The Administrator

About the Book

It was the early 1980s, a few years after the Illinois Supreme Court established the Attorney Disciplinary Commission to investigate charges of professional misconduct against Illinois lawyers, determine which of them will be prosecuted to have their law licenses taken away. Paul, a young, idealistic gay man just finishing law school begins working at the Commission, where the first Administrator is still running the agency. At about the time he meets Brian, with whom he might be falling in love. He also encounters homophobia at the Commission and learns of a plot by two right wing conservative religious fanatics - one an evangelical fundamentalist, the other a Roman Catholic - who are trying to kill the Administrator and take over the agency to exploit it to further their own extreme political and religious agenda. Will Paul and his friends at the Commission figure out what is happening in time to save the Administrator before he is killed, and before they themselves are killed for interfering? Will Paul's love for Brian be strong enough to see them through this ordeal and survive as a couple - if they survive at all?

About the Author

As a law student and a young lawyer, I worked at the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois, the agency that investigates and prosecutes charges of professional misconduct against lawyers, which can lead to the suspension of lawyers' licenses or to disbarment. As a result, I know what it was like to work for that agency and see the opportunities for possible abuse and corruption. I also experienced the negative response of the agency administration when I came out and told them I was gay. At the time I became a lawyer while working at the Commission, I began a relationship with a young man much like the one in the novel, wondering whether I had found true love. I now live in Oakland Park, Florida, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, with my partner, Kevin, and our Scottish Terrier, Scotty. We all spend a lot of time with Kevin's mother, Catherine, who lives down the street from us. I work as a lawyer for a large national firm, defending attorneys in disciplinary proceedings and advising attorneys on ethical issues and how to avoid being sued. In my spare time, I write, sing in the choir of my local Episcopal church, St. Mark's, and study religion. I also like reading history and mystery books, and enjoy working on the houses and yards, ours and Catherine's.