Drummed Out

An Illinois Hearing Board has recommended disbarment of an attorney who had defaulted on allegations of misconduct

We have considered the Administrator’s two-count Complaint, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 1. We have also considered the Order entered on April 29, 2015 deeming the allegations of the Complaint admitted, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 2.

We also considered the evidence the Administrator presented in aggravation, specifically the testimony of Schuyler Geller, Jack Kelly and James Burton and Administrator’s Exhibits 1 – 3. In particular, Geller described behavior by Respondent, including making baseless claims against opposing counsel and filing baseless criminal charges against opposing counsel and police officers, which clearly exceeded any reasonable boundaries. In addition, in registering with the ARDC for 2015, Respondent provided address information which was false, as evident from the testimony of the Administrator’s investigators. This shows a level of intent which provides further support for the sanction requested by the Administrator.

The Panel also considered in aggravation Respondent’s lack of cooperation and failure to participate in the disciplinary proceedings. In mitigation, counsel for the Administrator stated on the record Respondent has not been previously disciplined. We did not afford this factor significant weight, given Respondent’s serious misconduct and the significant aggravation.

The ABA Journal had reported on criminal charges relating to his creating a disturbance in a courthouse.

The charges were later dropped.

The Chicago Tribune had this story about the arrest and noted

According to his online biography, Fainman attended the University of Wisconsin and John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He cites experience as a pharmaceutical representative, a television producer and jazz drummer.

He apparently has a  “jazz, funk and acid jazz”  quartet. (Mike Frisch)