Lawyer of the Day

Lawyer of the Day: Michael Markins

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The source who sent this nominee our way wrote: “Combo of sex, jealousy, and hacking. Just another day in the WV bar.” From the Charleston Gazette:

A Charleston lawyer could be suspended from the State Bar after admitting that he accessed another law firm’s computer system because he suspected his wife was having an affair.

According to a brief filed with the state Supreme Court by the Bar’s Lawyer Disciplinary Board, Michael P. Markins repeatedly accessed e-mail accounts at Offutt, Fisher and Nord, where his wife, Andrea N. Markins, worked as an associate.

Between November 2003 and March 2006, Markins logged on to OFN’s system more than 150 times, the brief states. At the time, he worked for the law firm Huddleston Bolen LLP.

Is this really that bad? We can think of worse ways to act upon a suspicion your wife is cheating on you. E.g., this.

Markins told investigators that he initially read the e-mails of his wife and another OFN lawyer because he suspected an affair. But he then began reading other lawyers’ e-mails out of “selfish curiosity,” the brief states….

In addition, Markins’ firm and OFN were representing clients on different sides of a mass litigation involving a flood while he was electronically snooping.

Okay, that might be problematic. Normally, though, we’d view excessive snoopiness as a venial rather than mortal sin. After all, curiosity and initiative are desirable qualities in a lawyer.
P.S. Our tipster is from West Virginia, so they’re allowed to poke fun at the West Virginia bar in this manner.
Lawyer admits computer breach [Charleston Gazette]

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