"A Short, Tight, Black Dress"

A Pennsylvania Hearing Committee recommends a year and a day suspension of an attorney

As Lazear’s court-appointed attorney, Attorney Furmanek had the privilege of court-approved contact visits with Lazear at the [Washington County Correctional Facility]. When her relationship status expanded from professional to romantic, she continued with the contact visits, without disclosing to the WCCF, or her employer, that she was romantically involved with this client. Attorney Furmanek proactively pursued a relationship with Lazear, despite her position as his attorney.

Throughout this disciplinary process, Attorney Furmanek maintained her position that her relationship with Lazear did not violate the Rules of Professional Conduct because she had previously been romantically involved with him, which had occurred years prior to her representation of him. Attorney Furmanek was involved in the romantic relationship at issue while she was representing Lazear in her capacity as Conflict Counsel for Washington County and she failed to withdraw from the representation. Attorney Furmanek testified that she was able to separate her romantic relationship from her professional relationship.

The romantic relationship might not have been discovered because, during the representation, Attorney Furmanek did not communicate with Lazear through any means that revealed her identity, other than through in person visits at the WCCF. This allowed Attorney Furmanek to circumvent security at the WCCF. She had Lazear contact her through phone numbers that either reflected no identifying name on the Caller ID, or indicated the name of his mother, Robin Ware.

On November 18, 2021, Lazear’s birthday, Attorney Furmanek wore a short, tight, black dress for a contact visit with Lazear. Respondent’s manner of dress caught the attention of WCCF staff. It was during this visit that Attorney Furmanek proceeded to intimately hug and kiss Lazear. The physical contact was in violation of WCCF policy and procedures. Because of Attorney Furmanek’s violation of the WCCF Policy and Procedures, Warden Fewell contacted District Court Administrator Patrick Grimm. An investigation was triggered, resulting in the revelation of the romantic relationship between Attorney Furmanek and Lazear.

Prior to beginning a romantic relationship with Lazear in August 2020, Attorney Furmanek had been warned by ODC about maintaining independent and unbiased relationships with clients after she self-reported inappropriate sexual communications with a criminal client she represented while serving as Conflict Counsel. Despite this warning, and the discipline that was imposed by her employer for inappropriate sexual communication with a client, Attorney Furmanek failed to withdraw from the representation, ignored the potential consequences, disregarded her ethical responsibilities, and pursued her relationship with Lazear. 

After her termination

After her termination from employment as Conflict Counsel on December 7, 2021, Attorney Furmanek immediately attempted to see Lazear at the WCCF. After she was denied access to Lazear, Attorney Furmanek wrote him a letter, stating in part, “[Y]ou are being denied your constitutional right to access to legal counsel.” and “Rest assured that the injustice which is now occurring is being reported to the necessary agencies and is being documented by my legal team.” Attorney Furmanek’s legal representation of Lazear ended when she was terminated as Conflict Counsel. Mr. Grimm’s office promptly took the necessary steps to have new counsel appointed for Lazear within three days of Attorney Furmanek’s termination.

Attorney Furmanek continued her involvement with Lazear’s cases by establishing contact with Attorney Jeffries after she learned that he had been appointed as successor counsel for Lazear. Attorney Jeffries extended professional courtesy to Attorney Furmanek, 6 as Lazear’s former counsel, and discussed Lazear’s cases with her. Despite her knowledge that Attorney Jeffries was counsel of record, Attorney Furmanek continued to advise Lazear about his cases.

ODC presented evidence of Attorney Furmanek’s criminal conviction of Disorderly Conduct, which proves that Attorney Furmanek’s misconduct continued beyond the conclusion of her representation of him.

The Herald-Standard reported on the conviction

A lawyer accused of conspiring to have an inmate at the Washington County jail eavesdrop on another attorney during what was supposed to be a private phone call pleaded guilty Wednesday to lesser charges.

Kimberly Ann Furmanek, who was facing felony wiretapping charges in connection with the May 2022 incident, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and was immediately sentenced by Judge Brandon Neuman to serve 12 months on probation as part of the plea bargain.

Furmanek, 35, of Richhill Township, appeared briefly in Neuman’s courtroom in the Washington County Courthouse to announce her plea, which her defense attorney, Adam Yarussi, said will hopefully allow her to move forward more than a year after being charged.

“It’s been kind of going on for a while and she just wanted to put this behind her and move on with her life,” Yarussi said.

Furmanek had developed a romantic relationship with John Quentin Lazear, who was an inmate at the jail, while she was representing him on drug charges in late 2021. But after Furmanek was removed from his case, she and Lazear hatched a plan so the inmate could eavesdrop on a private phone call she was having with his new defense attorney, James Jeffries.

In the May 6, 2022, conversation, Furmanek used two cellphones – one to call Lazear in the jail and the other to speak with Jeffries – and placed them next to each other so he could listen to the conversation. Since the jail audio records all phone calls with inmates when speaking with anyone who isn’t their attorney, the conversation was recorded without Jeffries’ knowledge.

Furmanek and Lazear were charged the following month after investigators reviewed the phone call and spoke to Jeffries, who told them he did not know Lazear was on the other line or that the conversation was recorded on the jail line. Lazear, who is now serving 15 to 40 years in state prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to multiple felony drug charges in three unrelated cases, pleaded guilty to one count of terroristic threats in April for threatening Jeffries and his law firm’s secretary in a different phone call. He was sentenced by Neuman to serve probation while  incarcerated.

When contacted by a reporter Wednesday afternoon, Jeffries said he was unaware of the plea deal, but happy that the court case is now over.

“I’m glad that she put this episode behind her and I hope she moves on and makes better choices, both professionally and personally,” Jeffries said.

The case documents can be accessed here. (Mike Frisch)