Sufficient Cooperation, Insufficient Supervision

The New York Court of Appeals has remitted a disciplinary matter in which the Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department had imposed a two year suspension.

The court agreed that the attorney had failed to supervise a non-lawyer employee (his brother) who misappropriated entrusted funds. the attorney’s conduct was not venal but nonetheless breached his fiduciary obligations to clients.

The court did not sustain charges of failure to coopeate with the bar investigation in light of the attorney’s active participation in the process. The case was returned to consider sanction without that charge. (Mike Frisch)