Illinois Supreme Court Disbars 3, Suspends 7 in Latest Disciplinary Filing

The Illinois Supreme Court announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on January 17, 2024. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.

Disbarred

Benjamin Kesler Herrington, Chicago

Mr. Herrington, who was licensed in 2003, was disbarred on consent after having pled guilty to a charge of criminal trespass to a motor vehicle. Mr. Herrington took possession of a parked Chicago Fire Department ambulance and drove it approximately 60 miles to Grundy County while ignoring police efforts to stop him.

William E. Miller, III, Alton

Mr. Miller, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1984, was disbarred on consent after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of theft and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing a peace officer. He took possession of property he knew had been stolen from two homes and attempted to sell it, and he made a false statement to police investigating the burglaries.

Andrew D. Purcell, Bridgeton, MO

Mr. Purcell was licensed in Missouri in 2013 and in Illinois in 2014. The Supreme Court of Missouri disbarred him after he pled guilty to misdemeanor stealing without consent in St. Louis County for having falsely represented to the City of Bridgeton, Missouri, that he was a resident of the ward from which he had been elected city councilman, and having received a salary for that position. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him. 

Suspended

Richard P. Broderick, Chicago

Mr. Broderick, who was licensed in 1994, was suspended for five months. He falsely represented to a court that he had been unable to file a motion because he had been admitted to the hospital and, thereafter, he altered dates on pre-existing medical records and submitted those falsified records to the court in order to support his earlier false statement. The suspension is effective on February 7, 2024.

Theron William Burall, Sterling

Mr. Burall, who was licensed in 2000, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court and until he makes restitution to a client for fees she paid to a second attorney. He submitted a certification falsely claiming that he had completed his Minimum Continuing Legal Education requirements, and, following his subsequent removal from the roll of attorneys for failing to complete MCLE requirements, he engaged in the unauthorized practice of law by continuing to represent clients. He also neglected one client’s dissolution matter, forcing her to retain a new attorney to complete the case. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Gabriel Paul Casey, Morton

Mr. Casey, who was licensed in 2011, was suspended from the practice of law for one year and until further order of the Court. While representing a client in a matter alleging elder abuse against a couple, he made false statements regarding his client’s intentions in a settlement demand letter and threatened to file criminal charges against the couple unless they settled the claim. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Andrew Franklin, Chicago

Mr. Franklin, who was licensed in 2015, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in its entirety in favor of an 18-month period of probation. His discipline arose in part from his 2022 guilty plea to possession of a controlled substance and in part from his use of a false driver’s license to rent a U.S. post office box under a fictitious name so as to conceal his receipt of illegal drugs.

Terry L. Gaca, Naperville

Mr. Gaca, who was licensed in 1987, was suspended for one year. While representing himself and his wife in a civil dispute involving claims that he operated an illegal boarding house, he made false statements about who resided in the house in various court pleadings. He also filed lawsuits concerning the dispute after he had registered as retired and was no longer authorized to practice law. The suspension is effective on February 7, 2024.

George Jackson, III, Decatur

Mr. Jackson, who was licensed in 1985, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court. While representing his biological brother in first-degree murder trial, Respondent made a number of false statements, in pleadings and orally at hearings, that were critical of the integrity and qualifications of judges. He also made insulting statements about opposing counsel. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Peter George Limperis, Burbank

Mr. Limperis, who was licensed in 1990, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court. He entered into an agreement with a client to buy the client’s home without the required disclosure of how their interests conflicted; he signed another attorney’s name to a real estate contract without that attorney’s knowledge or authorization; he prepared an attorney’s lien containing false information about legal fees he claimed to have earned; and he filed the lien to help his client fraudulently manipulate the price of the client’s home at a foreclosure sale. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Censured 

David Frederick Will, Chicago

Mr. Will, who was licensed in 1999, was censured. He agreed to represent an incarcerated client in filing a clemency petition but never filed the petition. He then falsely told the client’s wife, several times, that he had filed the petition before stopping all communication with the client and his wife.