Litigious Applicant Denied Bar Admission

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has denied admission to an applicant who had passed the July 2008 bar examination.

At first, the Board of Bar Examiners (board) received no objections to his admission and reported him qualified. Before he could take the oath of attorney, however, three attorneys in good standing contacted the board, raising significant concerns about whether Pansé “is of good moral character and sufficient acquirements and qualifications” to warrant admission to the bar.

The three had represented his wife

Pansé’s conduct and demeanor during the divorce and related proceedings led the three attorneys, each of whom represented Ms. Pansé, to object to his admission to the bar. We need not recite all of the details of their interactions with him here. According to the board, they described him as “a person of vengeance, control, and intimidation who misused the legal system at the expense of his family and others” and “not[ed] a belief that [he] would use his license to practice to harm others.” Based on their testimony at the formal hearing, the board found that Pansé “consistently relied on personal attacks to justify his actions and to defend perceived criticisms against him, additionally filing complaints against members of the bar who challenge his positions.” The record is replete with examples of his doing so. Indeed, it became necessary to reschedule the formal hearing when Pansé filed professional complaints against the objecting attorneys and others; the Board of Bar Overseers closed those complaints without further action…

Apart from the divorce and other proceedings, Pansé has been involved in several other civil actions, some of which were not fully disclosed in his application for admission to the bar. As the board found, Pansé repeatedly engaged in ad hominem attacks in those cases. In a lawsuit he brought against his former employer, the Massachusetts Bay Community College, Pansé described the president of the college as a “reject from Montana.” He also accused several defendants of lying and filing “malicious and fraudulent” reports, described some defendants as “morally challenged,” and stated that the office of the Attorney General was “unethical” and had engaged in “repeated misconduct.” He also accused the college’s counsel of producing a witness “to lie wildly under oath.” The board found that his actions “demonstrate a repetitive pattern of abusive and litigious behavior against litigants, counsel, judges and others who assume a contrary position” and that “Pansé does not appear to be remorseful, or, for that matter, capable of reflecting on the consequences of his behavior.”

The court accepted the board’s findings and conclusions

It found that Pansé demonstrated a lack of candor by failing to disclose litigation to which he was a party or by failing to describe the circumstances fully; that he demonstrated a willingness to abuse the legal system for purposes of harassment and intimidation of individuals with whom he has a dispute; that his repeated reliance on personal attacks, as well as professional complaints against members of the bar who challenge his positions, further demonstrate a lack of civility and professionalism; and that despite his full awareness of the board’s concerns about his fitness to practice law, he failed to express remorse or insight into his actions or to assure the board that he would have the ability to comport himself in a civil and professional manner. The record amply supports this assessment. Even in his brief to this court, Pansé continues to resort to personal attacks and invective, going so far as to accuse the board of aiding and abetting the alleged “felony endangerment and felony abuse” of [his son]. This does nothing to assure us that Pansé possesses the good character necessary to practice law.

The court rejected claims based on delay in the proceedings. (Mike Frisch)