Coverups Worse Than Crimes

The New York Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department has disbarred an attorney who, after having neglected the matters of several clients, lied and created false documents to conceal the neglect.

As noted in an earlier post, the case underscores the value of granting disciplinary counsel the power to depose as

The respondent does not contest the charges, notwithstanding earlier denials. He stated at the hearing: “My testimony [at my deposition] speaks for itself.” At his deposition, the respondent not only admitted that he was “mistruthful,” but he also admitted that he had fabricated orders, fabricated judges’ signatures, and fabricated court stamps and index numbers on various orders, all in an effort to conceal his neglect.

On sanction

In mitigation, the respondent testified at his deposition that a close friend of his died of an aneurysm at his home, and that the respondent allegedly tried to save his friend’s life, but was unsuccessful. According to the respondent, the trauma of that incident caused him to go into a deep depression. Unfortunately, he turned to alcohol, claiming at the same time that he was a recently recovered alcoholic. Although the Grievance Committee requested that the respondent produce medical reports substantiating his health problems, the respondent failed to provide any documentation in support thereof. The respondent recounted the same chain of events at the hearing, but offered no evidence whatsoever to support his claims. The Special Referee requested that the respondent provide some documentation, e.g., a medical report from his treating physician, which the respondent indicated could still be obtained. No such documentation was provided subsequent to the hearing.

The respondent’s submissions in support of his purported mitigation consist of self-serving statements for which no evidence, documentary or otherwise, has been produced. Other than the respondent’s bare claims, and despite separate requests by the Grievance Committee and the Special Referee for supporting documentation, no  evidence was presented to support his contentions that: (1) a close friend had died in his arms, (2) he suffered from depression and post-traumatic distress disorder, (3) he sought treatment, and (4) he abused alcohol, entered Alcoholics Anonymous, and is now sober. Given the utter lack of evidence to support any of the respondent’s claims, we find these claims to be not credible.

(Mike Frisch)