Agreement Not To Sue Draws Reciprocal Censure

An attorney who was reprimanded in New Jersey for a Rule 5.6(b) violation was reciprocally censured by the New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department.

As part of a settlement in a landlord-tenant dispute

 respondent and counsel for Bloomfield negotiated a settlement of the Rubinstein litigation pursuant to which the plaintiffs received cash and rent credits totaling $150,000. Contemporaneously with the negotiation of the settlement, respondent entered into an agreement with counsel for Bloomfield and its principals, Stathis and Silverman, whereby respondent agreed to refrain from representing clients adverse to Bloomfield, Stathis and Silverman, or their affiliates (the Cardillo Agreement).

The court found that the misconduct violated New York ethics rules

…the conduct for which respondent was disciplined in New Jersey constitutes misconduct in New York. The provision under which respondent was censured in New Jersey, RPC 5.6(b), provides that a lawyer is prohibited from “offering or making … an agreement in which a restriction on the lawyer’s right to practice is part of the settlement of a controversy between private parties.” That rule is essentially identical to the language of former New York Code of Professional Responsibility DR 2-108(b) (22 NYCRR 1200.13[b]), which states that “[i]n connection with the settlement of a controversy or suit, a lawyer shall not enter into an agreement that restricts the right of a lawyer to practice law.”Such conduct is also sanctionable under rule 5.6(a)(2) of the current New York Rules of Professional Conduct (22 NYCRR 1200.0).

(Mike Frisch)