Ignore At One's Peril

An attorney's failure to participate in a disciplinary investigation blossomed from interim suspension to disbarment by the New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department.

as six months have elapsed since this Court's September 16, 2021 suspension order, and respondent has neither responded to, nor appeared for, further investigatory or disciplinary proceedings, the Committee's motion for an order disbarring respondent pursuant to 22 NYCRR 1240.9(b) should be granted and his name stricken from the roll of attorneys in the State of New York, effective immediately

The New York Law Journal reported in October 2021

A New York lawyer who previously practiced at K&L Gates and later was a partner at Carter, Ledyard & Milburn has been suspended from practicing law pending further disciplinary action after ignoring a subpoenaed deposition focused on allegations that he had clients pay him advance legal fees, instead of his law firm, before then ignoring the matters and refusing to repay the fees.

According to an Appellate Division, First Department opinion immediately suspending Justin A. Greenblum, the lawyer allegedly collected some $73,000 in advance legal fees from various clients and then ignored repeated requests that he refund the fees to them. (The First Department did not specify at which firm Greenblum was working when the alleged wrongdoing occurred, but the timing of when the clients lodged grievance committee complaints and a look at Greenblum’s professional biography suggests that it was during his seven-year stretch as a Carter Ledyard partner handling high-level commercial litigation.)

(Mike Frisch)