after a ruling against her. Motta allegedly described the ruling as “f- – -ing bulls- – -.” She is suspended for 90 days, with the suspension completely stayed if she completes a one-year period of probation.
• Retired Cook County, Illinois, Judge Patricia Manila Martin, accused of stealing more than $246,000 from a former Tuskegee Airman who had been married to her aunt. The elderly man was living in a nursing home. She is disbarred on consent.
• Former Macon County, Missouri, Judge Philip Eugene Prewitt, accused of threatening to reveal the affairs of a rival’s husband to dissuade her from running against him in the judicial election. In a conversation recorded by the rival, Prewitt said he planned to reveal how the woman was like “Hillary Clinton protecting that predator.” Prewitt is indefinitely suspended with no leave to apply for reinstatement for two years. Prewitt was also suspended in Missouri for at least two years in January.
• La Grange Highlands, Illinois, lawyer Jan R. Kowalski, convicted for using her attorney trust account to help her brother conceal assets in bankruptcy. She is disbarred on consent.
• Chicago, Illinois, lawyer Hassan Ali Abbas, convicted for internet scams, including romance scams that used online dating profiles to trick victims into sending him money. Abbas is suspended on an interim basis.
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