United States District Court - Northern District of Illinois

General Rules

Rules 3.50 to 3.79 Discipline Of Attorneys

Rule 3.55 Reinstatement

A. After Disbarment or Suspension

An attorney suspended for three months or less shall be automatically reinstated at the end of the period of suspension upon the filing with the Executive Committee a declaration of compliance with the provisions of the order. An attorney suspended for more than three months or disbarred may not resume practice until reinstated by order of the Executive Committee.

B. Time of Application Following Disbarment

An attorney who has been disbarred after hearing or by consent may not apply for reinstatement until the expiration of at least five years from the effective d ate of the disbarment.

C. Hearing on Application

Petitions for reinstatement by a disbarred or suspended attorney under this Rule 3.55 shall be filed with the Executive Committee. Upon receipt of the petition, the Executive Committee may decide the petition based on a hearing before it, or it may assign the matter for prompt hearing before, and decision by, a judge of this Court. In either instance the hearing shall be scheduled within the 30-day period calculated (1) from the time of receipt of the petition if the Executive Committee retains the matter or (2) from the date of assignment if the matter is assigned to a judge of this Court. At the hearing the petitioner shall have the burden of demonstrating by clear and convincing evidence that he or she has the requisite character and fitness for admission to practice law before this Court and that his or her resumption of the practice of law ill not be detrimental to the integrity and standing of the bar or to the administration of justice, or subversive of the public interest.

D. Duty of Counsel

In all proceedings upon a petition for reinstatement, cross-examination of the witnesses of the respondent-attorney and the submission of evidence, if any in opposition to the petition shall be conducted by counsel.

E. Conditions of Reinstatement

If the petitioner does not demonstrate that he or she is fit to resume the practice of law, then the petition shall be denied. If the petitioner is found fit to resume the practice of law, the judgment shall reinstate him or her, but the judgment may make reinstatement conditional upon the making of partial or complete restitution to parties harmed by the conduct of petitioner which led to the suspension or disbarment. If the petitioner has been suspended or disbarred for five years or more, reinstatement may be conditioned, in the discretion of the Executive Committee or the judge before whom the matter is heard, upon the furnishing or proof of competency and learning in the law, which proof may include certification by the bar examiners of a state or other jurisdiction of the attorney's successful completion of an examination for admission to practice subsequent to the date of suspension or disbarment.

F. Successive Petitions

No petition of reinstatement under this Rule shall be filed within one year following an adverse decision upon a petition for reinstatement filed by or on behalf of the same attorney.