Lawyer/Longshoreman Indefinitely Suspended

A rather interesting and unusual bar discipline case is summarized on the web page of Massachusetts Bar Counsel:

The respondent was a longshoreman, and he was also a practicing attorney admitted to the practice of law in the Commonwealth on December 20, 1994. In July 2002, the respondent applied for and received unemployment compensation in connection with his employment as a longshoreman. Between July 27, 2002, and May 31, 2003, the respondent reported to the Division of Employment and Training (DET) that he either had partial earnings or no earnings. The respondent did not disclose to DET that he had been regularly employed since 1997 as a bar advocate and was being paid by CPCS throughout this period. As a result, the respondent received $2,573 in unemployment compensation benefits to which he was not entitled.

Another matter involved a change to the master contract affecting longshoremen to take effect on October 1, 2004. Those longshoremen who had worked on the dock before October 1, 2004, would lock in a higher rate of pay than longshoremen who began work on or after October 1, 2004. In September 2004, the respondent had his four-year-old son placed on the payroll by filling out a W-4 form for him and having his son’s name entered for working shifts on the docks. The respondent did this to lock his son in at the higher rate of pay.

The attorney was convicted of related criminal offenses and placed on interim suspension in 2006. The final discipline imposed was indefinite suspension. (Mike Frisch)