9 Connecticut Attorneys Disciplined
The Connecticut Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel latest report include ethics cases against attorneys charged with IOLTA violations and other misconduct, including failure to communicate with clients.
January 13, 2020 at 07:38 PM
4 minute read
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Nine Connecticut attorneys faced penalties after ethics charges, according to the latest roundup of attorney discipline cases.
The sanctions included suspensions, presentments, reprimands and discipline with conditions, according to the Statewide Grievance Committee's December report, released Friday.
Here's a look at the attorneys, listed alphabetically, whose ethics charges led to court actions.
Jose Altamirano
The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel announced that Danbury attorney Jose Altamirano was placed on interim suspension, effective Dec. 5, for misconduct.
Superior Court Judge Robin Pavia wrote that Altamirano "poses a substantial threat of irreparable harm to his clients or to prospective clients."
Altamirano has had several grievance complaints leveled against him. They include a legal malpractice suit alleging his inaction led to a default judgment against his client. Plaintiff SurfCt.com Inc. alleged the attorney agreed to represent it in a contract dispute but did not file an appearance or any pleadings.
Joseph Barbarie
Putnam attorney Joseph Barbarie faces a presentment over allegations he failed or refused to cooperate with an audit of his Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts, or IOLTA, to cover a period running from Jan. 1, 2017 to the present.
David Chomick
Glastonbury-based attorney David Chomick, who has a history of disciplinary actions, is facing a presentment.
Chomick was reprimanded in 2014, 2017 and 2018. In the latest case, the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel cited his failure to provide a written fee agreement to client Carol Ebersold, whom he represented in litigation over a house's crumbling foundation.
Steven Colarossi
The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel will make a presentment citing misconduct in the case of Norwalk-based attorney Steven Colarossi.
Colarossi, the office said, "failed and/or refused to cooperate with the audit" on several occasions.
In addition, Judge Robert Genuario had given Colarossi one week to pay $75 into a client security fund, or to file an amended return for 2018, indicating the attorney only owed $37.50. The attorney would then have to pay the $37.50. It's not clear from court records what action Colarossi took. No one from the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel responded to a request for comment Monday.
Joseph Elder
Poquonock attorney Joseph Elder is facing a reprimand for an overdraft in his IOLTA account, according to the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel.
The office found that, on several occasions, Elder wrote checks directly from his IOLTA account to pay personal expenses, such as automobile taxes and automobile insurance. On other occasions he made cash withdrawals from the same account.
Keisha Gatison
The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel will make a presentment in the case of New Haven solo practitioner Keisha Gatison in Ramadon Ahmed v. Keisha Gatison.
The office says Gatison violated the Rules of Professional Conduct dealing with competence, misconduct and safekeeping of property.
Chris Gauthier
Uncasville solo practitioner Chris Gauthier is a facing a presentment.
The reviewing committee within the Statewide Grievance Committee found Gauthier engaged in misconduct "by clear and convincing evidence" related to a former client and her father, who said the attorney took a $5,000 retainer in a case involving a will, but provided minimal work for that money.
Gauthier's only work performed, the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel said, was to draft a one-page quitclaim deed and a power of attorney. Gauthier never recorded the deed, according to the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel.
Steven Surdut
The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel set conditions, including requiring three credit hours of continuing legal education, for attorney Steven Surdut, whose office is over the Connecticut border in Westerly, Rhode Island.
Surdut is licensed to practice in Connecticut, where he represented Tracy Newman. The case against him alleges Surdut violated ethics rules related to fees, competence, diligence and communication.
Lawrence Weissmann
West Nyack, New York-based attorney Lawrence Weissmann was suspended in August for two years from practicing law in New York for misconduct. The state of Connecticut, where Weissmann is also an attorney, issued reciprocal discipline.
The New York cases stems from Weissmann allegedly giving an individual special treatment with regard to traffic violations in the attorney's then-role as special prosecutor for the Village of Spring Valley Justice Court.
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