Illinois Supreme Court Disbars 2, Suspends 8 in Latest Disciplinary Filing

The Illinois Supreme Court announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on September 25, 2026. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.

Disbarred

Osman A. Mirza, Brookfield, WI

Mr. Mirza, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 2016 and in Wisconsin in 2017, had his eligibility to practice law in Wisconsin revoked following his conviction for one count of felony stalking and one count of misdemeanor criminal trespass to a dwelling, both as acts of domestic violence directed at his former spouse. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.

Michael Roy Nack, St. Louis, MO

Mr. Nack, who was licensed to practice law in Missouri in 1978 and in Illinois in 1980, was disbarred in Missouri after he practiced law in that jurisdiction in violation of a previous order of suspension, misappropriated trust funds, and was convicted of multiple instances of driving while intoxicated. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.

Suspended

Mahdis Azimi, Chicago, IL

Ms. Azimi, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 2015, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court. Between 2021 and 2023, she did not file petitions or applications on behalf of her clients in seven immigration cases, either did not communicate with her clients about the status of their cases or made false statements to them, did not refund unearned fees in six cases, did not return client files in four cases or produce those files in response to an ARDC subpoena, and gave false testimony during the ARDC’s investigation of her conduct.

A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension that requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Kenton Carthal Cobb, Conway, AK

Mr. Cobb was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1994 and in Wyoming in 2023. On April 8, 2026, the Supreme Court of Wyoming suspended him for three months for his inattention to a suit brought against his client by a credit card company. He neither filed an appearance on behalf of the client nor an answer to the complaint against her, did not attend a scheduling conference, did not respond to the company’s motion for summary judgment, did not convey his client’s lump-sum settlement offer, and falsely stated to the client that the company had rejected her settlement offer. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended Mr. Cobb for three months. The suspension is effective October 15, 2026.

Katherine M. Gipe, Chicago, IL

Ms. Gipe, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 2014, was suspended from the practice of law for one year and until she reimburses the Client Protection Program for any payments the Program makes to her former clients. Ms. Gipe accepted a total of $7,000 as security retainers from two clients to represent them in domestic relations matters, deposited the funds into a personal business checking account instead of a trust account, did little to no work on behalf of the clients, intentionally used the security retainers for her own purposes before she had earned them, and did not return the unearned portions of the retainer funds to the clients when the representation ended. The suspension is effective October 15, 2026.

Paul David Katz, Deerfield, IL

Mr. Katz, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1973, was suspended for 90 days. Over a period of one year, he misused minimum billing increments to charge more than 4,000 hours for work he performed as a court-appointed attorney, thereby overrepresenting the time he actually spent and collecting an unreasonable fee. The suspension is effective October 15, 2026.

Thomas Gordon Maag, Wood River, IL

Mr. Maag, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 2000, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court. Mr. Maag did not diligently represent a married couple in three separate claims, did not reasonably communicate with them about the status of those cases or return their files to them after being discharged, and engaged in dishonesty by fabricating materials to make it appear that his effort to return the files to them had been damaged by postal authorities. He also made a false statement during the disciplinary investigation and refused to comply with an investigative subpoena. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension that requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.

Yanely Rocha Perez, Fort Worth, TX

Ms. Perez, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 2017, was suspended from the practice of law for six months. She used for her own purposes $820 that had been given to her by a client to pay filing fees for immigration matters involving the client and the client’s children, then did not file the applications the client requested. She also practiced law despite having been removed from the roll of attorneys for failing to meet her continuing legal education requirements and improperly held herself out as being authorized to practice law despite that removal. The suspension is effective October 15, 2026.

Troy Michael Schmelzer, Los Angeles, CA

Mr. Schmelzer was licensed in Illinois in 1992, in Arizona in 1998, and in California in 2000. On December 17, 2025, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Supreme Court of Arizona suspended him for six months and one day for knowingly failing to comply with a California court order concerning his own child support obligations, despite having previously been placed on disciplinary probation in Arizona and being ordered to come into compliance with those obligations. He was also suspended from the practice of law in California, effective October 23, 2024. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him for six months and until he is reinstated to the practice of law in Arizona. The suspension is effective October 15, 2026.

Reprimanded

Daniel Edward Morgan, Salt Lake City, UT

Mr. Morgan was licensed in Illinois in 2002 and was admitted in Arizona as in-house counsel in 2019. On November 23, 2025, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Supreme Court of Arizona reprimanded him. He acted as general counsel and chief compliance officer for an insurance agency and a securities firm, represented those entities in various transactions with a purchaser, and also represented a corporate official in his individual capacity. When the entities became involved in litigation in Florida, he negligently failed to recognize and inform his jointly represented clients of the effects of his joint representation and the common interest doctrine on client-lawyer confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded him.

Robert John Walsh, Las Vegas, NV

Mr. Walsh was licensed in Nevada in 1989 and in Illinois in 1990. Although Mr. Walsh has never been admitted to practice law in Arizona, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Supreme Court of Arizona reprimanded him for agreeing to represent a client in connection with claims arising from a car accident in Phoenix and misstating his billing rate on a billing statement and on a lien he asserted on the client’s personal injury recovery. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded him.

The Following Order Was Entered Before the September 2026 Term but Was Not Included in Any Prior Information Release

Sean Lenckus, Bloomington, IL

Mr. Lenckus, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 2017, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. He was indicted in the federal court for the Central District of Illinois on five felony counts of Interstate Communications with a Threat to Injure. Those charges were based on Mr. Lenckus’ alleged posting of threats to kill African Americans in the comments sections of seven separate YouTube videos.