Chicago Area

Phi Alpha Delta International, Law Fraternity, Chicago Alumni Chapter welcomed two new members at a swearing in ceremony on May 5, 2014. The Honorable Judge James F. Holderman, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, officiated for the initiation ceremony swearing in his judicial law clerk Luke Thara and Chicago lawyer Inman Khan. In the photo from are (from left) new members Mr. Thara, a recent graduate of Yale College of Law, Mr. Khan, Bryan Bach, Vice Justice, Judge Holderman, Pierre Priestley, Daniel Thomann, Clerk, and Julie Ann Sebastian, Justice.

When attorney Robert Frankenstein introduced himself, people did a double take.

“What did you say your name was?’” they’d ask.

“Frankenstein, like the monster,” he’d reply.

If people pronounced it “Franken-STEIN,” he’d sometimes channel Gene Wilder from the movie “Young Frankenstein,” correcting them with a tongue-in-cheek hissy fit.

“It’s not Franken-STEIN, it’s Franken-STEEN,” he’d say.

But “then he would say, ‘whatever,’ ’’ said his daughter, Jamie Steckler.

Mr. Frankenstein, who really did pronounce it Franken-STEEN, went from being a kid who grew up in a West Rogers Park apartment to a lawyer who traveled the world, skiing and scuba diving. He tooled around Glencoe in his Corvette, his Labrador retriever Max riding shotgun, long ears fluttering behind him.

He died last month at his Palm Springs home at age 70. He was diagnosed in December with Stage IV lung cancer, said Susan, his wife of 43 years.

Read the full obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times

Joseph Hudson, a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, has received a Presidential Commendation from the Illinois State Bar Association for his extensive work on a complex case that involved a non-lawyer doing business on mechanics lien cases.

The award was presented by ISBA President Paula H. Holderman during the organization’s Board of Governors meeting in Chicago on May 2.

The case, which took five years to resolve, involved Steve Boucher, owner of Contractor’s Lien Services, who filed invalid liens against property owners and was charged with intimidating homeowners either to pay debts they didn’t owe or to overpay for debts incurred with contractors. Boucher hired lawyers to draft legal documents for the firm’s clients.

The matter was brought to the attention of the ISBA Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, which in turn worked with the State’s Attorney’s office and the Illinois Attorney General's office who brought a lawsuit against Boucher and his company, and sought a permanent injunction to prevent the defendant from engaging in selling mechanics lien filing and collections services in Illinois.

A judge ruled that the case constituted the unauthorized practice of law and enjoined the plaintiff and his company from engaging in selling mechanics lien filing and collections services in Illinois.

The text from Mr. Hudson's acceptance speech is available below:

Robert S. Krockey, 73, of Shorewood, Ill., and Fountain Hills, Arizona, passed away March 29, 2014. He was born to the late Sol and Miriam Krockey, December 6, 1940, in Chicago.

Mr. Krockey was a proud Roosevelt Rough Rider, Class of June, 1958; a graduate with a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Illinois, Class of 1962; a Certified Public Accountant since 1965; a graduate of DePaul University School of Law, 1966; and a member of the Illinois Bar since 1966.

Mr. Krockey practiced law in Joliet from 1967-2014. He was senior partner of the law firm, KCCC (Krockey, Cernugel, Cowgill and Clark). He served on numerous bar association committees and was a mentor to many. Mr. Krockey was a board member and President of Will County Legal Assistance Program for many years, devoting many hours of legal aid for the poor.

He was President of Will County Sheltered Workshop and United Cerebral Palsy, where he was recipient of the Mel Larson Award. Mr. Krockey also was a member of the Joliet Jewish Congregation, serving as Vice President at the time of his passing. He was a proud, very amateur musician with Southwest Community Band, Joliet Junior College Band, Bicentennial Park Band; a devoted University of Illinois alum, and a rabid Bears, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, and Bulls fan. More than anything, he was a lawyer who was devoted to his clients, and his greatest joy were his four grandchildren.