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Lawyer accused of demanding sex for job
Chicago breaking news.com ^ | October 23, 2009 | Steve Schmadeke

Posted on 10/23/2009 7:38:09 AM PDT by KeyLargo

Lawyer accused of demanding sex for job

October 23, 2009 4:21 AM

A Chicago immigration attorney is facing sanctions after he demanded "sexual interaction with me and my partner" as a job condition from a woman seeking a position as legal assistant at their firm.

After the woman responded to an ad that Samir Z. Chowhan placed in the "Adult Gigs" section of Craigslist, he told her in a follow-up e-mail that she would also need to "perform for us sexually" as "part of the interview process."

Chowhan is accused of lying to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission and with conduct that "tends to bring ... the legal profession into disrepute," according to a complaint filed Wednesday by the commission, which investigates complaints of attorney misconduct.

Chowhan is also charged with neglect and misrepresentation in two immigration cases in which he allegedly failed to timely file paperwork.

Chowhan first denied he posted the online ad but later admitted it, according to the complaint.

He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

In May, Chowhan posted the online ad seeking an "energetic woman" for "general secretarial work, some paralegal work and additional duties for two lawyers."

The ad sought a resume, photographs and "a description of your physical features, including measurements."

A woman, who thought the request unusual but assumed the firm was looking for an attractive secretary, responded the same day and included her measurements and a photo, the complaint said.

Chowhan e-mailed back.

"In addition to the legal work, you would be required to have sexual interaction with me and my partner, sometimes together sometimes separate," the complaint quoted the e-mail as saying. "This part of the job would require sexy dressing and flirtatious interaction with me and my partner, as well as sexual interaction."

The e-mail went on to say that other women had been hired who "have not been able to handle the sexual aspect of the job later. We have to be sure you're comfortable with that aspect, because I don't want you to do anything that you're not comfortable with. So since that time, we've decided that as part of the interview process you'll be required to perform for us sexually."

"When are you available to interview?" the e-mail allegedly read. "I am free to interview today."

The woman was "frightened" by the e-mail and didn't follow through, according to the complaint. She complained to the commission in June.

A panel will review the charges against Chowhan and can then recommend he be disciplined.

--Steve Schmadeke


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: chicago; harrasment; lawyer; sex
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Experience: Mr. Chowhan routinely represents clients before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Labor and numerous U.S. consular posts worldwide.Prior to joining Gessler Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd., Mr. Chowhan was an associate attorney at a corporate law firm in Chicago as the sole immigration attorney handling all immigration matters.Mr. Chowhan is fluent in French and is a native speaker of Urdu.

http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Chowhan_Samir_579244439.aspx

ARDC COMPLAINT

https://www.iardc.org/rd_database/disc_decisions_detail.asp

1 posted on 10/23/2009 7:38:10 AM PDT by KeyLargo
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To: KeyLargo
conduct that "tends to bring ... the legal profession into disrepute,"

... which is getting harder and harder to do, by the way.

2 posted on 10/23/2009 7:40:14 AM PDT by Izzy Dunne (Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
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To: KeyLargo

guess his rating in martindale hubbell will drop to a B


3 posted on 10/23/2009 7:40:42 AM PDT by jjw
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To: KeyLargo

I expect him to become Obama’s new Czar for Legal Immigration Assistance.


4 posted on 10/23/2009 7:41:27 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: jjw

...unless he agrees to buy expanded advertising for the next couple of years.


5 posted on 10/23/2009 7:42:46 AM PDT by Mr. Lucky
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To: Mr. Lucky

If this were David Letterman or Steve Phillips the worst he’d get is a suspension. In Letterman’s case he’d be applauded because it’s “no big deal.”


6 posted on 10/23/2009 7:44:02 AM PDT by jyoders19
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To: Gaffer

I wonder if the discipline will include hotsauce in his underwear? He should be disbarred.


7 posted on 10/23/2009 7:44:44 AM PDT by healy61
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To: KeyLargo
"tends to bring ... the legal profession into disrepute,"


8 posted on 10/23/2009 7:44:46 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: KeyLargo

Chowhan has been scrubbed from the firm’s website.


9 posted on 10/23/2009 7:45:49 AM PDT by thethirddegree
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To: KeyLargo

“tends to bring ... the legal profession into disrepute,”

Tends to bring? It’s allready brought, no?


10 posted on 10/23/2009 7:46:22 AM PDT by Free Descendant (Palin Power!)
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To: KeyLargo

He should be disbarred but 90% of lawyers are parasites.


11 posted on 10/23/2009 7:46:49 AM PDT by Frantzie (Do we want ACORN running America's health care?)
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To: Gaffer

Both Obama and Biden are lawyers.

And then there was Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Although Gore was a law school drop-out.

Lawyer presidents

by Walter Olson on November 5, 2008

25 of the 44 presidents have been lawyers; the WSJ law blog has a list. Only one other besides Barack Obama has been a graduate of Harvard Law. It would take a trivia expert (or perhaps a Harvard grad) to identify that one: Rutherford B. Hayes.

P.S. See also, in comments, John Peralta’s list indicating that lawyer-nominees have lately been more common on the Democratic side than the Republican.


12 posted on 10/23/2009 7:48:41 AM PDT by KeyLargo
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To: KeyLargo
After the woman responded to an ad that Samir Z. Chowhan placed in the "Adult Gigs" section of Craigslist

Earth to woman. This isn't a "gig" for Sesame Street.

13 posted on 10/23/2009 7:49:06 AM PDT by RGSpincich
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To: KeyLargo
The ad sought a resume, photographs and "a description of your physical features, including measurements."

LOL. Not too subtle, is he?

14 posted on 10/23/2009 7:49:57 AM PDT by reagan_fanatic (Hope....Change...Bullsh*t)
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To: KeyLargo
A woman, who thought the request unusual but assumed the firm was looking for an attractive secretary, responded the same day and included her measurements and a photo

THEN she's "shocked, shocked!" that there's a "sexual component" to the job.

15 posted on 10/23/2009 7:50:12 AM PDT by MrB (The only difference between a humanist and a Satanist is that the latter knows who he's working for.)
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To: KeyLargo

Yes, I expect that because of the severe Global Warming effect, it will be so cold this winter that Lawyers will have their hands in their own pockets.


16 posted on 10/23/2009 7:50:47 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: KeyLargo
"Honors, Education, and Activities: Mr. Chowhan is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).In addition, he is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and the Muslim Bar Association ("MBA")."

Ten will get you twenty he's a member of CAIR also.

17 posted on 10/23/2009 7:51:30 AM PDT by Abathar (Proudly posting without reading the article carefully since 2004)
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To: RGSpincich

She’s just another scammer who is trying to ‘get paid’ for nothing. She knew EXACTLy what this meant - she must have an even sleazier lawyer - that’s all.


18 posted on 10/23/2009 7:52:16 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Gaffer

Arkansas - Suspension of Bill Clinton law license ends next month
Arkansas Judiciary Online Resources - Attorney Record ^ | HAL9000

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1544869/posts


19 posted on 10/23/2009 7:53:22 AM PDT by KeyLargo
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To: KeyLargo

Lawyers will always protect the interests of their own.


20 posted on 10/23/2009 7:54:10 AM PDT by Gaffer
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