Ethy Awards

In this episode, Sean Carter introduces four new nominees and one brand new category -- Best Supporting Actor (in a Criminal Activity).

(1)  BREWSTER'S MILLIONS (Best Supporting Actor)

An Illinois lawyer was placed on interim suspension after being indicted for bankruptcy fraud for helping her brother hide assets from his creditors.

(2)  NEIGHBORS (Worst Temper in a Non-Legal Setting)

An Illinois lawyer was suspended for one (1) year after his conviction for criminal battery against an elderly woman neighbor.

(3)  UP IN SMOKE (The Outlawyer Award)

The Illinois disciplinary authority has filed a complaint against a lawyer who was convicted of running a marijuana "grow house" in Michigan.  At the time of his arrest, the police found 241 plants in his grow house.

(4)  ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE (Worst Love Scene)

A New Jersey lawyer was suspended for one year for his Florida cocaine conviction and his conduct in a civil suit, in which he sent lewd messages via text and social media to the wife of a couple he was representing.

In this episode, Sean Carter introduces four (4) new nominees:

1)  WHERE THE TRUTH LIES (Prosecutorial Misconduct)

The New Jersey Supreme Court reversed a criminal conviction because the prosecutor made assertions during closing arguments that were in direct contradiction to videotape evidence that had been excluded at trial for other reasons. In doing so, the prosecutor knowingly presented false evidence to the court.

2)  THE JERK (Pit Bull Award)

An Indiana lawyer was exonerated on charges of violating his bar oath by having an "offensive personality."  The state bar had brought charges after the lawyer, the head city prosecutor of a town, had written an offensive letter to the town's chief of police, complaining about the force's investigation of one of his deputy prosecutors.

3)  GOOD DEEDS (Eager Beaver Award)

An Ohio citizen was fined $5,000 for the unauthorized practice of law for her efforts to secure a settlement for a friend of an automobile insurance claim.  In doing so, she had the friend execute a power of attorney, giving her the power to negotiate on his behalf.  In return for her successful efforts, she received 25% of the settlement amount.  The injured party had approached his friend about this arrangement in an effort to hide the settlement proceeds from his bankruptcy lawyer, so that such funds would not be made available to his creditors.

4)  NEW JACK CITY (Hitchcock Award)

A court-appointed lawyer in Wisconsin was suspended for 90 days for failure to pay $2,400 owed to his investigator.

In this episode, Sean Carter introduces four new nominees in four different categories, including the newly introduced "Critic's Choice Award."

1)  SALTY (Ms/Mr Uncongeniality Award)

A Kansas judge was suspended for one year for repeated use of profanity in conversations with (and about) court staff and lawyers appearing before him.  See Kansas Supreme Court, Case No. 122,565.

2)  MAMMA MIA, HERE WE GO AGAIN (Critic's Choice Award)

The Illinois Disciplinary Commission is recommending a one-year suspension for a lawyer who filed numerous motions to disqualify a bankruptcy judge claiming (without sufficient evidence) that the judge was engaged in criminal conduct in his case and insinuating that any judge who didn't grant his motion was in collusion with the judge in question.  See Illinois ARDC Commission No. 2020PR00047.

3)  GODFATHER 3 (Eager Beaver Award)

The Ohio Disciplinary Counsel is recommending the imposition of a $13,000 civil penalty against a retired lawyer who engaged in the practice of law after retiring from the bar (and being suspending from the Kentucky Bar), but remaining the office manager and a paralegal in the firm that still bears his name.  See Ohio Supreme Court, Case No. 2020-1497.

4)  THE BAG MAN (Prosecutorial Misconduct)

A New York district attorney was disbarred for helping the Suffolk County Police Chief attempt to cover up his beating of a shackled suspect who had broken into the chief's car and stolen his gun, ammunition and a duffel bag containing cigars, sex toys, a pornographic video and a bottle of Viagra.  See New York Appellate Division: Second Judicial Department, Case No. 2020-01437.

In this episode, Sean Carter introduces four new nominees in three categories, including the newly introduced David Copperfield Award:

1)  RED HEAT (The Outlawyer Award) -- An Iowa lawyer was suspended for at least one year for sexually harassing two of his clients.  The Court ruled that, while his acts of indecent exposure and sexual assault could not be proven by a convincing preponderance of the evidence, he was nonetheless in violation of Rule 8.4(g) -- discrimination on the basis of gender.  See Iowa Supreme Court, Case No. 20–1004.

2)  DEAR DICTATOR (Worst Legal Strategy) -- A Florida lawyer was suspended by the DC Court of Appeals on an emergency basis after responding to an inquiry from the state bar in an email starting, "Dear A**holes" and ending with "Having a blessed new year f**k heads."

3)  MAKING THE GRADE (The Outlawyer Award) -- A New York lawyer received a two-year suspension after his conviction on federal mail fraud charges for his part in the college admissions cheating scandal, in which he paid $75,000 for a proctor to boost his daughter's ACT score.  See 2021 NY Slip Op 01125.

4)  PAYBACK (David Copperfield Award) -- A New York lawyer was disbarred after his conviction for stealing $6 million from his employer by redirecting payments from its PayPal account to accounts controlled by the lawyer.  See 2021 NY Slip Op 01126.

In this episode, four (4) new nominees were introduced in four all new categories

(1)  ROAD HOUSE (Most Impaired in a Legal Setting) -- A New York lawyer was publicly censured (and terminated from his position as an administrative law judge) for punching out another lawyer while intoxicated at the celebration of the opening of a mutual friend's new law office.

(2)  THREE THE HARD WAY (The Pit Bull Award) -- A lawyer was disbarred in New York, West Virginia and the District of Columbia for numerous ethical violations arising from his vexation conduct in representing himself in his own divorce and custody battle.

(3)  LEGALLY BLONDE (The Eager Beaver Award) -- Trump election lawyer, L. Lin Wood, is finding it increasingly difficult to obtain pro hac vice admittance in state courts after sending out tweets in the lead up to January 6th in which he (1) called for the execution of Vice President Pence for treason; and (2) suggested that Chief Justice Roberts was a pedophile.  The latter allegation appears to be a clear violation of Rule 8.2, which prohibits any knowing or reckless misstatement about a judge's qualifications or integrity.

(4)  TROLLS (Worst Legal Strategy) -- The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the appeal of a Minnesota lawyer who was sentenced to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to the victims of his illegal copyright trolling scheme.  In addition, this lawyer, who uploaded pornography to file-sharing services for the sole purpose of extorting quick settlements from those who downloaded the material, was suspended from the practice of law in 2016 and ultimately disbarred in 2020 for misstatements in his personal bankruptcy filing.

In this episode, the following nominees are introduced:

(1)  Bachelor Party (The Hitchcock Award): A Louisiana lawyer and part-time judge was suspended for one year (with six months stayed) for his drunken antics at an out-of-state bachelor party.

(2)  Boogie Nights (Worst Love Scene): A Florida lawyer was disbarred for using his bar credentials to visit women inmates for the purpose of soliciting their participation in pornography.

(3)  The Ladies Man (Lifetime Achievement Award): A New York lawyer was suspended for at least six months for multiple violations resulting from his inappropriate relationships with women clients (and co-workers).

(4)  Knute Rockne: All American (Prosecutorial Misconduct): A North Carolina federal prosecutor is facing ethics charges for misleading a witness about the purpose for which he sought her testimony.

In this episode, Sean Carter humorously introduces the first nominations in four Ethy Awards categories:

1.  Worst Temper in a Non-Legal Setting

Nominee: Key Largo

A New York town court justice was forced to tender his resignation after he keyed a town official's car in retaliation for the town's refusal to provide him with health insurance.

2.  Best Original Excuse

Nominee: School Daze

A Minnesota lawyer unsuccessfully argued that his failure to take the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (a condition for readmission to the bar) should be excused because he did not know how or where to register for the exam.  As a result, his conditional readmittance was revoked.

3.  Most Creative Tale

Nominee: Snowball Express

An Illinois lawyer was suspended for three years for falsely claiming that he suffered from a rare form of stomach cancer; initially, as a way to boost his chances of getting into the University of Chicago Law School (which he did) and later, as a way to gain continuances and other accommodations as a lawyer.

4.  Ms/Mr Uncongeniality

Nominee: Code Name: The Cleaner

A Kentucky lawyer received a fully-stayed 180-day suspension (provided that he does not violate any other ethics rules for the next two years) after he pleaded guilty to assault for hitting opposing counsel over the head with a Lysol can during settlement negotiations.

One of the mitigating circumstances in defense was the four years the lawyer spent in prison during the 1980s as a result of his wrongful conviction for rape and attempted murder.  As a "bonus" feature, Carter delves into the particulars of that disturbing case.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the concept of civility, starting with the case of an Illinois lawyer who was suspended for six months for calling opposing counsel the b-word. Amazingly, he attempted to defend himself by arguing that the election of President Trump in 2016 negated all professional standards of civility.  He now has six months to reconsider his stance.

From there, we discuss other acts of incivility perpetrated by lawyers who decided to adopt "presidential" standards in that regard, particularly as they apply to demeaning words and actions against women, people of color, religious minorities and LGBTQ lawyers.

Episode 1 -- Fatal Attraction, Dear John, Buffalo Bill and The Untouchables

In the inaugural episode of the podcast, humorist Sean Carter lists the first Ethy Awards nominees of the new year.  Specifically, the nominees are:

2)  Dear John (Worst Love Scene) -- A client filed a complaint against her North Carolina divorce lawyer (and lover) after discovering on Facebook that the lawyer she was already in a relationship with someone else.

3)  Buffalo Bill (Archie Bunker Award) -- A New York lawyer (and former state senator) was suspended from the practice of law for at least a year for sexually harassing one of his staffers after a fundraising event.

4)  The Untouchables (Outlawyer Award) -- An Illinois lawyer is facing a complaint by the ARDC after he was convicted of willful failure to pay sales taxes collected at five Jimmy John's sandwich stops that he owns and operates in Florida.