Dating
a
lawyer
can
be
rough.
Long
hours,
unnecessary
Latin
injected
into
conversations,
complaints
about
the
rule
of
law
being
in
crisis
when
you
really
just
want
to
re-watch
Chelsea
Handler’s
“The
Feeling”
—
the
list
goes
on.
But
one
thing
that
isn’t
mentioned
enough
is
that
sometimes,
they’re
just
outright
frauds.
And
as
bad
as
it
is
for
a
lawyer
to
fraud
their
clients,
Leonard
Samuel
DeFranco
also
committed
the
big
no-no
of
bringing
his
(fraudulent)
work
home.
After
ripping
off
his
clients,
he
“borrowed”
his
girlfriend’s
personal
information
to
take
out
in
thousands
in
bank
loans.
After
he
got
caught,
his
endeavors
earned
him
an
extended
prison
stay.
ABA
Journal
has
coverage
on
his
shenanigans:
A
disbarred
Illinois
lawyer
has
been
sentenced
to
six
years
in
prison
for
using
his
then-girlfriend’s
identifying
information
to
obtain
four
bank
loans
totaling
$82,700.
…
The
review
board
affirmed
findings
that
DeFranco
misappropriated
$161,608
in
client
funds
from
the
sale
of
a
business…DeFranco
then
obtained
a
$180,000
loan
from
a
client
to
repay
the
client
money
without
complying
with
required
safeguards,
the
review
board
said.
A
lawyer
in
Illinois
committing
fraud?
Come
on,
man,
Chicago
is
right
there!
There
has
to
be
some
decent
legal
work
when
you’re
within
driving
distance
from
one
of
the
largest
legal
hubs
in
the
country.
Fraud
might
make
for
short-term
gains,
but
the
returns
over
time
go
to
the
dumps
quick
if
and
when
you
get
caught.
Either
way,
the
legal
door
was
shut
on
DeFranco.
Referring
to
the
decision
to
disbar
him,
they
said
that
“the
record
contains
almost
no
evidence
demonstrating
that
[DeFranco]
is
likely
to
practice
law
in
an
ethical
manner
in
the
future.”
Disbarred
lawyer
Sentenced
For
Using
Then-Girlfriend’s
Identity
To
Take
Out
Over
$82K
In
Loans
[ABA
Journal]
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.