from www.businessinsider.com – Somewhere near the top of the list of bad ideas for attorneys is posting a Craigslist ad seeking a dual legal secretary/sexual partner.

Doing just that, plus allegedly mishandling two immigration matters, has earned an Illinois attorney an appearance before the state’s disciplinary board.

The Legal Profession Blog gets the credit for pointing out the complaint, included below.

Samir Chowhan posted an ad in the “Adult Gigs” section of Craigslist in May seeking a legal secretary. It said the job would require secretarial and paralegal work and “additional duties for two lawyers in the firm.” In addition to a resume, applicants were to send in a few pictures and their measurements.

A woman responded, and Chowhan sent her an email with a little more information about the job:

…You would be required to have sexual interaction with me and my partner, sometimes together, sometimes separate…You have to be comfortable doing this with us.

Chowhan repeatedly stressed the need for the applicant to be “comfortable” with the job requirements, as, perhaps not surprisingly, he’d had people in the past who could not “handle the sexual aspect of the job.” He therefore came up with a plan to make sure the applicant would be untroubled with her tasks.

…[W]e’ve decided that as a part of the interview process you’ll be required to perform sexually…I think it’s necessary to see if you can do that, because it’ll predict future behavior of you being able to handle it when you have the job.

The recipient of the email did not respond, but instead sent it to the disciplinary commission. According to the complaint, Chowhan at first denied posting the ad and sending the follow-up email, but has since admitted he did it.

The disciplinary commission has requested a hearing on the matter.

The WSJ Law Blog tracked down Chohan:

WSJ Law Blog: “I did do that,” he said. Chowhan explained that he was winding up his immigration practice, and “curiosity” got the better of him. “I wasn’t intending to hire anyone,” he added. “I was just screwing around, just curious to know if anyone would respond. Unfortunately, someone did.”

Chowhan says he’s now living in Indiana, is unemployed, and has no intention of practicing law ever again. “I came to that decision months before this happened, though.” At this point, he told us, he’s looking forward to putting it behind him. “I’ll take the punishment.”

Let’s see…what’s the lesson from this one? Gentlemen: Don’t let curiosity get the best of you. It’s a law office, not fantasy land.

from www.chicagotribune.com – 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 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 & 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 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 recommend he be disciplined.