Illinois

Recruited by Skadden as She Neared 70, Chicago Lawyer’s Job Is to Bring in Business, Mentor Women

Sheli Rosenberg had retired in 2002, well-to-do and weary after decades as a high-profile Illinois lawyer. When Wayne Whalen of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom asked her to breakfast last year at the Chicago Club, Rosenberg, who is now 69, expected him to pitch her about making a political…

Jul 19, 2011 5:20 PM CDT

Suspension Recommended for Lawyer Who Sought Secretary via ‘Adult Gig’ Craigslist Ad

A one-year suspension has been recommended for an Illinois sole practitioner who advertised for a secretary/legal assistant in an ad posted on the “adult gigs” section of Craigslist. Samir Zia Chowhan also mishandled an immigration case while he was an associate at Hughes Socol Piers Resnick and Dym and did…

Jul 18, 2011 8:49 PM CDT

Kirkland & Ellis Reportedly Paying Top Real Estate Hires as Much as $4M to $5M

Kirkland & Ellis is paying top dollar for some lateral hires as it beefs up it commercial real estate practice. The law firm has hired 10 lawyers to the practice since March, the Chicago Tribune reports. Unnamed sources told the newspaper that at least two of the new hires are…

Jul 15, 2011 1:16 PM CDT

As Prosecutors Prepare to Try 1957 Child Murder Case, Suspect Learns of Lost Alibi Evidence

Difficulties are great for both prosecutors and the defense in a 1957 child murder case. Prosecutors charged Jack Daniel McCullough, 71, in the 1957 murder and abduction of 7-year-old Maria Ridulph after McCullough’s former girlfriend found an unused train ticket that helped refute his alibi, the Chicago Tribune reports. McCullough,…

Jul 13, 2011 2:57 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Quit Sidley for Cross-Country Trek Credits Dog in Bear Battle

A bankruptcy associate who quit Sidley Austin to trek cross country has battled bad weather and a black bear, but he’s alive and still walking, thanks to his dog. Chicago lawyer George Tyler Coulson found that that BigLaw wasn’t right for him, so he decided to take his tent and…

Jul 11, 2011 3:18 PM CDT

Edwards Angell Talking with Wildman Harrold About Possible Merger

A Chicago law firm and Boston-based Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge have confirmed that they are discussing a possible merger. If Edwards Angell and Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon tie the knot, that will add another 150 or so lawyers to the Edwards firm’s approximately 500-attorney roster, reports Crain’s Chicago…

Jul 6, 2011 7:57 PM CDT

Man Gets Protective Order for Self and Puggle During Family Estate Dispute re Autographed Baseballs

During his lifetime, Chicago White Sox investor Larry Pogofsky was the proud owner of a collection of autographed baseballs worth as much as $25,000 each. His ambition was to collect one signed by every Hall of Famer, reports the Chicago Tribune. Now, after his death at age 64, the collection…

Jul 5, 2011 5:40 PM CDT

Blagojevich Likely to Be Disbarred

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich may have bigger problems right now, but he can also probably kiss his law license goodbye. Blagojevich, convicted Monday on 17 counts of corruption, will almost certainly be disbarred, the top lawyer for the state supreme court’s attorney registration & disciplinary commission told the Chicago…

Jun 29, 2011 9:35 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

Was Wired ‘Undercover Mom’ the ‘Functional Equivalent of a Police Interrogation’?

There’s one person even the most hardened criminal finds hard to resist, when asked to confess his guilt, authorities say—his own mother. So when police are trying to get a suspect to talk, it’s a common tactic to try to persuade his mother to serve as an “undercover mom,” the…

Jun 20, 2011 9:15 PM CDT

Building Collapse Temporarily Closes Law Office and County Courthouse in Freeport, Ill.

Attorney Tim Mahoney’s day Wednesday began with a bang, literally. At a few minutes after 6 a.m. he got a call from the police department in Freeport, Ill. The building next to his law office on Galena Avenue had collapsed, putting Mahoney & Hauser’s structure at risk, too, reports the…

Jun 16, 2011 5:28 PM CDT

Ill. Lawyer Tells Police He Paid $40K to Extortionists Threatening to Expose Sexual Photos

An Illinois police chief is looking to prosecutors for guidance on whether to investigate a Leland Grove lawyer who says he paid more than $40,000 to a team of mother-daughter extortionists. One of the two accused extortionists, Stephanie Leifheit-Wilson, has pleaded guilty to theft and will be sentenced on Thursday,…

Jun 14, 2011 11:55 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

Disbarred Watergate Figure John Dean to Teach Ethics CLE

Former White House counsel John Dean was convicted of obstruction of justice for his role in the Watergate cover-up, and he thinks his experience is instructive. Though he was disbarred, Dean will teach two continuing legal education courses in Chicago this month, one of them a private event for the…

Jun 6, 2011 10:15 AM CDT

Lawyer Is Charged with Prostitution, Allegedly Tells Police She Gave It Up After Passing Bar

An Illinois lawyer recently admitted to the bar has been charged with prostitution after police say they discovered emails setting up trysts as part of an unrelated investigation. Police charged Reema Bajaj of Sycamore with three counts of prostitution, the Daily Chronicle reports. Bajaj allegedly admitted engaging in prostitution before…

Jun 2, 2011 1:43 PM CDT