Panel urges lawyer disbarment, charges misuse of $80,000 trust

By John Flynn Rooney Law Bulletin staff writer

Posted March 30, 2015 2:59 PM

Updated April 21, 2015 6:42 PM

A Northbrook lawyer should face disbarment because he allegedly used nearly $80,000 entrusted to pay an elderly woman’s expenses for other matters, a state lawyer-discipline panel majority recommended. The Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission Hearing Board urged the harshest sanction for Maurice W. Birt III. In December 2013, the ARDC administrator filed a second amended complaint against Birt. It alleged Birt, without authorization, used $79,963 entrusted to him by 93-year-old Maria Ziolkowski …

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