Attorney Misconduct, Crime

Blood In The Water: Lawyer In Trouble For Stealing Ancient Shark's Tooth From Museum

This ethical shark bite could've been a career killer.

By  
on

Shark LFLawyers are often referred to as sharks. It’s a term of endearment in a way, because most attorneys would love to be seen as fierce professionals capable of killing the other side in court the second they smell blood in the water. As one of those hackneyed lawyer jokes goes, “Why won’t sharks attack lawyers? Professional courtesy.” As has been made clear by the results of a recent ethics inquiry, some attorneys hold the “lawyer as a shark” a bit too close to their hearts.

In October 2014, North Carolina attorney Alison Erca, a graduate of Golden Gate University School of Law, stole an ancient artifact from the state’s Maritime Museum: a seven-inch C. Megalodon tooth. The daring thief made it out of the museum with the tooth by shoving it down her pants (how brave!). Erca later attempted to “return” the tooth by throwing it into a bush outside the museum, and was subsequently arrested. She was charged with felonious larceny and held on $10,000 bail. The criminal case against Erca was voluntarily dismissed in June 2015, but the Grievance Committee of the North Carolina State Bar hadn’t taken a bite out of her yet.

The Grievance Committee issued Erca a reprimand in November that was recently uncovered by Mike Frisch of the Legal Profession Blog. Here it is, in part:

Alison Erca

Alison Erca

In October 2014, you removed a Megalodon tooth from a display case in the North Carolina Maritime Museum, and left the museum with it. Your unlawful removal of this artifact from the museum constituted conduct involving dishonesty in violation of Rule 8.4(c) and criminal conduct reflecting adversely on your honesty, trustworthiness, and fitness as a lawyer in violation of Rule 8.4(b). In determining that reprimand is sufficient discipline, the Committee considered your remorse, and lack of prior discipline. The Committee also noted that this act was unrelated to your practice of law, and that no third party was harmed by your conduct, in that the tooth was ultimately returned to the museum.

You are hereby reprimanded by the North Carolina State Bar for your professional misconduct. The Grievance Committee trusts that you will heed this reprimand, that it will be remembered by you, that it will be beneficial to you, and that you will never again allow yourself to depart from adherence to the high ethical standards of the legal profession.

Lawyers, take heed, because the next bar grievance committee might leave you with more than these gentle teeth marks. Alison Erca should be thankful, because an ethical shark bite like this could’ve turned out to be a violent career killer.

Thief allegedly steals large ancient shark tooth from NC museum by putting it in her pants [FOX 8]
Stolen Megalodon tooth returned to museum, woman arrested [WECT]
Chapel Hill woman arrested in shark tooth theft [Star News Online]
The Whole Tooth And Nothing But [Legal Profession Blog]

Sponsored

Topics

, , , , , , ,