Illinois Supreme Court disbars 7 lawyers, suspends 9

The Illinois Supreme Court disbarred seven lawyers, suspended nine and censured three in its latest disciplinary filing. More information on each case is available at the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission Web site.

DISBARRED

• Nathan Andrew Billmaier, Chicago

Mr. Billmaier, who was licensed in 2006, was disbarred on consent. He was convicted of bringing contraband into a penal institution, possessing a controlled substance with intent to deliver, and possessing cannabis with intent to deliver. In the criminal case, he was sentenced to three years of probation, with the first 180 days to be spent in incarceration.

• Richard Isaac Fine, Los Angeles, Calif.

Mr. Fine was licensed in Illinois in 1964 and in California in 1973. The Supreme Court of California disbarred him for repeatedly filing frivolous lawsuits, pleadings and appeals. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.

• Jeffery William Green, Carbondale

Mr. Green, who was licensed in 2003, was disbarred. He misappropriated client funds, failed to diligently represent a client, made false statements to clients, and made misrepresentations to the ARDC.  He was suspended on an interim basis on September 15, 2009.

• Jeffery Bart Hollander, Detroit, Mich.

Mr. Hollander was licensed in Illinois in 1992 and in Michigan in 1993. He was disbarred in Michigan for settling a personal injury matter without his client’s knowledge or consent. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.

• Henry Moss Meersman, Moline

Mr. Meersman, who was licensed in 1951, was disbarred. While acting as the trustee of a testamentary trust that a decedent had established to benefit the decedent’s minor grandson, Mr. Meersman converted all of the trust assets, $30,656.73, to his own purposes.

• George V. Warren, Glenview

Mr. Warren was licensed to the practice of law in Michigan in 1968 and in Illinois in 1979. He was disbarred in Michigan for neglecting a client’s immigration case, refusing to refund unearned fees, and failing to be candid with the disciplinary authority. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.

• John P. Wolgamot, Danville

Mr. Wolgamot, who was licensed in 1974, was disbarred on consent. He pled guilty to a charge of willfully assisting a client in filing a fraudulent United States income tax return that understated the client’s income by $478,098. He was sentenced to term of imprisonment of one year and one day. Mr. Wolgamot was suspended on an interim basis on August 5, 2009.

SUSPENDED

• Robert Eugene Bennett, Chicago

Mr. Bennett, who was licensed in 1976, was suspended for six months and until further order of the Court. He neglected a client's immigration case and made misrepresentations to the client about the status of the matter. He failed to appear and participate in the disciplinary proceedings.

• Michael D. Ferreira, Chicago

Mr. Ferreira, who was licensed in 1991, was suspended for six months and until further order of the Court. He failed to communicate with two clients about their breach of contract claims and did not cooperate with the disciplinary investigation. He failed to appear and participate in the disciplinary proceedings.

• Gregory James German, Champaign

Mr. German, who was licensed in 1997, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court and was ordered to make certain restitution to a former client. He neglected two different client matters, misrepresented the status of one of those matters to his client, failed to carry out his duties in two cases where he had been appointed to serve as a guardian ad litem, and did not cooperate with the ARDC.

• Douglas W. Lohmar, Jr., Chicago

Mr. Lohmar, who was licensed in 1987, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of probation with conditions. He was convicted on two occasions of driving under the influence of alcohol.

• Michael Edward Marsh, Des Plaines

Mr. Marsh, who was licensed in 1980, was suspended for four years and until further order of the Court and until he satisfies a restitution order. He was convicted in state court on five misdemeanor counts of theft of client retainer monies.

• Robert Joseph Repel, Chicago

Mr. Repel, who was licensed in 1977, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of probation with conditions. He was convicted of two separate instances of driving under the influence of alcohol.

• Linda Diane Schlanger, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Ms. Schlanger was licensed in Tennessee in 1972 and in Illinois in 1974. She was suspended for five years in Tennessee after she pled guilty in federal court to conspiracy to defraud mortgage loan companies and financial institutions in several real estate transactions. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended her for five years. The suspension is effective on April 6, 2010.

• Dennis R. Schumacher, Mt. Morris

Mr. Schumacher, who was licensed in Illinois in 1979, was suspended for one year. He engaged in conduct involving battery when he made unsolicited and improper sexual advances toward both a female client and the wife of a second client. He then breached a fiduciary duty to both women clients and to a third client to whom he also made an unsolicited sexual advance over the telephone. The suspension is effective on April 6, 2010.

• Harold Louis Turner, Jr., Rockford

Mr. Turner, who was licensed in 1967, was suspended for three months and until he completes a course offered by the Illinois Professional Responsibility Institute. He mishandled settlement funds during a dispute with his former law firm partners over money that was due to each partner after the firm’s dissolution. The suspension is effective on April 6, 2010.

CENSURED

• Michael Scott Crosby, Rockford

Mr. Crosby, who was licensed in Illinois in 1980, was censured and required to complete the Professionalism Seminar of the Illinois Professional Responsibility Institute. He failed to promptly refund the unearned portion of fee advances he had received from several clients who had discharged him.

• James Russell Fennerty, Chicago

Mr. Fennerty, who was licensed in 1972, was censured. He prepared a will on behalf of a client giving himself and his wife a substantial gift. The client later revoked the will.

• Rex Lindsey Reu, Bloomington

Mr. Reu, who was licensed in 1978, was censured and required to complete the Professionalism Seminar of the Illinois Professional Responsibility Institute. He neglected discovery obligations in a client’s dissolution of marriage proceeding, resulting in the imposition of monetary sanctions against the client, and he failed to inform the client of the entry of the sanctions.

REPRIMAND

• Celeste Ann Hanlin, Mount Vernon

Ms. Hanlin was licensed in Illinois in 2004 and in Idaho the following year. She was informally admonished in Idaho for engaging in the unauthorized practice of law while she was a legal intern employed at a public defender’s office. At the time of the misconduct, she had not yet taken the Idaho bar examination. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded her.