A prominent corporate lawyer in Chicago has been accused by an Illinois disciplinary board of charging the firm for phony expenses, including about $70,000 in taxi trips, $35,000 in sporting events and a Thanksgiving celebration at his country club, the New York Times DealBook Blog reported yesterday. Lee M. Smolen, a partner at DLA Piper, was named in a complaint filed this month by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. Before joining DLA, Smolen was a longtime partner at Sidley Austin, and the board said that the false expense reporting took place at Sidley. From 2007 to 2012, Smolen fabricated more than $120,000 in expenses submitted to Sidley, the commission said. The complaint, which accuses Smolen of fraud and deceit, asks that the case be assigned to a panel for additional investigation and to make a recommendation “for such discipline as warranted.”
