The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently disbarred an attorney after the attorney practiced law without a license for seventeen years. Persistence
The attorney had no prior disciplinary record, but seventeen years ago, the attorney failed to pay his annual attorney registration fee and was suspended, but continued practicing law. In the years following suspension, the attorney offered several types of legal services and claimed to be barred by several states.
The attorney listed his qualifications and experiences on his LinkedIn page. His profile stated that the attorney had “15 plus years of diverse legal experience” and that he held licenses to practice law in New York, California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington D.C. However, many of the attorney’s claimed experiences were proved false. In one instance, an employer, who the attorney claimed to have worked for as in-house counsel not only denied employing the attorney, but also denied ever having an in-house counsel division. Further, the attorney appeared in court, on behalf of clients, at least four times during his seventeen-year suspension.
The attorney showed no remorse or responsibility for his professional misconduct. Seventeen years ago, the attorney neither paid his registration fees nor inquired about remedying the situation. This same “dismissive attitude” held true in present-day where the attorney did not respond to the disciplinary council’s correspondence, did not answer the charges against him, and did not appear at his disciplinary hearing. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court noted that the “[r]espondent’s lack of participation evidences his dismissive and disinterested attitude towards his ability to practice law and his disrespect for disciplinary authority . . . .”
In considering the above information, and citing no mitigating factors, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court disbarred the attorney.
Read the full opinion here.
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