NOBC Case Of The Month

The National Organization of Bar Counsel designates a case of the month to highlight decisions of wide ranging interest or importance. This month's case is from Massachusetts and relates to bar records concerning Judge Maria Lopez (who now has her own show on Sony TV). Michael Kettenbach unsucessfully sought access to non-public information concerning the bar status of Judge Lopez, who resigned from the bench in the face of charges of judicial misconduct. Kettenbach is the son-in-law of the late Telemachus "Mike" Demoulas, who was a litigant who lost before Judge Lopez in a case concerning the Demoulas family's highly profitable grocery store chain. I have an article on certain aspects of the case (which resulted in a three year suspension for a former president of the Massachusetts Bar and a pending disbarment recommendation for a former ethics counsel to two Massachusetts Governors) that will be published in the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. (Mike Frisch)