Legal News

Lap Dances for Legal Work? Not in the Land of Lincoln

By Dan Slater

Swapping services for services has landed an Illinois lawyer in hot water with the disciplinary authorities and earned him a 15-month suspension.

Scott Robert Erwin reportedly met an exotic dancer at Heartbreakers, a strip club, in 2001. After talking, they realized they’d spoken before on the phone about some pending legal matters. According to this report in the Chicago Tribune, which cites a report from the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, Erwin agreed to represent her on several legal matters, and they agreed that she would perform nude dances for him in his office as a way to cut down on the legal fees.

She claimed that on several occasions from February to June in 2002 she would go to his office, remove her clothing and dance for half-hour sessions, according to the Trib. Erwin reportedly credited her for $534, but she complained because her bill had reached $7,000, the report states.

She claims during the dances at his office, he inappropriately touched her, the report states. The woman went to the DeKalb police in 2002 about the sexual assault allegations, and an investigation led to a hearing before the DeKalb County grand jury in 2003, seeking a charge of criminal sexual assault. Erewin denied any such touching in police interviews. The grand jury did not vote for an indictment.

Erwin declined to comment to the Trib.

LB Readers: We’re curious about this one. Are there any circumstances under which such a service-for-service swap could pass muster?

Photo: iStockPhoto

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on September 19, 2008 (boomark / email).