Ethics & Professional Responsibility

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“Inquiry,” Naotake Murayama, licensed under CC-BY-SA-2.0
by Jim Doppke
Because many ARDC procedures are subject to the confidentiality requirements of Supreme Court Rule 766, the structures that support those procedures often seem opaque. Many Illinois lawyers don’t know exactly how a confidential investigation becomes a formal, and public, disciplinary complaint. This post will examine the body that authorizes the filing of formal cases: the Inquiry Board.
Like a Grand Jury
Supreme Court Rule 753(a), which authorizes the creation of the Inquiry Board, provides that “[t]he Board shall inquire into and investigate matters referred to it by the Administrator,” and…
Continue Reading Inquiring Into Inquiry

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On June 27, the Lawyers Trust Fund honored Sari W. Montgomery with its pro bono service award. The award recognizes Sari’s pro bono work with LTF, and with the Lawyers’​ Committee for Better Housing, on a project geared toward increasing access to justice for Illinois tenants in our state. Sari’s work and dedication illuminates the ways in which legal ethics lawyers can contribute to the profession and to society, and RSMD is most proud of Sari’s accomplishment.
Continue Reading RSMD’s Sari Montgomery Honored by Lawyers Trust Fund

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Sari Montgomery was a featured presenter at the ABA’s June 6, 2019 Young Professionals Event. She participated in a panel discussion on the professional responsibility implications of evolving technologies. Sari was pleased to be among other distinguished speakers, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and to help provide professional guidance to young practitioners.
Continue Reading RSMD’s Sari Montgomery Presents at ABA Young Professionals Event

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by Jim Doppke

In this post, we’ll take a look at two orders recently entered by the Supreme Court that affect the ARDC and its operations. One of the orders also affects lawyers who are being or have already been prosecuted, and the other affects lawyers who may be at risk of becoming the subject of an investigation.
Amendments to Supreme Court Rules 767 and 773
In its May 23, 2019 order, the Court amended Rules 767 and 773 to increase the amounts that disciplined lawyers are be required to pay in two contexts. Rule 767 pertains to reinstatement…
Continue Reading ARDC Rule Changes and Updates: Costs and Intermediaries

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by Jim Doppke

As Rhys Saunders recently posted, the ARDC released its 2018 Annual Report a couple of weeks ago. I’m still digesting some of the information in it, but there are some observations about the Illinois disciplinary system that can be gleaned from the basic data.
Number of Investigations Continues to Decline
This year, the Administrator of the ARDC docketed 5,029 investigations. Last year, there were 5,199. The year before that: 5,401. The Report itself notes a downward trend dating back to 2014, when there were 5,835. But despite that downward trend, the number of investigations can fluctuate; as…
Continue Reading Inside the Numbers: ARDC Annual Report

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by Jim Doppke

No. 6: What do you want?
No. 2: Information.
No. 6: Whose side are you on?
No. 2: That would be telling. We want information…information… information!!!
No. 6: You won’t get it!
– Opening Sequence, The Prisoner

Supreme Court Rule 766 provides that several phases and kinds of Illinois disciplinary proceedings “shall be private and confidential” – including the approximately 5,200 investigations the Administrator initiates per year. Seems simple enough: the investigations are confidential, and the formal charges are public. But how does it work in practice?

ARDC investigations can become, among other things, warehouses of information.
Continue Reading ARDC Confidentiality: How Does It Work?

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The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), the administrative agency that regulates licensed Illinois lawyers, has filed its year 2018 Annual Report with the Supreme Court of Illinois. The report was released to the public this morning when a copy was posted on the ARDC website.
A summary of the annual report is available at Highlights of the 2018 Annual Report.  
The ARDC annually evaluates the effectiveness of the disciplinary system.  Complete and comprehensive statistics concerning the disciplinary caseload are submitted to the Illinois Supreme Court and are published in the Annual Report. Few professions account for their…
Continue Reading ARDC Releases 2018 Annual Report

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by Jim Doppke
In my last blog post (further installments of which will appear here, on our new firm’s website), I discussed proposed Supreme Court Rule 781, which sets forth the responsibilities and authority of designated representatives of another lawyer’s practice in the event of that lawyer’s disappearance, death, disability, or other such event.
In this post, I will examine how the proposed Rule could raise questions about the potential disciplinary liability of the representative. I’ll also suggest a potential amendment to the proposed Rule that might help to ease concerns about that potential liability.
Lawyers acting as representatives…
Continue Reading Succession Planning: Representatives’ Risks

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On April 5, 2019, RSMD’s Mary Robinson presented the 26th annual Francis X. Riley Lecture on Professionalism at Northern Illinois University School of Law in DeKalb, IL. This lecture series was established in 1994 to honor the late Professor Emeritus Riley, who devoted his life to the law and legal education. It brings distinguished speakers to the NIU College of Law to discuss current issues relating to the legal profession.
Continue Reading Mary Robinson Presents at NIU Law

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To our valued clients, colleagues and friends,
We are excited to announce the formation of our new firm:
Robinson, Stewart, Montgomery & Doppke, LLC.
Practice dedicated to supporting lawyers pursuing ethical solutions to practice issues and lawyers defending accusations of unethical conduct.
We look forward to continuing to serve you.

Mary Robinsonmrobinson@rsmdlaw.com
Stephanie L. Stewartsstewart@rsmdlaw.com
Sari W. Montgomerysmontgomery@rsmdlaw.com
James A. Doppke, Jr.jdoppke@rsmdlaw.com
321 South Plymouth Court14th FloorChicago, IL 60604(312) 676-9875
www.rsmdlaw.com
Continue Reading Announcement: Robinson, Stewart, Montgomery & Doppke, LLC.

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