Law Firm Employee Accused Of Trading Sex For Legal Services
Lawyers, please make sure your employees aren't making deals with clients to the effect of "get me off and we'll get you off."
Who doesn’t remember Reema Bajaj, the lawyer who pleaded guilty to prostitution and was later accused by an ethics committee of trading sex for office supplies? In their time of need, lawyers and law firm employees are wont to do anything to get ahead — or get head.
What if a legal professional’s only need was to … get off, with clients?
That’s exactly what a law firm manager in New Jersey stands accused of, according to a recently filed lawsuit. John Groff, manager of the Law Offices of Conrad J. Benedetto (and not a lawyer himself, but instead a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history), allegedly lured Javier Castillo, a man with a pending criminal complaint, into becoming a firm client on the condition that they enter into a sexual relationship. Castillo alleges that Groff promised to keep him out of jail in exchange for sex with both Castillo and his girlfriend. We didn’t know law firms gave two-for-one discounts!
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NJ.com has some additional details from Castillo’s salacious complaint:
The complaint includes numerous screenshots of both Facebook and text message conversations between Groff, Castillo and Castillo’s girlfriend, some including the explicit photos in question.
According to those documents, Groff first reached out to Castillo on Facebook asking about Castillo’s criminal charges, which were related to a violation of probation after Castillo allegedly made terroristic threats to an ex-girlfriend and posted nude photos of her on Facebook.
In the conversation, Castillo said he had warrants out for his arrest in Camden and Gloucester City, had been “on the run” for two months and planned to turn himself in the next day. Groff told him to “do nothing” until they met.
The claim states this “further aggravated” Castillo’s legal situation.
When Castillo was arrested and taken into custody, and his girlfriend found out she was pregnant (by who is a mystery), he claims that the firm’s “zeal” in his representation disappeared, much like the many “false and illegal guarantees” Groff had made in reference to Castillo’s criminal case, notwithstanding the fact that he wasn’t a lawyer.
Castillo’s lawyer, Matthew Wolf, noted Groff is not named as a defendant since he’s not a lawyer, and that Benedetto’s firm should have been supervising Groff more responsibly. “In the legal community, we expect attorneys to know what’s going on in their firm and it would be negligence on the part of Mr. Benedetto if arrangements for representation are made on the basis of sexuality activity,” said Wolf.
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Lawyers, please make sure your employees aren’t making deals with clients to the effect of “get me off and we’ll get you off.” This is the sort of arrangement that may make it harder for you to get off if and when ethical charges are filed.
Law firm manager traded sex for legal services, lawsuit claims [NJ.com]
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