If I’m not admitted, so be it.”. Roth—who says he doesn’t view himself as a particularly trusting person— believes Lawson deserves another chance to practice law. But even if that doesn’t happen, Roth is confident that Lawson has turned the corner in his life. “I think he’s truly a transformed person,” Roth says.
The relationship between lawyer misconduct and substance abuse or mental health issues is a key area where disciplinary agencies have revised their thinking, Rendleman says. “Many of the disciplinary agencies have done a very good job of identifying where there are substance abuse issues so that probation or mentorship and oversight have come into play,” he says. “They’ve done a very good job in many states of diverting cases where there’s a legitimate medical issue so it doesn’t go the disbarment route.”
In some states, disbarred lawyers may have to take the bar exam again in addition to applying for readmission—and agree to a full character and fitness review, as well as a hearing. Since California added a bar exam requirement in 2010, the number of lawyers seeking readmission has dropped.
In 1997, Dennis Hughes was convicted of bribing a witness and conspiracy to bribe a witness in a criminal trial. He had previously been sanctioned for misconduct many times and consented to disbarment after the bribery convictions. In 2004, Hughes petitioned for reinstatement after seeking treatment for alcoholism.
Jonathan Coughlan: “In Ohio, there’s no such thing as reinstatement after disbarment—which includes being disbarred, resigning with discipline pending, or asking to retire and having that request accepted. Zero.
But at the same time, in many places, disbarment has again become the death penalty. It’s become very difficult to come back from disbarment because that’s saved for the most serious offenses.”. Lawson’s native Ohio is one of the death penalty states.
Lupel once represented a real estate lawyer who had gone to prison for fraud. Lupel advised the 75-year-old against seeking reinstatement, but the client insisted. He lost. The client came back four years later after a heart transplant; but this time, Lupel refused to represent him.
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