Joseph Hudson, a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, has received a Presidential Commendation from the Illinois State Bar Association for his extensive work on a complex case that involved a non-lawyer doing business on mechanics lien cases.

The award was presented by Paula H. Holderman, ISBA president, during the organization’s Board of Governors meeting in Chicago on May 2.

The case, which took five years to resolve, involved Steve Boucher, the owner of Contractor’s Lien Services, who filed invalid liens against property owners and was charged with intimidating homeowners either to pay debts they didn’t owe or to overpay for debts incurred with contractors. Boucher hired lawyers to draft legal documents for the firm’s clients.

The matter was brought to the attention of the ISBA Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, which in turn worked with the State’s Attorney’s office and the Illinois Attorney General’s office who brought a lawsuit against Boucher and his company, and sought a permanent injunction to prevent the defendant from engaging in selling mechanics lien and collections services in Illinois.

A judge ruled that the case constituted the unauthorized practice of law and enjoined the plaintiff and his company from engaging in selling mechanics lien and collections services in Illinois.

The 32,000-member ISBA (isba.org), with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public through a website (illinoislawyerfinder.com), consumer brochures and the distribution of legal information.