Disbarment For Serial Ethics Offender: Attorney Asked Client To Post Fake Favorable AVVO Reviews

A long record of prior discipline along with newly-found misconduct has led to the disbarment of a New Jersey attorney.

Among the plethora of found violations was this nugget

Pachowicz had testified at respondent’s July 31, 2013 ethics hearing that he had asked her to “make fake reviews on him to make him look better on AVVO. He would tell me — like I was a John or I was somebody else; and I would pretend that I was one of his clients and say that I was happy with his services.” She further testified that, at respondent’s direction, she had pretended to be other clients saying “something nice about him” so that his ratings would improve, because they were low. Pachowicz complied with respondent’s requests because he was her lawyer, she felt sorry for him…

 The Disciplinary Review Board report noted that

Respondent’s conduct, overall, suggests a character that is unsalvageable. As we found in respondent’s prior matter, he is a “serial ethics offender” who demonstrates an “appalling indifference toward his clients” and the rules of the profession, and has refused to learn from his prior ethics problems…

Based on the totality of the factors present here, including respondent’s seeming inability to tell the truth, his disregard for his obligation to cooperate with the attorney disciplinary system and, indeed, to comply with the Court’s orders, his brazen and outrageous conduct, and the principle of progressive discipline, respondent’s misconduct is on par with those attorneys who were disbarred. We believe that respondent is not capable of conforming his conduct to expected standards and, therefore, recommend his disbarment.

 The New Jersey Supreme Court adopted the recommendation. (Mike Frisch)