Lawyer Begins Serving License Suspension

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - A local attorney will begin serving a 90-day suspension of her law license after her questionable handling of a family law matter. Amanda Verett was charged with making a false statement in a Missouri court and engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.

The incident occurred in March 2007, while Verett represented a father who was prohibited from contacting his son's doctors unless it was an emergency.

After the mother scheduled a tonsillectomy for her son in St. Louis, Verett filed a motion in Madison County to stop the surgery, which was denied. Verett then sued the son's medical providers for damages and also filed an injunction in St. Louis County Court to stop the surgery.

Verett allegedly failed to tell St. Louis Circuit Judge John Garvey that she had just had a hearing in Illinois on the same matter.

Garvey enjoined the surgery. Verett later dropped the suit after the mother filed a motion to dismiss. Garvey held a hearing and apologized to lawyers representing the health care providers and the mother, saying that he would have denied the request had he known about the Illinois proceedings.

Garvey testified to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission that he was angry and felt lied to by Verett.

Verett claimed that she later realized that Garvey didn't understand the facts in Illinois and that she didn't explain the situation clearly enough, even though it was her responsibility to do so. In addition to the suspension, the ARDC recommended that Verett complete the professionalism seminar of the Illinois Professional Responsibility Institute within six months.

Follow @@joeharris_stl

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit