03 Jan 2014 at 11:19 AM

Crime, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Prostitution, Sex, Sex Scandals

Former Law Dean Arrested On Prostitution-Related Charge

By Staci Zaretsky

Illinois Law has been going down ever since its inflated admissions data first came to light in 2011, and it hasn’t been pretty. The school put forth the “lone gunman theory of admissions fraud,” and Paul Pless, its former assistant dean for admissions and financial aid, was put on administrative leave, before he quietly resigned from his position. Not only did the school drop 24 spots in the U.S. News rankings, but it also got a costly spanking from the American Bar Association.
What’s happened to Paul Pless since then? Today’s news serves to remind us that some law school administrators love to screw — sometimes with numbers, and sometimes with hookers…

Several tipsters notified us about these allegations involving Paul Pless’s possible pleasures:

Paul Pless

On December 30, 2013, members of the Bloomington Police Department’s Street Crimes Division arrested four males in connection with a prostitution sting. The arrests all occurred at a local hotel in Bloomington. …
Paul Pless, 41, of Dewey was arrested for Solicitation of a Sexual Act (720 ILCS 5/11-14.1).
The Bloomington Police Department utilizes various websites and other investigative techniques to disrupt and deter prostitution activity in the City of Bloomington.
Pless [was] booked in at the McLean County Jail.

We wonder if Pless “knowingly and intentionally” attempted to cram everything he could into a prostitute — like he allegedly did with Illinois Law’s admissions stats. Given his apparent obsession with rankings-driven prestige, we’re surprised by these allegations — patronizing prostitutes isn’t exactly a peer activity.
But then again, Pless isn’t the first law school administrator to have been accused of such a crime. Mark Sargent, Villanova Law’s former dean, was implicated in a hooker hullaballoo back in 2009. Even law professors have allegedly been drawn in by the allure of ladies of the night. In 2007 and again in 2011, Professor D. Marvin Jones of Miami Law faced charges relating to the procurement of prostitutes.
We wish Paul Pless better luck fighting these charges than he had at Illinois Law. Let us take pity upon him; the poor man wasn’t even able to add Reema Bajaj as a notch on his bedpost.
Prostitution Sting: Four Men Arrested [City of Bloomington - Illinois]

30 Comments

• 
• Print

Topics

Admissions, Admissions Deans, Crime, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Paul Pless, Prostitution, Sex, Sex Scandals, University of Illinois College of Law

Story of lawyer, prostitute helps win an acquittal

Robert Gavi, Times Union

By Robert Gavin

Published 10:57 am, Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Page 1 of 1

Heard the one about the lawyer and the prostitute?
Jurors heard it, too. Then they spared a two-time violent felon a potential life sentence when he was acquitted after less than three hours of deliberation.
The one-liner in question was no joke, but rather part of attorney Cheryl Coleman's closing argument on behalf of her client, Raheem Hines, 35, of Albany, who was on trial last week for allegedly robbing a woman at knifepoint on Sept. 28, 2012 on the 200 block of North Pearl Street.
With two prior felony convictions, Hines was staring at life behind bars because his third rap would make him a "persistent violent felon," making him a candidate for 25 years to life.
Before the trial, Albany County prosecutors offered Hines a less-than-tempting plea bargain to resolve the case by serving 18 years to life. He rejected it.
The alleged robbery victim said Hines put a knife to her neck around 1:40 a.m., demanded all her money and robbed her of $20. She said she suffered defensive knife wounds to fingers on her left hand. Albany police, following sporadic drops of blood along North Pearl Street, located Hines in the nearby Ida Yarbrough housing development with his hand wrapped. They arrested him and found a $20 bill on him.
Easy case? Apparently not.
Coleman argued the woman was no robbery victim, but a prostitute. She noted there was no blood on the $20 bill and said the reason was that her client never gave it to the woman. Coleman focused on the woman's testimony that she had $30 but Hines robbed her of only $20 of it.
"What sense does that make?" Coleman told the jury before Judge Stephen Herrick. "What kind of robber only takes two-thirds of your money? Not even a lawyer does that. A lawyer takes one-third of your money. But who takes two-thirds? I mean, she said he said, 'Give me all your money.' What kind of robber leaves you with a third of it? What kind of robber leaves you with 10? The worst robber in the world? It makes no sense."
Jurors got the case at 10:13 a.m. Friday. By 12:58 p.m., they had their verdict: Not guilty.
The deliberations included time for lunch.
Hudson's not happy
Last week we focused on the case of convicted dog abuser Anthony Walker and that despite a five-year ban from owning pets, Walker is allowed to live in the same house as his mother's dog.
Suffice to say, that news was not overwhelmingly popular with many readers — not the least of whom was one of his four-legged victims.
The popular Facebook page for "Hudson the Railroad Puppy," one of the baby pit bulls who fell victim to Walker's abuse, posted an official statement after Law Beat reported Walker's unusual arrangement last week.
The statement explained Hudson's owners initially knew Walker would be allowed to live with his mother's dog, Bella. But when Albany County District Attorney David Soares began touting the pet ban, which lasts the length of Walker's probation, they thought that arrangement had been avoided.
"We were very excited and happy and thought something in the laws had changed that we didn't know about," Hudson's statement read. "Now to revert back to the original deal is just... Very Disappointing!!!! This monster scum should never be around an animal! EVER!!!!"
The page, created by Hudson's owner, is "liked" by at least 2,800 Facebook users.
Walker, 30, of Albany was sentenced by Judge Peter Lynch to six months in jail (time already served) and the five years probation for breaking Buster's Law, the state's felony animal cruelty statute.
Walker abandoned Hudson and his sisters, Pearl and Carina, last September on train tracks on Pearl Street. Hudson now needs to wear a prosthesis after his paw was amputated. Pearl lost two of her toes. Carina did not survive.
In January, Walker abandoned four more dogs, at least one starving and almost frozen to death, in a U-Haul trailer in Colonie.
His plea deal covered both cases. Soares told reporters even if Walker got the top sentence of two years in jail he could have adopted an animal once he got out.
He suggested the plea deal was a better option because it banned Walker from being around animals for five years.
Just not the dog owned by his mother.
rgavin@timesunion.com • 518-434-2403 • @RobertGavinTU

Editor's  note:  Go Reema!


Attorney Misconduct, Crime, Hotties, Legal Ethics, Pornography, Prostitution, Sex, Sex Scandals, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners

Reema Unchained: Attorney Who Pleaded Guilty To Prostitution Sues A Slew Of Local Lawyers

By David Lat

Reema Bajaj

In June 2011, we brought you the story of Reema Bajaj, a lovely young lawyer in Illinois who was accused of prostitution. I expressed a belief in her innocence, although my faith was somewhat shaken by the nude photos of her that circulated on the web. And then, in June 2012, Bajaj pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of prostitution.
After covering her guilty plea, we thought we had seen the last of her. As I wrote, “The post you’re now reading could very well represent the final story we write about Reema Bajaj…. We will miss writing about this colorful young woman, but we wish her the best in getting on with her life and her law practice.”
I spoke too soon. Now Bajaj is back — with a vengeance….
Note the UPDATE at the end of this post, based on comments from Bajaj’s counsel.

It appears that Bajaj had difficulty getting on with her life and her law practice in the wake of her prostitution plea. Although she kept her Illinois law license, as a legal ethics expert we interviewed predicted she would, Bajaj had trouble attracting clients.
Earlier this month, she dissolved her law practice. And yesterday she sued three local lawyers: a former prosecutor who worked on her case, Calvin Campbell; one of her own former defense attorneys, Timothy Johnson, who is now law partners with Campbell; and a “John Doe” defendant. Bajaj alleges that the three lawyers circulated nude photos of her, causing her emotional distress and hurting her ability to generate business (for her law practice). From the DeKalb Daily Chronicle:

The lawsuit, filed Monday in DeKalb County court by Reema “Nicki” Bajaj, 27, alleges that Campbell and local lawyer Timothy W. Johnson, who was acting as her defense attorney, showed nude photographs of her to other lawyers at the DeKalb County Courthouse in June 2011. The complaint also identified an unnamed “John Doe” lawyer working for the state’s attorney’s office.
Bajaj is seeking more than $50,000 from Campbell, Johnson, and [John Doe] in the suit for emotional distress and economic damage.

Bajaj is represented by Kevin D. McHugh and Amanda T. Adams, two 2007 graduates of Bajaj’s alma mater, Northern Illinois University College of Law, who now have their own law firms. McHugh, who appears to be taking the lead on the case, is a litigator, while Adams focuses on family law.
We heard about Bajaj’s complaint from multiple readers. This tipster plays for Team Reema:

Hi Guy! I’m a big fan of the BEAUTIFUL Nicki or Reema Bajaj. That’s how I found your site! I even requested you forward some of her pictures to me. Sadly, you didn’t.
(Though you mentioned me in one of your articles. Hee-hee, yes I’m a dirty old man.)
ANYWAY! I just heard on WBBM NewsRadio 78 that Miss Bajaj is in the news again! Since you like her too you might want to look into it. I guess she dissolved her law firm…. And she’s suing people….
DERP!!!!

A second source expressed skepticism towards her lawsuit:

Reema is back for revenge! She is suing the former State’s Attorney and her defense attorney for distributing nude photos of her. She claims intentional infliction of emotional distress and interference with her business. Of course, her conviction for prostitution might limit her damages….

Reema Bajaj’s civil case is captioned — wait for it — Bajaj v. Johnson. I wouldn’t bet against her in this litigation. She has plenty of experience eating Johnsons for breakfast.
UPDATE (5:30 p.m.): An earlier version of this story bore a headline stating that Bajaj had been “convicted” of prostitution. We’ve spoken with her lawyers, who declined to comment on her new lawsuit but stated that although Bajaj pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of prostitution, she was not “convicted” of prostitution as a matter of Illinois law. We have amended the headline accordingly.
(You can check out the full complaint in Bajaj v. Johnson on the next page.)

John Edwards’s Sex Life Allegedly Gets Even More Lurid

22 Mar 2012 at 4:31 PMPosted in:


John Edwards, Politics, Prostitution, Sex, Sex Scandals

John Edwards’s Sex Life Allegedly Gets Even More Lurid

By Elie Mystal

Dear famous trial lawyers that have an exciting sex life outside of the bonds of their marriage: don’t run for president or vice president. Then your sexual predilections, alleged or otherwise, will not be part of the national discourse.

Yes, we have more potential legal troubles for former presidential candidate John Edwards. DNAinfo is reporting the his name is among the first released in the probe into the client list of “Millionaire Madame” Anna Gristina.

Let’s hope today’s famous trial lawyers don’t have to pay for it….

I don’t like writing about John Edwards cause I feel like I’m going to get cooties just from talking about this joker. But here’s the DNAinfo report:

A call girl working for alleged “Millionaire Madam” Anna Gristina told investigators she was paid to have sex with former U.S. Sen. John Edwards when he was in New York raising money for his failed presidential bid, DNAinfo has learned.

Edwards is the first big name to surface in connection to Gristina’s alleged prostitution scheme run out of an Upper East Side apartment.

His lawyers were contacted by DNAinfo, but did not comment.
According to “On The Inside” sources, Edwards allegedly hooked up with one of Gristina’s high-end hookers in 2007 when the dashing pol from North Carolina brought his then high-flying presidential campaign to the Big Apple.

We can’t be sure if these reports are true, just because what we already know about Edwards makes him such an obvious choice for this kind of story. On the other hand, John Edwards is pretty much at the point where I’d believe just about any sordid sexual detail that came to light.

How do you defend a client when people will believe pretty much anything nasty they hear about him? This guy would need to go to France to get a fair trial at this point. But knowing Edwards, he’d probably crash at Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s house after they went out for a night on the town.

Please read complete article  at link below:


http://abovethelaw.com/2012/03/john-edwardss-sex-life-allegedly-gets-even-more-lurid/