A special ethics master says Essex County litigation superstar James Carney embezzled $1.75 million from awards he so brilliantly won for clients, and the state Supreme Court announced last week that Carney is suspended from practicing law pending disbarment proceedings.
The master, retired Superior Court Judge Robert Shelton, found that Carney also stiffed a referring attorney. Although he has repaid some sums, Carney still owes about $1.35 million, and “his undoubted ability and the excellent results at trial in no way offset these derelictions,” Shelton said in his Feb. 8 findings.
