Lawyer Blames Misbehavior on Generation Gap
Ethics pop quiz: is blaming the “generation gap” a valid defense to a Bar complaint that accuses you of inappropriate behavior with court employees?
Answer: who knows?
But we might soon get some clues from Skokie, Illinois, where a lawyer is facing disciplinary charges for persisting in “flirtatious and inappropriate behavior” with courthouse staff members after being banned from other parts of the building, according to news sources.
In 2021, county court administrators “received a written complaint from an employee at the Will County Courthouse which detailed allegations of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior by Respondent towards women employees of the Courthouse dating back to 2016,” according to a June 23 complaint filed by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. “This included, among other things, Respondent telling women who worked at the courthouse that they ‘smell really good,’ ‘look good enough to eat,’ as well as asking employees out on dates and offering to show women employees ‘a good time.’”
The ethics complaint seeks discipline for conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.
The ABA Journal reported the lawyer as saying, “with the exception of one instance where he patted a staff member on the head, he doesn’t think he did anything wrong” and that “he thinks his problems are due to a generation gap in what is considered appropriate.”
The lawyer has been licensed to practice since 1974.
Read the Ethics Complaint here.
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NC Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4
Professional Misconduct
It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:
(a) violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another;
(b) commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects;
(c) engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s fitness as a lawyer;
(d) engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice;
(e) state or imply an ability to influence improperly a government agency or official;
(f) knowingly assist a judge or judicial officer in conduct that is a violation of applicable rules of judicial conduct or other law; or
(g) intentionally prejudice or damage his or her client during the course of the professional relationship, except as may be required by Rule 3.3.
Rule 8.4 Misconduct | North Carolina State Bar (ncbar.gov)
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