“His Audacity Trumps His Dishonesty”

A Pennsylvania disbarment drew identical reciprocal discipline from the New Jersey Supreme Court and this language from the report of the Disciplinary Review Board 

Respondent’s most serious misconduct is his knowing misappropriation of client settlement funds. After stealing from his client, who had suffered a brain injury, respondent brazenly prolonged, for years, the discovery of his theft by making representations that he was working with an insurance carrier in behalf of Thornton to pay his medical expenses. It appears that respondent did everything he could to conceal his theft. His audacity trumps his dishonesty.

The attorney represented a client severely disabled in an automobile accident. 

Charles Haney was driving his vehicle while intoxicated by alcohol and struck respondent’s client, Branden Thornton. As a result, Thornton suffered a traumatic brain injury and will require lifelong care. Tammy Howard, Thornton’s mother, retained respondent to represent Thornton and entered into an agreement providing for a 25% contingent fee of any recovery in his behalf.

The total recovery was $1.2 million. The exact amount misappropriated is unknown.

After several years of unanswered inquiries, the family retained new counsel and eventually filed a bar complaint

On January 25, 2019, respondent executed a verified resignation by consent before the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. In his resignation he admitted that he “knowingly misappropriated a portion of the share of the settlement proceeds that his client . . . was entitled to receive from the $990,000” settlement, and by doing so, violated Pennsylvania RPC 1.15(b), RPC 1.15(e), and RPC 8.4(c).

(Mike Frisch)