A Northern Indiana attorney was suspended for 90 days for lying to one of his clients. The attorney was retained by the client to seek an appeal of the denial of a petition for expungement of a misdemeanor theft conviction. During the course of representation, the client requested updates on the status of the appeal and the attorney made statements which implied that he had filed the appellate brief. However, no brief was ever filed by the attorney and the appellate court eventually dismissed the appeal with prejudice. The attorney never explained to the client of the dismissal or any of the available options, which led to the client filing a grievance. The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission found that the attorney violated several Indiana Professional Conduct Rules – 1.1, 1.3, 1.4(a)(3), 1.4(b), 3.3(a)(1), 8.1(a), and 8.4(c).

Alex Passo and Patterson Law Firm, LLC handle legal malpractice claims throughout Illinois and Indiana. If you have a matter that you would like to discuss with Alex you can reach him at (312) 750-1820 or apasso@pattersonlawfirm.com.