A civil rights attorney who has been barred from practicing in the Southern District has been sanctioned for continuing to represent that she is a member of the federal bar in the district. Ruth M. Pollack of Riverhead was ordered to pay $1,000 by the Southern District’s Committee on Grievances for holding herself out as “admitted to the federal Bar of the State of New York” on her website. Ms. Pollack was disbarred from the Southern District on May 26, 2010. She is also disbarred in the Northern District and, according to the committee’s order, continues to be suspended from practice in the Western and Eastern districts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and New York state courts.
The two-page order states that Judge Paul A. Crotty brought Ms. Pollack’s statement on her website to the attention of the committee six months after she was barred from practicing in the Southern District. The committee ordered her to show cause why she should not be held in contempt and directed her to file any such submission by Feb. 22—but no response was received. The committee, chaired by Judge Jed S. Rakoff, said further fines and other sanctions would be imposed if Ms. Pollack failed to comply.
