Suspension recommended for lawyer accused of indecent exposure, improper touching
An ethics review board is recommending an Illinois lawyer be suspended for 30 months and until further court order for allegedly exposing himself to two people and improperly touching four law firm employees.
The review board ruled on July 23 in the case against Paul M. Weiss of Highland Park, Illinois, the Legal Profession Blog reports. “Precedent, common sense, and regard for the public and the legal profession support a suspension,” according to the opinion by the Review Board of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
One review board member said suspension was insufficient and recommended disbarment.
The review board upheld these findings by a hearing board, which deemed the accusers’ suggestions more credible than Weiss’ denials in these instances:
• In 2002 and 2003, Weiss improperly touched a file clerk and the clerk’s sister, an office aide, and made improper phone calls to the file clerk. Weiss admitted having phone conversations, but denied any improprieties.
• Weiss took off his pants in front of a paralegal and rubbed his crotch suggestively before changing into suit pants. The paralegal slso “testified to a groping incident,” the review board said. Weiss admitted that he sometimes changed into a suit at the office, but denied any improper conduct. The paralegal worked at Weiss’ law firm from 1991 to 2001.
• In 1999 and 2000, Weiss often opened the door of his second-floor apartment and asked a neighbor walking down the stairs to retrieve the newspaper for him because he wasn’t dressed. After several occasions, the neighbor came to believe Weiss was intentionally exposing himself and asked him to stop. After that, the neighbor testified, Weiss “just opened the door and exposed himself completely.” Weiss denied opening the door enough to be seen naked.
• In 2003, Weiss asked a woman at the train station to walk up to his car, who said Weiss’ zipper was down and his penis exposed. Weiss said he was wearing shorts and “his package” could have “fallen out a little bit.” He was charged with disorderly conduct, a municipal ordinance violation, and received supervision after a stipulated bench trial. He argued disciplinary charges could not be based on an expunged record.
• Weiss touched a lawyer at his firm and made aggressive sexual suggestions in 2010. He denied the allegations.
The review board also considered prior discipline as an aggravating factor. According to the board, Weiss previously made obscene calls to a 17-year-old girl, to an associate who worked with him, to a paralegal and to another woman. The review board said that Weiss’ problems with sexually inappropriate behavior have escalated, despite undergoing some sort of therapy.
His “attempts to ‘paint himself as a victim of unscrupulous liars’ and ‘extortionists’ show that he is at risk of continuing this behavior, and will not rehabilitate himself,” the review board said.
The review board majority cited two reasons why disbarment wasn’t appropriate: Weiss had done good work in the field of class action law and the bulk of his misconduct occurred “quite some time ago.”
Weiss told the ABA Journal he is “obviously disappointed with the review board ruling. It recommends a sanction more drastic than when you have lawyers who steal from clients and take their money. The conduct here, almost all of it, is more than a decade old. I’m taking an appeal from the review board ruling to the supreme court and hope to vindicate my rights.”
Weiss said the disorderly conduct charge was a municipal ticket, and none of the allegations in the ethics case resulted in criminal charges. One of the ethics counts was the subject of a civil lawsuit, which was dismissed, he said.
Weiss said many lawyers have faced sexual harassment allegations but none has resulted in ethics charges in Illinois. “I’m the only one,” he said.
Related article:
ABAJournal.com: “Ethics Complaint Accuses Chicago Partner of Groping Employees, Taking Off His Pants”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Posner tosses ‘scandalous’ settlement, says judge didn’t heed danger signs”
