"Quick internal investigation justified termination, spokeswoman says
By Ameet Sachdev, Tribune reporter
When attorneys at large law firms get into trouble,
how do their firms respond?
"There's usually one of two reactions," said Michael Frisch,
who teaches legal ethics at Georgetown University Law
Center. "They either circle the wagons or kick him out."
Greenberg Traurig chose the latter Friday, after the firm
learned that Mark McCombs, an attorney in its Chicago office,
had been arrested the day before on charges that he stole
more than $1 million from a client.
The firm's quick response included scrubbing its Web site by
Friday afternoon of any trace that McCombs, 50, had spent the
last seven years there. Greenberg Traurig also reported
McCombs to the Illinois agency that disciplines lawyers.
What about the presumption of innocence?
Michael Gillespie, McCombs' attorney, said Greenberg Traurig jumped to conclusions before Cook County prosecutors filed formal charges against his client. "I wish it would have taken some time to let this thing develop a little bit before firing him," Gillespie said.
Greenberg Traurig may be prejudging McCombs' guilt but it is acting responsibly to protect McCombs' clients and the firm's reputation, said Frisch and other experts in professional responsibility. "When there are serious allegations involving a client, it's not unusual for a firm to sever ties even before the merits are
resolved," Frisch said.
Most recently, the Boston firm of Ropes & Gray cuts its ties with an associate after he was arrested in November for allegedly providing inside information about mergers his firm advised on. On the other hand, Mayer Brown put partner Joseph Collins on leave after he was indicted in 2007 on charges of facilitating financial fraud for a client. Collins resigned in July after he was convicted.
A Greenberg Traurig spokeswoman said the firm acted based on preliminary allegations filed by Cook County authorities as well as its own inquiry Friday afternoon. Cook County authorities have alleged that McCombs, a municipal lawyer, billed the village of Calumet Park for work he never performed. The spokeswoman said the firm had no prior knowledge of McCombs' alleged wrongdoing until it learned of his arrest late Thursday. "Separate from the charges, based on what we were able to learn quickly on Friday afternoon, in evaluating the situation, we determined that termination was the right course of action," spokeswoman Jill Perry said.
The preliminary allegations against McCombs appear to back up the firm's statement that it was kept in the dark. As recently as March 1, McCombs allegedly offered to pay the village $100,000 of his own money to settle the village's inquiry into his bills without involving his law firm, according to court documents. The lawyer feared that if the firm were notified, it would report him to Illinois disciplinary authorities and he would lose his law license, court papers said.
Perry added that the firm is conducting an internal investigation of McCombs, including a review of all of his billing. McCombs has represented a host of other Illinois communities, including Cicero, Posen and Phoenix, according to his online biography.
Though his termination does not look good in the court of public opinion, it should not hurt McCombs' defense, said Ron Safer, a former federal prosecutor who practices white-collar defense. Prosecutors would not be able to use the firm's statements to prove evidence of a crime, Safer said.
McCombs was released from custody after he posted bail, Gillespie said. ""
Source
www.ChicagoTribune.com
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