Washington Lawyer - November/December 2020 - 54

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARIES

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Disciplinary Actions Taken by the
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Original Matters
In re Jonathan C. Dailey. Bar No. 448141. July
9, 2020. The D.C. Court of Appeals remanded
the disciplinary proceeding to the Board on
Professional Responsibility for consideration
of a sanction appropriately tailored to
Dailey's Rule violations and the court's
finding of negligent misappropriation. The
Board previously recommended that the
court disbar Dailey for recklessly misappropriating entrusted funds in violation of Rules
1.15(a), 1.15(c), and 1.15(d) while retained to
represent a client in a personal injury matter.
In a second matter, Dailey did not obtain the
client's informed consent to a conflicted representation in violation of Rule 1.7(b)(4) while
retained to represent a client in a real estate
matter. Finally, in a third matter, Dailey commingled and failed to keep complete records
in violation of Rule 1.15(a).
In re Michelle Spirtos. Bar No. 493459. July 16,
2020. The D.C. Court of Appeals indefinitely
suspended Spirtos based on disability.
Reciprocal Matters
In re Oladipo Akin-Deko. Bar No. 983020. July
30, 2020. In a reciprocal matter from the U.S.
District Court for the District of Maryland, the
D.C. Court of Appeals imposed identical reciprocal discipline and indefinitely suspended
Akin-Deko with fitness. Akin-Deko can seek
reinstatement after five years or after reinstatement by the U.S. District Court for
Maryland, whichever occurs first. The district
court found that Akin-Deko abandoned a
client, failed to respond to a court order, and
failed to respond to disciplinary inquiries.
In re Joseph R. Costello. Bar No. 465007. July
30, 2020. In a reciprocal matter from New
York, the D.C. Court of Appeals imposed
equivalent reciprocal discipline and suspended Costello for six months with fitness,
nunc pro tunc to June 2, 2020. In New York,
Costello was found to have misappropriated
entrusted funds and failed to comply with
recordkeeping obligations.

In re James Michael Farrell. Bar No. 250878.
July 30, 2020. In a reciprocal matter from
Pennsylvania, the D.C. Court of Appeals
imposed identical reciprocal discipline and
disbarred Farrell. Farrell consented to disbarment in Pennsylvania after being convicted
of money laundering, attempted tampering
with official proceedings, conspiracy to
engage in money laundering, and attempted
witness tampering.

was found to have failed to safeguard
entrusted funds when a subordinate lawyer
converted client property for his own use.
Hanamirian mistakenly believed the IOLTA
account was properly maintained because
no overdraft occurred, and the subordinate
attorney misled him about account recordkeeping. Hanamirian took prompt remedial
steps to reform the firm's accounting
practices.

In re Maurice R. Franks. Bar No. 51110. July 30,
2020. In a reciprocal matter from Colorado,
the D.C. Court of Appeals imposed identical
reciprocal discipline and disbarred Franks. In
Colorado, Franks was found to have abandoned his clients and converted entrusted
funds for his own purposes.

In re Eugene I. Kane Jr. Bar No. 393218. July 30,
2020. In a reciprocal matter from Maryland,
the D.C. Court of Appeals imposed equivalent reciprocal discipline and indefinitely
suspended Kane. Kane can seek reinstatement after five years or after being reinstated
by the state of Maryland, whichever occurs
first. In Maryland, Kane was found to have
neglected client matters, engaged in a
conflict of interest, made a false statement
to a tribunal, and failed to respond to disciplinary inquiries.

In re Majd M. Ghanayem. Bar No. 1031229.
July 30, 2020. In a reciprocal matter from
Texas, the D.C. Court of Appeals imposed
identical reciprocal discipline and disbarred
Ghanayem. In Texas, Ghanayem was found to
have neglected a client's matter involving
relinquishment of parental rights, failed to
keep the client reasonably informed about
the status of the matter, failed to respond to
reasonable requests for information, and dishonestly misrepresented the status of the
matter by forging the judge's signature on a
fraudulent order.
In re Jahangir Ghobadi. Bar No. 441214. July
30, 2020. In a reciprocal matter from Virginia,
the D.C. Court of Appeals imposed identical
reciprocal discipline and disbarred Ghobadi.
In Virginia, Ghobadi was found to have failed
to deposit unearned fees in trust, failed to
return unearned fees, engaged in gross
incompetence, and failed to pursue his
clients' interests.
In re Michael A. Hanamirian. Bar No. 422702.
July 30, 2020. In a reciprocal matter from
Pennsylvania, the D.C. Court of Appeals
imposed identical reciprocal discipline and
suspended Hanamirian for two years, stayed
contingent on Hanamirian complying with all
probationary conditions and completing the
one-year probation imposed by the state of
Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, Hanamirian

In re Nancy T. Lord. Bar No. 430764. July 30,
2020. In a reciprocal matter from Nevada, the
D.C. Court of Appeals imposed equivalent
reciprocal discipline and suspended Lord for
six months and one day with fitness. In
Nevada, Lord was found to have repeatedly
failed to file a brief on behalf of a client, made
false accusations against the judge in her
own criminal matter, misappropriated
entrusted funds by paying personal expenses
from her trust account, and failed to respond
to disciplinary inquiries.
In re Christopher P. Mitchell. Bar No. 491343.
July 30, 2020. In a reciprocal matter from
Ohio, the D.C. Court of Appeals imposed
identical reciprocal discipline and suspended
Mitchell for one year. Imposition of the suspension is stayed contingent on Mitchell's
successful completion of his five-year probation imposed as the result of a criminal prosecution in the state of Ohio. Mitchell pled
guilty to leaving the scene of an automobile
collision involving injury or death and driving
while intoxicated.
In re William C. Planta. Bar No. 462383. July 30,
2020. In a reciprocal matter from Maryland,

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54 WASHINGTON LAWYER

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2020

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