For months ethics lawyers have been warning that anxiety from the COVID-19 pandemic will likely start causing an uptick in attorney discipline, and now the highly contagious illness has appeared as a potential mitigating factor in a Pennsylvania disciplinary case.

On Friday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced it was suspending West Chester attorney Angela Montgomery-Budd for one year after she misled clients in an adoption case. The court granted the suspension on a joint petition from both Montgomery-Budd and the state Office of Disciplinary Counsel.