On January 8, the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission filed a complaint against Joanne Denison, a patent attorney from Chicago. Denison’s blog is the basis of the complaint. The complaint indicates that Denison has described and named people she believes are corrupting the probate process. Denison created the blog because of a Circuit Court judge’s denial of Denison’s application to be a guardian. According to the National Law Journal, Denison’s blog post refers to the probate system in Illinois as the ‘”sleazy world of probate” and the “garden variety theft, embezzlement, malpractice and malfeasance by attorneys and the court.”‘ In an interview, Denison expressed that she is not planning to remove her blog. The disciplinary commission claims the statements made on the blog are false and allege Denison breached four disciplinary rules. Additionally, the complaint states Denison is interfering with justice and disparaging the legal profession through her blog.
See Leigh Jones, Attorney’s Blogging Prompts Ethics Complaint, The National Law Journal, Jan. 31, 2013.
