Chicago lawyer Jay Grodner is about to get a lesson in the truth of that phrase.
He is accused of a keying the car of a Marine who is home from Iraq on pre-deployment leave before his second trip to Iraq, having been purportedly caught in the act. Matt of Blackfive says he's got the police reports, and the amount of damage moves the vandalism up to a felony. But worse than that, Grodner has made it clear he's going to use every lawyerly trick possible to avoid making restitution, especially since the victim is reporting for deployment tomorrow.
Jay Grodner has a documented history of questionable behavior. And he's not acting innocent in this latest case, having last night disconnected all his professional phone lines and taken down his professional website.
That Karma part applies whether or not his victim receives justice. Google the words "Chicago," "Lawyer" and "[Jay] Grodner," and see what what a prospective client will see. But the best part is found in an update to Blackfive's original post:
And, BTW, a sincere thanks to all the Chicago Police Officers for their advice and offers.
Mr. Grodner, I'd suggest the purchase of a new car and some new license plates, or at least of refresher course on the rules of the road and how to thoroughly inspect your vehicle before each excursion, 'cause I suspect your driving and your vehicle's condition are going to need to be above reproach for the forseeable future...
Update: The local prosecutor had previously seemed unconcerned about the case, but Blackfive reports that the resulting blogstorm has changed things (scroll down):
It seems the blogosphere has put the ball in Sgt McNulty's court. Furthermore, it is also apparent that the State's Attorney's Office has decided to take this matter on a much more serious level. A new and very aggressive State's Attorney seems to have a genuine interest in pursuing this case to the extent that it warrants.
