Citing his financial hardships and pro bono work, a state appeals court has chosen to publicly censure, rather than suspend or disbar, a veteran New York lawyer who disregarded some 25 court orders in 11 different federal lawsuits.

A unanimous panel of the Appellate Division, First Department, also relied heavily on the Eastern District's previous decision to censure attorney Joel Gluck when arriving at its punishment.

“As a general rule in reciprocal disciplinary matters, this court gives significant weight to the sanction imposed by the jurisdiction in which the charges were initially brought,” the panel wrote in Matter of Gluck, 2017 NY Slip Op 06052.