Crime

Can Lawyers Who Have Been Convicted Of Crimes And Disbarred Ever Practice Again?

Disbarred attorneys may apply for reinstatement, but it’s a long, hard slog to that end with no guarantee of success.

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Who doesn’t love a comeback story? Movies are full of them. I’ll mention a few. And if you disagree with my selections, phooey. There are hundreds out there, and space limits precludes calling out more than just a couple:  Rocky (Sylvester Stallone’s first Rocky movie, and I think the best), The Shawshank Redemption (who doesn’t think that Morgan Freeman is terrific?) and the Frank Capra annual Christmas weepie, It’s A Wonderful Life (Jimmy Stewart will live for as long as the movie does.)

Scott Fitzgerald, the author of, among other classics, The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night, is quoted as having said that “there are no second acts in American lives.” If you haven’t read either or both of these novels, shame on you and shame on you for knowing little, if anything, about Fitzgerald.

Tiger Woods would certainly dispute Fitzgerald’s statement, given that he has just won his first Masters Golf tournament since 2005. In the intervening years, his life bore more than a passing resemblance to a trainwreck, with health, marital, and other personal issues bedeviling him. He’s back now in the golf pantheon and beyond. Is this victory for Tiger sweeter than earlier ones? You’d have to ask him, but I am guessing that it is, not just because of all he’s endured, but maturity and overcoming his obstacles can make career successes taste better now than before.

Can there be second acts in the lives of American lawyers? Hard to say. What about Gordon Caplan, who has pleaded guilty in the college admissions scandal?  A former partner in Biglaw, he’s been severed from the firm.  He’s facing some prison time (the precise amount to be determined) and undoubtedly will lose his license to practice, i.e., his livelihood. Will he have a second act in American life, let alone in the legal profession? Definitely dubious as to the second, perhaps as to the first.

The same may well hold true for Michael Avenatti, depending upon the outcome of the several pending federal cases against him both in California and back in New York.  I would be surprised if Avenatti pleads to anything, given his self-styled reputation as a street fighter, so it will probably be years before there’s any finality to his matters. If any of the charges, especially those pertaining to embezzlement of client funds, are proven beyond a reasonable doubt, then Avenatti will be in a world of hurt with the State Bar of California. Would Avenatti have a second act in American life? What about his career as a lawyer?

Then there’s the attorney for Martin Shkreli (remember him?), Evan Greebel, sentenced to 18 months in prison. Greebel was convicted of helping Shkreli defraud a publicly traded pharmaceutical company. His case is on appeal; the SEC has suspended his right to appear before the Commission pending the outcome of the appeal and he’s also been suspended from the practice of law.

History is replete with comebacks. (The dinosaurs will get these references, but probably not millennials, unless they’ve studied history.) How about Richard Nixon, our 37th President, who lost the 1960 presidential election by a whisker to John F. Kennedy and who then ran for California governor against Pat Brown (Jerry’s dad) in 1962? After losing that election, Nixon said it was his last run for office and told the press at a news conference that the reporters wouldn’t have him to kick around anymore.  Not so fast. Rising from the ashes of two losses, Nixon ran for President in 1968 against Hubert Humphrey and won. Watergate and all the president’s men who were convicted of various crimes (including John Dean, White House counsel) is a story for another time.

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How about Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison on Robben Island, off Cape Town in South Africa? He emerged from his political imprisonment to become the first black president of South Africa, having fought apartheid his whole life.

Sports history is replete with comebacks. No matter what sport you follow or what team in that sport, inevitably that team will stage a comeback. How many years that might take is another matter altogether. Exhibit 1: My beloved Chicago Cubs only took 108 years to win the World Series in 2016. (How they are doing now is better left unsaid.)

Unlike lawyers, Tiger Woods has had no license to lose, although he lost endorsements and income from the cascade of cancellations that accompanied his troubled years and when notoriety replaced his celebrity. He hasn’t had to plead his case before a licensing authority that controls his ability to earn a living. It’s a different kettle of fish, when, as in Gordon Caplan’s case, he has entered a plea of guilty to federal fraud charges that just about clinches his disbarment.  In most, if not all, states, crimes of moral turpitude are grounds for disbarment. What will his life be like now? Write? Teach? (Do as I say, not as I did.)

Can there be any second acts in American life for lawyers who have been convicted of crimes of fraud or other crimes that a licensing authority considers moral turpitude and which result in the “death penalty for lawyers”? Disbarred attorneys may apply for reinstatement, but it’s a long, hard slog to that end with no guarantee of success. Is the attorney sufficiently rehabilitated? Is the attorney morally fit? And, even if reinstated, how hard is it going to be for that lawyer to regain the trust of members of the bench and bar and, more importantly, potential clients? Hopefully, these are questions that the vast majority of us will never have to answer.

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old lady lawyer elderly woman grandmother grandma laptop computerJill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at oldladylawyer@gmail.com.

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