Lawyer convicted of prostitution is suspended; ethics officials say she didn't disclose job
The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to a three-year suspension for a solo lawyer who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of prostitution and failed to disclose her illegal work history on her bar application.
Reema Nicki Bajaj, 28, of Sycamore, Ill., was suspended by consent in an order issued Friday. The petition alleges the prostitution occurred between 2005 and January 2011; Bajaj received her law license in November 2010 after graduating from Northern Illinois University College of Law.
According to a petition filed by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, Bajaj identified herself as “Nikita” in ads posted on AdultFriendFinder.com. She performed sex acts with two men who answered the ads, the IARDC alleges, one of which resulted in a June 2012 guilty plea. But Bajaj denied ever exchanging sex for money in sworn testimony in the ethics case in September 2012.
The IARDC says that testimony was false. The commission also alleges that Bajaj failed to disclose information on her bar application, including:
• She didn’t disclose her “Nikita” alias in response to a question asking if she had ever been known by other names.
• She didn’t disclose her employment as a prostitute in response to a question about jobs she held in the last 10 years.
• She answered no when asked about possible misconduct.
