Ethics Case Against Bankruptcy Lawyer Is Based Partly on His Representation of Hinshaw Partner
An attorney ethics commission is recommending a one-year suspension against a well-connected Illinois lawyer partly because of his conduct while representing a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson.
The bankruptcy lawyer, John Narmont, has political connections to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and received support from a half dozen judges who testified to his reputation for honesty and integrity, the State Journal-Register reports. One of the judges, Thomas Appleton, is a state appeals judge, the story says.
Staffers from the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission had recommended a two-year suspension, but a hearing board shaved a year off of the recommendation, the story says. The hearing board found that Narmont violated fiduciary duties, had conflicts of interest, made false statements in court documents and got excessive judgments for legal fees before cases were completed, according to the story. The case is pending before the Illinois Supreme Court.
The Hinshaw allegations stem from Narmont’s representation of partner Russell Reed, who hired Narmont for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Narmont didn’t send notices to Hinshaw showing the firm as a creditor, even though Reed had loans from two retirement accounts, the story says, citing hearing board documents. Narmont told a bankruptcy judge he was trying to save Reed from embarrassment, and the law firm already knew about the bankruptcy anyway. The law firm did not know about the bankruptcy, the hearing board found.
Reed told the hearing board he wasn’t aware that the paperwork didn’t go to his law firm.
Narmont was censured in 1994 for writing a will for a business partner in which he was a beneficiary. The partner committed suicide and left a note and tape recording saying Narmont had ruined him financially, the story says.
