ARDC

The Supreme Court of Illinois has announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders entered yesterday, during the September 2012 Term of Court. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law. All information is provided by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.

The Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) released its 2011 Annual Report on Tuesday in conjunction with Law Day. ARDC is the administrative agency that regulates licensed Illinois lawyers. Highlights from the report are below, the full report is available at www.iardc.org.

• Lawyer Population

The names of 87,943 lawyers appeared on the Master Roll of Attorneys as of October 31, 2011. That number does not include 2,121 attorneys who took their oath of office in late 2011. The overall lawyer population in Illinois saw a modest increase of 1.3% from 2010. The number of newly admitted lawyers continues a steady increase first noted in 2005, with at least 2,000 more lawyers each year. The percentage of attorneys reporting a principal address outside Illinois remained constant at 27%. Counties with 500 or more attorneys experienced less than a 1% increase in growth.

The Illinois Supreme Court disbarred eight lawyers, suspended 14, censured one and reprimanded three in its latest disciplinary filing. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics rules.

The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Karen Hasara of Springfield, Illinois, to serve as a Commissioner of the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC). The ARDC is the Supreme Court agency that has administrative authority over more than 90,000 Illinois lawyers and investigates allegations of attorney misconduct.

Ms. Hasara, a non-lawyer, has a long history of public service in this state, beginning in 1975 when she was elected to serve on the Sangamon County Board. From 1980 through 1986, she was the Clerk of the Circuit Court of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, Sangamon County. In 1986, Ms. Hasara was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, where she served the 100th District, until being elected to the Illinois Senate in the newly formed 50th Legislative District in 1992. In 1995, she was elected the Mayor of Springfield, the first woman ever to hold that office. She was re-elected in 1999 and served until her term ended in 2003. She currently serves as a Trustee of the Springfield Mass Transit District.

Ms. Hasara is a member of the Board of Trustees for the University of Illinois, the Board of the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, and is active with the World Affairs Council of Central Illinois, the Rotary Club of Springfield, and the University of Illinois at Springfield Advisory Committee.