Lawyer Suspended Over DUI Arrests and Secret Sex Tapes
An Illinois attorney has had his law license suspended for two years over a combination of admitted misconduct, including two drunken-driving arrests and videotaping five women in sexual activities at his home without their consent, according to the State Journal-Register.
Nick Burgrabe, 52, formerly worked as a Lincoln city attorney and a Logan County public defender, as well as in private practice. The videos came to light as he and his wife were divorcing.
He refused to identify the five women, but said three were former clients and one was a former secretary in his Lincoln law office, according to a Jan. 5, 2010 report and recommendation by the Review Board of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. It can be found by searching the IARDC website.
The last videotape was made more than a decade ago, the report says.
Burgrabe was also accused of asking a client for a date in 2005 while representing her. However, he denied this and a hearing board found that the allegation was not proven by clear and convincing evidence, the report notes.
Disciplinary authorities considered what would, in effect, have been a shorter suspension, but decided that two years and reinstatement only by order of the court was merited because Burgrabe had not actively sought treatment for his problems.
