The Wrong Way To Start Your Own Practice

A decision imposing disbarment by the Maryland Court of Appeals is described in the headnote:

Disbarment is the appropriate sanction for an attorney who violated Maryland Lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct 1.4(a) and (b) and 8.4 (a) - (d), by wrongfully deleting and altering his law firm’s clients’ electronic computer files in an effort to make viable cases appear closed for lack of merit. The attorney engaged in such conduct in order to conceal the cases from the firm, with the intent of pursuing the cases on his own once he started his own law practice. The attorney also wrongfully used the firm’s resources in an effort to solicit new clients for his proposed law practice. Given the absence of compelling extenuating circumstances, the attorney’s intentional, dishonest conduct warranted disbarment.

The findings indicate that approximately 200 prospective clients were solicited. The law firm was involved in lead paint litigation and the disciplined attorney was paid over a quarter of a million dollars in 2008.

There is a dissent in which three justices indicate that they would impose an indefinite suspension. (Mike Frisch)