Lawyer Steals From His Secretary; Suspension Proposed
Sometimes a secretary or support staffer steals from a lawyer or the lawyer’s escrow account.
Rarely is it the other way around.
An attorney who had misappropriated funds from his “retired elderly secretary” should be suspended for three years, according to a recent report and recommendation of the Illinois Review Board.
When Respondent’s retired elderly secretary, Generose Schweickert (“Schweickert”), became ill in 2005, she asked Respondent for assistance in handling her financial affairs. Respondent prepared, and Schweickert executed, two powers of attorney giving Respondent power to handle Schweickert’s finances. Beginning in 2005, Respondent actively managed her affairs and he paid himself attorney fees for performing those services. In or about 2009, Schweickert became mentally incompetent. Thereafter, over several years, Respondent took $95,000 of Schweickert’s funds and used the money for his own personal purposes. In addition, Respondent failed to timely pay the nursing home where Schweickert resided resulting in an action by the nursing home to involuntarily transfer Schweickert and recover the delinquency. Respondent, acting as Schweickert’s attorney, failed to appear at a status conference and failed to comply with an agreed order entered in the matter.
A lesser sanction than disbarment was appropriate
While Respondent’s conduct could support a sanction of disbarment, we agree with the Hearing Board’s recommendation that Respondent’s misconduct warrants a three year suspension. However, we recommend that the suspension continue until further order of the Court. Respondent’s failure to fully understand the impropriety of his acts, as evidenced by his continued insistence that the takings were loans and his poor financial condition, support the necessity of a future assessment before he resumes the practice of law.
The secretary had worked for the attorney from 1964 until she retired in 1984. She never married and had no close relatives. (Mike Frisch)