On Thursday, September 21, 2023, the Supreme Court of Illinois suspended attorney Jason Russel Caraway from practicing law for one year. The suspension was due to a motion by the Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission to approve and confirm the report and recommendation of the Hearing Board.

The case is entitled “In the Matter of Jason Russel Caraway,” with case no. 2022PR00046.

On May 23, 2023, the Hearing Board of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission recommended the suspension of attorney Caraway for a period of one year due to his mishandling of client settlement funds and false claims regarding payments to medical lienholders.

According to the complaint, Caraway had represented a client in an uninsured motorist claim that resulted in a settlement of $25,000, with $10,000 designated for medical lienholders. However, Caraway had failed to properly disburse the funds and had instead used approximately $4,634.94 of the funds for personal or business purposes without the client’s authorization. Furthermore, when the client had discovered that one of the lienholders was pursuing unpaid bills through a collection agency, Caraway had falsely claimed to have paid the lien, despite knowing that he had not done so.

The complaint also stated that Caraway had failed to maintain proper financial records for the IOLTA account between June 2017 and July 2021, violating professional conduct rules. Despite having no prior misconduct on record, Caraway’s failure to appear for both the hearing and deposition, as well as his lack of effort to contact the lienholders or negotiate the amounts owed between June 2017 and November 2020, had led to the Hearing Board’s recommendation of a one-year suspension.

Based on these foregoing matters, the Supreme Court of Illinois decided to suspend Caraway.

The Disposition states:

“Motion by the Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission to approve and confirm the report and recommendation of the Hearing Board. Allowed. Respondent Jason Russel Caraway is suspended from the practice of law for one (I) year and until further order of the Court.”

According to avvo.com, Mr. Caraway is an employment and labor attorney in Belleville, Illinois. He acquired his law license in Illinois in 2007. 

A copy of the original filing can be found here.