Ethics
Appeals court docket suspends lawyer who denied intercourse with shopper
A New York appellate court docket final month suspended a Buffalo, New York-area legal professional from practising legislation for 2 years on revelations that he had a sexual relationship with a shopper after which lied about it through the disciplinary course of. (Picture from Shutterstock)
A New York appellate court docket final month suspended a Buffalo, New York-area legal professional from practising legislation for 2 years on revelations that he had a sexual relationship with a shopper after which lied about it through the disciplinary course of.
In a July 24 ruling, the Appellate Division’s Fourth Judicial Division of the New York Supreme Courtroom upheld a referee’s findings towards Jason A. Shear, a Lackawanna, New York, legal professional who represented a lady in a foreclosures matter and engaged in sexual relations along with her whereas representing her. The referee additionally discovered that Shear did not hold the shopper fairly knowledgeable concerning the standing of the case, notably as the connection deteriorated.
The connection between Shear and his shopper grew to become more and more private throughout fall 2023 as evidenced by hundreds of textual content messages and safety digital camera footage displaying the legal professional on the shopper’s residence.
The referee discovered that through the disciplinary course of, Shear falsely denied the sexual relationship, falsely denied visiting the shopper’s residence for sexual encounters, after which falsely claimed that the shopper altered or fabricated proof, in line with a story by Law.com.
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