In a recently published law review article, “Lowering the Bar: How Lawyer Discipline in New York Fails to Protect the Public,”1 Stephen Gillers examines attorney discipline through the prism of 577 published disciplinary opinions that he painstakingly reviewed. Gillers’ conclusions and observations are assuredly troubling for a regulatory system that presumably exists to protect clients and at the same time preserve the rights of lawyers who receive complaints.
Gillers’ principal findings are that: the system is wracked by untenable delays; significant unjustifiable disparities exist among the four departments when it comes to imposing sanctions for essentially the same conduct; the severity of discipline imposed in view of the underlying violation is too often irrational; and the public is not accorded adequate access to the disciplinary histories of New York lawyers. This article will address these points.
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