7th Circuit Court

Ex-Partner at Major Firms Settles with DOJ, Will Stop Promoting Tax Shelters, Turn Over Client Names

A former partner at two well-known Chicago-based law firms has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice concerning alleged sham tax shelters involving distressed foreign debt. John E. Rogers will stop promoting the tax shelters to clients as part of his pact in the Chicago federal district court…

Oct 4, 2011 5:39 PM CDT

Lawyer and Ex-Client Charged in Perjury and Obstruction Case re Failed Hospital and Offshore Trust

An Indiana lawyer and his former client have been federally indicted in Chicago in a perjury and obstruction case related to the demise of an Illinois hospital in which both formerly had an ownership interest. Attorney Frederick M. Cuppy and Peter G. Rogan are accused of standing in the way…

Oct 4, 2011 5:13 PM CDT

7th Circuit: Fired Johnson & Bell Lawyer Can Sue for Discrimination During State-Court Tort Appeal

A fired former associate of Johnson & Bell can sue the law firm for discrimination in federal court at the same time that he is appealing an Illinois state-court dismissal of his defamation case, a federal appeals court has ruled. Reversing a federal district judge’s decision that the court should…

Sep 22, 2011 9:38 PM CDT

7th Circuit Slaps Lawyer for 345-Word Sentence and Briefs Full of ‘Gibberish’

Corrected and Updated: A federal appeals court is so aggravated by the quality of an Illinois lawyer’s legal writing that it has ordered him to show cause why he shouldn’t be barred from practicing before the court. Lawyer Walter Maksym was “unable to file an intelligible complaint,” despite three tries…

Sep 20, 2011 12:33 PM CDT

Jailed for Web Threats to 3 Fed’l Judges, NJ Shock Jock Is Pro Se in Trial re Conn. Legislation Post

Already serving a 33-month prison term for threatening three federal judges in Chicago over the Internet, a former New Jersey shock jock could face substantially more time if he is convicted following a brief trial of the felony of inciting injury to Connecticut lawmakers. The Hartford Superior Court trial of…

Sep 16, 2011 1:12 AM CDT

Posner Defends Privacy Against Incursions by ‘Snooping’ Reporters and Bloggers

In oral arguments on Tuesday, federal appeals Judge Richard Posner saw some valid reasons to uphold an Illinois law barring audio recordings of police officers. Posner spoke in an appeal by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The law allows video recordings of police in…

Sep 14, 2011 1:49 PM CDT

Longtime 7th Circuit Judge Terence Evans Is Dead After Sudden Illness

Updated: A senior federal appeals court judge died overnight at a Chicago hospital after a sudden serious illness. Terence Evans, 71, was with his family at the University of Chicago Medical Center when he died of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and acute respiratory distress syndrome, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel…

Aug 11, 2011 5:27 PM CDT

Prosecutor Says Lawyer Tried to Get One Client, Who Owed Legal Fees, to Take Contract Hit on Another

An Illinois lawyer accused of trying to arrange a contract hit on a former client allegedly approached five individuals, including a client who owed him money for attorney’s fees, seeking to arrange a contract hit on an ex-client, according to a federal prosecutor. But the contract was never executed, and…

Aug 10, 2011 11:01 PM CDT

Torture Case Against Donald Rumsfeld to Go Forward, 7th Circuit Says

A torture lawsuit (PDF) brought against the U.S. and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, involving U.S. citizens working in Iraq can go forward, the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today. In a 2-1 opinion, UPI reports, the 7th Circuit rejected defense arguments that the claims should be…

Aug 8, 2011 9:27 PM CDT

Attorney Married to Hef’s Daughter to Pay $168K to Settle SEC Insider-Trading Case re Playboy Stock

Warned by his wife and the company’s general counsel not to trade in shares of Playboy stock, attorney William Marovitz, who has been married since 1995 to Christie Hefner, a former Playboy Enterprises Inc. CEO and the daughter of company founder Hugh Hefner, did so anyway. The result was a…

Aug 3, 2011 7:34 PM CDT

Ex-Law Dean at Kaplan Gets 1 Year for Sending Threatening Internet Messages

A former law dean at Kaplan Inc. has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for sending threatening messages concerning the online educational institution and its chief executive officer. Bennie Wilcox, 45, maintained that he did not send the 2007 emails and Internet postings at issue…

Jul 22, 2011 6:41 PM CDT

Suspended Lawyer Found Dead After Failing to Appear for Sentencing in Mail-Fraud Case

Updated: Scheduled to be in federal court in East St. Louis for sentencing today at 9 a.m. in a mail fraud case, an Illinois attorney sent his lawyer a fax at 8 a.m. saying he wouldn’t be there. The judge issued a warrant for the arrest of Dennis Nalick, 63,…

Jul 21, 2011 7:02 PM CDT

Are Lawyers in Blago Trial Under a Gag Order? It’s Hard to Say, Since They’re Not Talking

As a federal district court jury continues to deliberate in the political corruption case of impeached former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, it appears that lawyers in the Chicago case may be under a gag order. However, it’s hard to say for sure, because they’re not talking, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.…

Jun 24, 2011 1:47 PM CDT

7th Circuit Judge Blisters Lawyer for ‘Grotesque’ Damages Argument

Renowned federal appeals court judge Judge Richard Posner clearly wasn’t favorably impressed by a damages case brought by an alleged serial spammer seeking compensation for being put on an anti-spam organization’s blacklist. Calling the arguments advanced by attorney Joseph Kish and his client, e360, in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court…

Jun 15, 2011 2:13 AM CDT

Plaintiff Wins $95M in Sexual Harassment Case; Aaron’s Vows to Appeal, Blames Runaway Jury

In what may be a record-breaking award to a single plaintiff in a sexual harassment case, a federal jury in East St. Louis, Ill., yesterday awarded $95 million to a former employee of Aaron’s Inc. Of that amount, $15 million was compensatory and $80 million was punitive damages. The plaintiff…

Jun 9, 2011 10:19 PM CDT