Former Biglaw Partner Gets 3-Year Suspension For Double-Billing Scam

There’s also the matter of the faked invoices.

JAN 25, 2022 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: JAN 26, 2022

Warrenville, Illinois
Attorney Number: 6288209
Order entered: January 20, 2022

Mr. Hankes, who was licensed in 2006, was suspended for three years and until he completes the ARDC Professionalism Seminar, for converting nearly $80,000 of client funds. He accomplished the conversion by reactivating a dormant client account at the law firm at which he was a shareholder, creating and sending multiple false invoices, directing payments to the formally dormant account, and submitting fraudulent reimbursement requests to his firm’s accounting department. The suspension is effective on February 10, 2022.

Approximately one million years ago — that is, January 2020 — we first told you about the hot water former Vedder Price partner Robert Hankes was in, seeing as he was facing a disciplinary complaint by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.

Hankes, a one-time member of Vedder Price’s transportation finance team, faked invoices for more than $100,000 in fraudulent payments to client.

Hankes was allegedly terminated by Vedder Price on Oct. 2, 2019 over the scheme, which had begun in January of 2018.

Hankes was home grown at Vedder Price, he began working there in 2005 as a summer associate, and was made partner in 2014. Before joining the firm, Hankes, also a CPA, was auditor at Arthur Andersen and a financial analyst with Winston & Strawn.

Now according to a January 20th order, Hankes won’t be a lawyer — at least for the next three years. The Illinois Supreme Court has suspended him, what with the double-billing and faked expense reports.

The double billing stemmed from Hankes’ representation of a financial institution in financing and leasing matters involving other companies.

The financial institution’s agreements with the customer companies allowed them to be billed directly for legal services in certain circumstances.

Hankes billed the financial institution and its customers for the same legal work, wrongly collecting nearly $109,000 that he applied to the reactivated account, the review board said.

He also billed another client nearly $7,500 using a false invoice, according to the review board.

But those weren’t the only issues.

According to the review board, Hankes also sought reimbursement from the firm for expenses unrelated to the firm, such as $2,100 for nonexistent a “client event” and “race day,” ~$2,600 for a crossbow, purportedly for a gift, and ~$17,000 for first-class plane tickets he never used (the flight credit went instead to his personal credit card).

The review board say Hankes banked almost $80,000 this way.

In deciding his fate, there were mitigating factors:

Hankes made restitution on the eve of his disciplinary hearing, the review board said.

Other mitigating factors were that Hankes admitted his wrongdoing when confronted by Vedder Price’s general counsel, self-reported his conduct to ethics authorities, and was forthright during the ethics hearing.

He also had no prior discipline and a history of significant pro bono legal work.

In 2020, Vedder Price said the money scammed from clients was returned.

Ex-Vedder Price shareholder faces longer suspension for cheating on bills

SEP 22, 2021 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: JAN 26, 2022

Attorney regulators in Illinois are looking to extend a law license suspension for a former Vedder Price shareholder who admitted to cheating his clients out of nearly $80,000 by generating fake invoices and reimbursement requests.

A majority of the review board of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission on Tuesday recommended increasing Robert Hankes’ suspension from 20 months to three years, finding the original sentence proposed by the ARDC’s hearing board in December 2020 to be “clearly insufficient.”

In addition to the three-year suspension, Hankes would also take an ARDC professionalism seminar before he returns to practice under the board’s recommendation.

The Illinois Supreme Court ultimately imposes disciplinary measures after reviewing the ARDC’s recommendations.

Daniel Konicek, an attorney at Konicek & Dillon who represented Hankes, said they plan to appeal the review board’s finding to the high court.

“You have four people that thought 20 months was appropriate, and two people don’t,” Konicek said, referring to the unanimous decision from the hearing board. “So we’ll see what the Supreme Court says.”

The majority said Hankes, who worked at Vedder Price specializing in aircraft financing from 2005 until his dismissal in October 2019, “actively took multiple steps to conceal his misconduct.”

The majority consisted of Hinshaw & Culbertson partner Esther Seitz and Scott Szala, a retired Winston & Strawn partner who now teaches at the University of Illinois College of Law.

J. Timothy Eaton, a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister, dissented, arguing in favor of maintaining a 20-month suspension.

The majority described Hankes’ conduct as egregious enough to serve as grounds for disbarment.

But they ultimately agreed with the ARDC administrator, which brings disciplinary charges against attorneys, that Hankes’ suspension was sufficient based on past disciplinary cases.

The board noted Hankes admitted his misconduct to Vedder Price’s general counsel, self-reported to the ARDC and cooperated in disciplinary proceedings.

Eaton noted that Hankes has taken up an $18-an-hour job to support his family; Konicek said his client now works as a roofer.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated with comments from Daniel Konicek, who is representing Robert Hankes.