
Western NY Justice Agrees to Public Admonishment Over 'Obvious' Conflict of Interest
An ex-client took a dispute with their former lawyer to the very court where that attorney now presided as a judge. The state's judicial conduct watchdog said Alden Town and Village Courts Justice Michael W. Cole, rather than seeking to have the case moved elsewhere, acted to delay the small-claims matter in hopes it would be dropped.
January 08, 2025 at 04:11 PM
2 minute read
A part-time justice in western New York agreed that he should be admonished for trying to have a small-claims matter against him delayed, to give him time to convince his former legal client to withdraw the pleading, the state's judicial watchdog said on Wednesday.
Alden Town and Village Courts Justice Michael W. Cole had been hired as an attorney in 2018 and paid a $1,500 retainer by a client with a family law matter, but the following year, she became dissatisfied with his representation and made several requests for return of the money, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct said in a statement.
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