Well-known fathers' rights lawyer suspended over unreasonable fees; lawyer staffing cited
A well-known father’s rights lawyer has been suspended for charging unreasonable fees of more than $443,000 in eight cases, some involving no more than three months of work. (Image from Shutterstock)
Updated: A well-known fathers’ rights lawyer has been suspended for charging unreasonable fees of more than $443,000 in eight cases, some involving no more than three months of work.
The fees charged by 72-year-old Jeffery Mark Leving of Chicago were unreasonable “for a variety of reasons, including the results actually obtained by the firm,” according to the July 18 petition to impose discipline on consent.
Practices that increased client fees included 18-minute increment billing, four-lawyer client meetings and two-lawyer court appearances, the ethics complaint had alleged. In one client’s case, Leving’s law firm sought more than $139,000 for about three months of work and withdrew before trial.
Leving agreed to the discipline, a suspension of five months, to be stayed after 60 days followed by a two-year period of probation, according to a Sept. 20 Illinois Supreme Court order. The probationary period would be revoked for violation of terms that include a requirement to reimburse the state client protection fund for payments stemming from his conduct.
A story by the the Chicago Sun-Times on the suspension reported that Leving tried—unsuccessfully—to prevent the newspaper from publishing “any negative content” about him through an advertising contract. The Chciago Sun-Times previously covered the allegations in March 2023.
Leving has contributed op-ed articles to the Chicago Sun-Times and frequently appears on radio and television. He has co-authored several Illinois laws, including statutes on joint custody, virtual visitation and parenting-time interference. Among his awards are a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joe Biden for commitment to volunteer service.
Leving has agreed to change his retainer agreement, including provisions about his firm’s minimum billing increments and client staffing, according to the July 18 petition for discipline. He has also returned fees to the eight clients identified in the ethics complaint in amounts found to be appropriate by an expert.
According to allegations in the complaint, the minimum billing increment at the Law Office of Jeffery M. Leving was 18 minutes. In-court time was billed in minimum one-hour increments.
In one instance, a lawyer allegedly billed 18 minutes for directing a paralegal to convert a Microsoft Word document.
New-client meetings allegedly included four lawyers: the intake attorney, the managing attorney, the mentee attorney who would be assigned the case and the mentee’s mentor. All the lawyers billed separately for their time attending the meeting, the complaint says.
When mentee attorneys went to court, the complaint alleges, they were required to be accompanied by their mentors, regardless of the nature of the appearance. Both lawyers billed at least one hour of time for the court appearance.
When clients were unable or unwilling to continue paying legal fees, Leving’s firm typically withdrew from the representation, the complaint says. In a survey of cases from January 2017 to May 2022 in which Leving’s firm entered an appearance, the firm withdrew less than eight months later 62% of the time.
In the divorce case of Jeffrey Syre, Leving’s firm collected $59,000 in legal for about three months of work and sent invoices for an additional $80,400, according to the petition for discipline. The firm had assigned eight attorneys, one legal assistant, four paralegals and one private investigator to work on the matter. Syre and his estranged wife had no minor children and were living in separate residences at the time.
A judge granted the firm’s motion to withdraw from the case eight days before a trial was set to begin. Syre represented himself at the trial because he had no more money for an attorney.
Three lawyers and a paralegal allegedly charged Syre for at least 12.9 hours of time for work on the withdrawal, amounting to more than $4,800, the ethics complaint says.
Leving has no prior discipline during more than 40 years of law practice. Arthur S. Kallow, litigation director for Leving’s firm, gave a written statement to the Chicago Sun-Times and the ABA Journal.
“Mr. Leving is very proud to have devoted his life’s work to fighting for fathers and protecting their children,” the statement said.
Leving’s firm was prepared to present expert testimony from a former divorce court judge if the case had gone to a hearing, Kallow said.
The agreement for discipline was reached, Kallow said, “in the interest of resolving the matter, rather than dragging it out through a hearing that could have demanded resources from the firm that are better used to serve our current clients.”
The suspension is set to take effect Oct. 11.
Updated Oct. 3 at 1:20 p.m. to include additional information from Arthur S. Kallow’s statement and to report that it was also sent to the ABA Journal.
