Thought Leadership

While everyone likes surprises, not all surprises are well-liked, and this is especially true if you receive notification from a state disciplinary board that your actions have been reported as violating the code of conduct governing your profession. Should you receive notification from a disciplinary board, court, or agency that you are being reported or investigated for potential violations of the code of conduct governing your profession, turn to Marshall Dennehey.

Our attorneys are well-versed in the procedures and process of defending attorneys and professionals from allegations of ethics violations, and we understand the delicate balance between vigorously contesting discipline and accepting responsibility for errors that is required in this area of practice. 

We defend and advise all manner of licensed professionals facing potential professional discipline before the disciplinary boards, courts, and/or agencies in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and Florida.

In addition to lawyers and judges, we represent accountants, realtors, property managers, medical professionals, and more. As a trusted leader in this area of law, clients can rely on the depth of our experience defending these matters, combined with our physical office presence in each of the above jurisdictions.

In Pennsylvania, shareholders, Alesia Sulock, Aaron Moore, Jay Rothman, and myself, primarily handle disciplinary board cases in the eastern part of the state, while shareholder, Scott Eberle, handles matters in the west. Additional shareholders overseeing and managing this litigation are Andrew Marchese in Florida; Howard Mankoff and Will Waldron in New Jersey; and Nicholas Chrysanthem in New York. 

Our ability to collaborate on legal strategy and coordinate defense efforts between our respective offices allows our clients to realize significant cost-savings. We facilitate timely outcomes in disciplinary matters so that our clients can continue their professional activities with minimal interruption. Our goal is to effectively advocate for clients throughout the disciplinary process, while also being cognizant of the clients’ cost and time expenditures.

We are regularly able to achieve outcomes in disciplinary matters which prevent the allegations from becoming public, either succeeding in having claims dismissed at the pre-complaint stage or achieving private discipline. Recent results we have obtained on behalf of clients include the dismissal of an ethics grievance; dismissal of a disciplinary complaint involving IOLTA funds; the successful representation of an attorney at the center of an ethics investigation; the negotiation of a private reprimand for a client; and more.

We welcome the opportunity to work with you in addressing any disciplinary matters that you may be faced with. We will strive to ensure that your options are understood and your interests are protected as we navigate the process together. 

*Josh works in our Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, office. 

_{Defense Digest, Vol. 30, No. 2, June 2024, is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1. © 2024 Marshall Dennehey. All Rights Reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.}