Concealing First Marriage From Second "Wife" Violates Ethics Rules

The web page of the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers reports that an attorney was suspended for a year and a day for misconduct relating to his bigamous second marriage.

The attorney married Jacqueline in 1974. They separated in 1979. He was admitted to practice in Massachusetts in 1988.

He then met Sheila and married her in 1995. He had not gotten divorced from Jacqueline and falsely certified that the marriage was his first.

His child with Sheila was born in 2000.

Sheila was unaware of the marriage to Jacqueline until out-of-state divorce papers were served on her in 2001. She secured an annulment and was awarded sole custody of the child.

The summary reports that the attorney engaged in dishonest conduct not only in his false certification on the marriage documents. He also violated his duty of honesty toward his purported wife Sheila by concealing the truth from her.

The attorney also failed to participate in the bar proceedings.(Mike Frisch)