Washington Lawyer - June 2019 - 43

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARIES

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PUBLISHED

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In re Christopher B. Shedlick. Bar No. 1010480.
On May 22, 2018, the Fifth District, Section III
Subcommittee of the Virginia State Bar reprimanded Shedlick for recordkeeping violations
relating to entrusted funds.
In re Robert Lawrence Sirianni Jr. Bar No.
1016303. On July 17, 2015, the Tenth Judicial
Circuit of Florida Grievance Committee
admonished Sirianni for minor misconduct
involving unauthorized practice of law in North
Carolina and misleading adver tisements.

ment is imposed, the Board recommends
that Johnson be required to prove his fitness.
While retained to represent a client in a
workers' compensation claim against the D.C.
government, Johnson failed to explain to his
client the law regarding legal fee recovery in
his workers' compensation matter; took an
illegal and unreasonable fee in violation of
Rule 1.5(f); sought an additional $40,324.66 in
a falsely inflated fee petition; knowingly made
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false or deceptively incomplete statementsFIVE
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the administrative law judge (ALJ) in defense
of his fee petition; engaged in dishonesty
to the ALJ about entries on his fee petition,
and dishonesty to successor counsel and
Disciplinary Counsel; made misstatements
and evasive responses to Disciplinary Counsel
about the fee during the disciplinary investigation; and engaged in misconduct that
resulted in additional workers' compensation
proceedings before the ALJ. In addition,
Johnson gave intentionally false testimony
during the disciplinary hearing. Rules 1.4(b),
1.5(a), 3.3(a)(1), 8.4(c), 8.1(b), and 8.4(d).

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In re Lowell A. Stanley. Bar No. 227132. On July
20, 2018, the Second District Subcommittee of
the Virginia State Bar reprimanded Stanley.
In re Paul T. Stein. Bar No. 931428. On June 28,
2018, the Attorney Grievance Commission of
Maryland reprimanded Stein for violations
relating to confidentiality of client information
and responsibilities of partners and supervising attorneys.

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Disciplinary Actions Taken by the
Board on Professional Responsibility
Original Matters
In re Scott L. Adkins. Bar No. 980220. March 29,
2019. The Board on Professional Responsibility
recommends that the D.C. Court of Appeals
suspend Adkins for three years with fitness.
Adkins made misrepresentations on his
2006 D.C. Bar application and on his 2008
Supplemental Questionnaire in that he did
not disclose or failed to update information
relating to civil actions in which he was
involved, his criminal history, his termination
from past employment, and his past due
debts. Adkins also made misrepresentations
to Disciplinary Counsel about his 2009 conviction arising from an alcohol-induced hit-andrun accident. Rules 8.1(a), 8.1(b), 8.4(b), 8.4(c),
and 8.4(d).
In re Johnnie L. Johnson III. Bar No. 235614.
March 25, 2019. The Board on Professional
Responsibility recommends that the D.C.
Court of Appeals disbar Johnson, and that he
be required to pay restitution to the client in
the amount of $19,350.21, plus interest
accrued at the legal rate on that amount since
July 28, 2014, as a condition of reinstatement.
In the event a suspension rather than disbar-

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In re Paul J. Manafort Jr. Bar No. 247486.
March 4, 2019. The Board on Professional
Responsibility recommends that the D.C.
Court of Appeals disbar Manafort. Manafort
pleaded guilty to a two-count Superseding
Criminal Information that charged him with
conspiring to obstruct justice by tampering
with witnesses while on pretrial release (in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(1)), in addition
to other federal crimes involving moral turpitude per se, for which disbarment is mandatory under D.C. Code § 11-2503(a) (2001).

We welcome submissions
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topics in Washington Lawyer
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are open to editorial review and
revisions.

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel compiled the
foregoing summaries of disciplinary actions.
Informal Admonitions issued by Disciplinary
Counsel and Reports and Recommendations
issued by the Board on Professional Responsibility
are posted at www.dcattorneydiscipline.org.
Most board recommendations as to discipline are
not final until considered by the court. Court
opinions are printed in the Atlantic Reporter and
also are available online for decisions issued since
August 1998. To obtain a copy of a recent slip
opinion, visit www.dccourts.gov/court-ofappeals/opinions-memorandum-ofjudgments.

Manuscripts should adhere to
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features:
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For more information,
email editorial@dcbar.org.

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JUNE 2019

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WASHINGTON LAWYER 43
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Washington Lawyer - June 2019

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