Biglaw Boys Up To No Good
A reader brought our attention to this disturbing story out of the Midwest, which we hadn’t heard about previously. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Nobody but the two Chicago men and the woman from Berlin knows for certain exactly what happened at the private boat landing on Green Lake in early morning of Aug. 7, 2005.The 29-year-old woman says the two men — then both attorneys at prominent Chicago law firms — held her down on the hood of her car and cheered each other on as they repeatedly raped her.
The two men say what happened was consensual sex.
The undisputed facts after that night, from the bail amounts and the plea bargains to the minimal sentences and the district attorney’s resignation, have some locals in this small tourist town 30 miles west of Fond du Lac wondering if justice was served or if two big-city attorneys got a “good-ole-boy” break.
“Something doesn’t look right,” said Jaime Brotz, a 10-year resident of the Berlin area. “I think they got away with a lot more than they should have.”
Find out which firms these defendants worked for, after the jump.
The defendants — Stephan Addison (left), 28, of Medinah, Ill., and Benjamin Butler (right), 29, of Chicago — received light sentences. They were initially charged with sexual assault, but the charges were reduced to reckless endangerment of safety and sexual gratification in public, pursuant to a plea deal.
At sentencing, Addison was ordered to serve 500 hours of community service and 30 days in jail with work release. Butler received a sentence of 300 hours of community service.
Addison and Butler graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2004. They previously worked at Seyfarth Shaw and Schiff Hardin, respectively.
Firm spokespersons told the Journal Sentinel that Butler and Addison no longer work at these firms. Does anyone know where they are now?
Justice served or shunned? [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Stephan W. Addison profile [Seyfarth Shaw / Google Cache]
Benjamin C. Butler profile [Schiff Hardin / Google Cache]
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I'm guessing they might be relaxing at a bathhouse. From the MKE J-S article on the matter:
"We were all going back and forth kissing and touching each other," Addison said in his statement. "She never got mad or said 'No' to what we were doing. When she wanted to stop we did and we all went home."
All going back and forth huh? Wow.
To quote a good friend about this matter:
"I think the more I learn about this story I'm becoming more sympathetic toward Butler and Addison. Perhaps she's not a victim. Maybe she was just jealous because they weren't paying attention to her. They were all over each other and tearing each other's clothes off and making her watch as Addison played Butler's girlfriend and Butler played himself. She thought she was going home with two lawyers who were interested in her, but in reality she was going home with two lawyer who are only interested in themselves."
"Incorporating years of experience practicing law at two of the nation’s largest and most prestigious law firms,"
Yes, technically, both men have "years of experience" practicing at large firms.
They both graduated from law school in 2004. Let's say they were admitted to the bar in late 2004.
Assuming that they worked continuously at the firm after the incident, that would make it 2006-late 2004= about 2 years of experience each for the two lawyers.
I like the reference to Seyfarth Shaw and Schiff Hardin as "two of the nation's largest and most prestigious law firms." Good stuff.
www.addisonbutler.com
Actually both men were admitted to the Illinois Bar in 2003. They did work at their respective firms up until the very day of their convictions. That's 3 1/2 years each at both firms, seven years total between the two of them. To say "years of experience" isn't misleading.
""The undisputed facts after that night, from the bail amounts and the plea bargains to the minimal sentences and the district attorney's resignation,""" From your own article you state that the facts don't add up, like maybe the so-called 'victim' in this case is not telling the truth. The real victims are these lawyers whom are at the mercy of a women who has had a history of problems. These men have been outstanding citizens their whole life and then one night they decide to throw all their hard (Law school and MBA) work down the drain???? I think not.
I know Steve. He is a diligent professional, but his is also scum.
I know Steve too. He is not scum. He's a great guy and a consummate professional who was falsely accused.
Whatever happened to these two?