Lawyer's Defrauding of Client--Her Own Mom--in Real Estate Matter Merits Disbarment, Panel Says
Updated: An Illinois lawyer’s work on behalf of her own mother in a real estate matter and other conduct merits disbarment, a state hearing panel has recommended.
Ellen Frances Lang did not respond to a legal ethics complaint, and hence its allegations were deemed to be admitted, the panel notes in a report and recommendation issued Friday.
Among them, Lang is accused of having put title to a suburban Chicago home in her own name when handling the closing on behalf of her mother and having taken out and converted a $150,000 mortgage for her own benefit without her mother’s authorization. She also allegedly falsely represented that she had cancer and needed to get treatment to help persuade her mom to let her live in the home as a tenant and give her another $275,000 under the guise of needing money for medical care.
Her mother, Lenore Lang, filed a quiet title action prior to her death in 2009, and the respondent quitclaimed the house to her estate, the report says. However, it calls Ellen Lang’s conduct reprehensible, saying that she engaged in “intentionally deceptive” acts and caused family members who trusted her to suffer a financial loss. It also says her failure to respond to the complaint and defend her conduct shows a lack of concern for her profession.
The respondent now lives in Colorado and is unemployed, the hearing panel says. She has not been active as an Illinois attorney for some time.
Hat tip: Legal Profession Blog.
Updated on June 2 to rewrite headline.
