A one year suspension has been imposed by the New York Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department

Count one

On or about June 1, 2016, Guo Gan Gao (hereinafter Gao) retained the respondent to recover $90,000 from a former business partner, executing a retainer agreement with the respondent and paying him a legal fee of $5,000 for the initial litigation. On or about July 12, 2016, Gao paid the respondent an additional $750 for filing fees and other expenses. The respondent failed to perform any legal services for Gao. On or about December 11, 2017, Gao discharged the respondent and demanded a refund of all unearned legal fees. The respondent failed to refund any legal fees to Gao, or to contact him in any manner.

Sanction

In determining an appropriate sanction to impose, the Court has considered the mitigation presented at the hearing of the respondent’s family circumstances, which caused him to reside outside the marital home during some of the time the petitioner sent letters to him at that address. The Court also notes that the respondent provided proof that he reimbursed the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection in the amount of $5,750, which it paid to Gao in relation to the Gao complaint. However, the Court finds the respondent’s prolonged and repetitive pattern of neglecting client matters, failing to cooperate with the petitioner, and failing to maintain his attorney registration for five biennial periods to constitute a significant aggravating factor. We note that the respondent remains suspended pursuant to an 18-month suspension that commenced on June 9, 2017, for misconduct similar to that at issue here, and further, the respondent was previously admonished for, inter alia, a lack of diligence to client matters, a failure to cooperate with grievance investigations, and a failure to maintain his attorney registration.