Not Reinstated But Revoked

A false omission in a bar application led the New York Appellate Division for the Third Judicial Department to revoke an attorney’s license.

He had been suspended reciprocally based on a Missouri suspension and sought reinstatement

as the result of information revealed in the course of its investigation of respondent’s most recent reinstatement application, petitioner filed a single charge of professional misconduct alleging that respondent violated the requirement that he demonstrate candor in the bar admission process as set forth in Rules of Professional Conduct (22 NYCRR 1200.0) rule 8.1 (a). Specifically, in the May 18, 2016 petition of charges, petitioner alleged that respondent failed to disclose a felony criminal conviction in the application for admission which respondent had submitted to this Court in connection with his 2000 admission to the bar (see Judiciary Law § 90 [2]). In his answer, respondent admitted the charge. There being no factual issues, the parties were then invited to submit any factors in mitigation and aggravation…

we find respondent guilty of the charged misconduct and conclude that his admission to practice should be revoked.

In an unrelated matter, the court denied admission to an applicant.

Applicant, who resides in Florida, also passed the Florida and New Jersey bar exams after law school graduation. In October 2015, the Florida Board of Bar Examiners recommended that applicant be denied admission in Florida and that he be disqualified from reapplying for two years. Applicant’s application for admission in New Jersey is pending. Applicant has a criminal record, including minor thefts and driving under the influence, and many traffic violations. He also exhibited a lack of candor on his law school applications with respect to his background, and the Florida Board enumerated multiple examples of false or misleading answers on the applications. He admitted that his lack of candor was caused in part by his concern that disclosure would cause denial of his law school applications.

(Mike Frisch)