Appellate Victory for Attorney Accused of Committing Legal Malpractice during Whistleblower Lawsuit

Jim Sipchen and Tom Draths recently prevailed in the Illinois Appellate Court on behalf of an attorney who was alleged to have committed legal malpractice in the representation of a client in an underlying whistleblower/retaliatory discharge suit filed against Nicor Gas, Co. Plaintiff alleged that attorney was negligent in failing to take adequate discovery on his claims and failing to appear at a hearing on Nicor’s motion for summary judgment. In a 51-page opinion, the court affirmed the summary judgment Jim and Tom had won in the circuit court in favor of their client. The appellate court ruled that the plaintiff’s underlying employment claims were barred by the doctrine of judicial estoppel as well as plaintiff’s testimony which demonstrated that he had been discharged from Nicor for legitimate reasons. The case is Estate of Brummel v. Grossman, 2018 IL App (1st) 170516.