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Three Prominent Boston Lawyers Facing Disbarment

By Jeralyn, Section Law Related
Posted on Fri May 13, 2005 at 06:50:16 PM EST
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The Boston Globe reports on a very unusual case in which three prominent lawyers are facing disbarment for scheming against a judge by promising a fake job to her law clerk and then telling the law clerk she had to get dirt on the judge. It's a strange tale.

Three well-known lawyers accused of orchestrating an elaborate scheme to discredit a former Superior Court judge ''brought shame and disrepute" to the legal community and should be disbarred, a hearing officer for the state recommended yesterday, in one of Massachusetts' most closely watched attorney discipline cases ever.

In a blistering 229-page ruling, M. Ellen Carpenter, the hearing officer for the state Board of Bar Overseers, said a plot by Kevin P. Curry, Gary C. Crossen, and Richard K. Donahue to try to show that Judge Maria Lopez was biased during the long legal battle over the Demoulas family supermarket fortune was unparalleled in its sordidness. The lawyers allegedly tried to wring information from Lopez's former law clerk through trickery, extortion, and intimidation.

Robert Ambroggi has the link to the opinion and describes the three lawyers:

One of the three lawyers is a former assistant to President Kennedy who has been president of the state bar association, chairman of its Committee on Professionalism, chairman of the Board of Bar Overseers and president of Nike Inc. Another was formerly ethics counsel to Massachusetts governors William F. Weld and Paul Cellucci, chief of the criminal division of the U.S. attorney's office and chair of the state Judicial Nominating Commission.

You can read more of their bios here.

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    Three Prominent Boston Lawyers Facing Disbarment | 4 comments (4 topical)
    Re: Three Prominent Boston Lawyers Facing Disbarm (none / 0) (#1)
    by Rick B on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:03 PM EST
    So what's the problem? They'll get at most a five year disbarrment, have a job with their current clients in the meantime, and then go right back to doing the same stuff in the future. This is advertising for them. Clients with money are looking for lawyers like these guys, and they wlll never have a problem finding well-payingg work.

    Re: Three Prominent Boston Lawyers Facing Disbarm (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:03 PM EST
    I'm not sure there is a problem. I wasn't defending the lawyers. Disbarment in some states is permanent I think.

    Re: Three Prominent Boston Lawyers Facing Disbarm (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:03 PM EST
    The truly bizarre aspects of this case are in the details of the scheme and the lengths they went to carry it out. For example, having learned (through the use of a private detective) that her law clerk was hoping for a glamorous job in international law, they lured him to Nova Scotia for a job interview, and then to NYC for a follow-up interview, specifically because Massachusetts (unlike under federal law) does not allow taping of conversations unless all parties to the conversation are agreement. That way they could tape him during the fake job interview, puffing up his own role in writing the judge's decisions and making other embarrassing statements about the judge (amiably agreeing with and embellishing on the cleverly crafted snarky statements about the judge made by a potential future employer he was trying to impress). To Paul Walsh's credit, as soon as they tried to blackmail him with his own statements on tape if he didn't cooperate with their scheme to dicredit the judge, he immediately blew the whistle. This was despite the certain humiliation and potential devastation to any career he might have had, that revelation of his unwitting role and improvident comments would have caused. Many attorneys I know in Boston were not only horrified at the scheme and especially the identities of the well-known (and previously well-respected) participants, but full of admiration for the path that Paul Walsh, a young, inexperienced lawyer fresh out of lawschool, ultimately chose to take.

    Re: Three Prominent Boston Lawyers Facing Disbarm (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:03 PM EST
    Paul Walsh showed a strong sense of personal ethics and responsibility. I will take him over the Boston attorneys or Dubya's marginal nominations to the SC right now. My hat is off to this young man. I hope the judge he works with takes him out for dinner and a long conversation full of respect and thanks.

    Three Prominent Boston Lawyers Facing Disbarment | 4 comments (4 topical)