Return To Practice
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has reinstated an attorney who was the subject of this Law360 story
Attorney Scott Sigman, the treasurer of the Lawyers’ Club of Philadelphia and a former member of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Bar Association, received a 30-month suspension from the Pennsylvania Bar on Thursday for withholding referral fees while working as an associate at Bochetto & Lentz PC.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court approved a joint petition between Sigman and the state’s Office of Disciplinary Council recommending the suspension.
Sigman, a founding partner at Philadelphia firm Sigman & Zimolong, admitted to holding onto approximately $25,000 in fees over a 24-month period.
According to the joint petition between Sigman and the Office of Disciplinary Council, Sigman, who worked at Bochetto & Lentz between 2005 and 2009, held onto referral and other fees due to the firm in five cases.
Sigman also admitted to providing false testimony during a deposition and providing login information for Bochetto & Lentz’s Westlaw account to another attorney with whom he was acquainted. The attorney ultimately accrued more than $3,600 in fees on the account, which were charged to the firm. Her firm ultimately reimbursed Bochetto & Lentz for the charges.
According to the petition, Sigman has separately sued Bochetto & Lentz for referral fees in cases that he started at the firm and that remained there after his departure, and the firm has put these fees aside in an escrow account. Sigman has agreed to allow Bochetto & Lentz to remove $25,468.18 — the sum of fees that he improperly held onto, as determined by the Office of Disciplinary Council — from the account.
Sigman, a former Philadelphia assistant district attorney who won the Philadelphia courts’ Pro Bono Publico Award in 2012, succeeded in securing glowing recommendations from several Philadelphia luminaries.
A letter filed with the Office of Disciplinary Council by former District Attorney Lynne Abraham emphasized his good character in the six years that he worked in the district attorney’s office. JoAnne Epps, the dean of Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, spoke to his role on the executive committee of the law school’s alumni association and asked the court’s disciplinary board to be “merciful” in ruling on his future.
The joint petition emphasized that, had the matter moved forward to a disciplinary hearing, Sigman would have brought forth these letters and others from colleagues to demonstrate his character and civic involvement.
According to his website, Sigman’s practice encompasses complex civil and criminal litigation, catastrophic injuries, election law, defamation, fraud, civil racketeering cases, drug forfeiture, and white-collar criminal defense.
Sigman had been selected as a “Pennsylvania Rising Star Super Lawyer” by Philadelphia Magazine for 2005 through 2012. He has also served as the chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Young Lawyers division.
Neither Sigman nor a representative from Bochetto & Lentz responded to a request for comment Monday.
The Disciplinary Board was unanimous in recommending reinstatement. (Mike Frisch)